Recommendations

 

throwing the shuttle

catching the shuttle

I have been taken to task by 'slow cloth' folk who lecture me to stop insisting that people weave quickly.

What I actually recommend is that people weave *ergonomically*.  Generally the result of using ergonomic motions/movements is an increase of efficiency, yes.  But mostly what I'm trying to get people to do is weave with less injury.

Once again today I saw someone complaining that their loom doesn't have a shuttle race and the shuttle keeps submarining.  There were a variety of responses, most of them agreeing it was incredibly frustrating and suggestions (typically) that if their loom doesn't have a shuttle race they should a) install one b) complain to the loom manufacturer because the loom is 'faulty', or c) if they have a shuttle race and their shuttle *still* falls through the bottom of the shed, it's installed improperly and should be adjusted.  And so on.

Thing is 90% of those problems will go away if you just hold the shuttle more level so that the nose doesn't point downwards when you throw the shuttle from one side of the warp to the other.

It wasn't until the 1700s that the fly shuttle was developed which needed a shuttle race to guide the shuttle from one shuttle box to the other.  

You might notice that the loom in the photo does not, and never did have, a shuttle race.  It works perfectly fine - when the shuttle is held and thrown as shown above.  Notice in the top photo the tip of the shuttle points slightly upwards, and in the bottom photo it is slightly downwards as the shuttle is caught, removed from the shed and then the shuttle is pulled upwards just enough for the beater to pass beneath my hand.

Now, there *are* other issues that will cause submarining problems, from poor tension of the warp, a crossed thread between heddle and reed, poor warp packing (which can affect general warp tension), a shuttle with a bobbin that is 'too full' or poorly wound (again, tension issues).

But most of the time?  The solution is using an ergonomic movement.

Now, changing your 'habit' is difficult.  It can be incredibly frustrating to re-train yourself to change a body movement.  Famously Tiger Woods took a year out of his life to retrain how he hit the golf ball.  Other prime athletes have done similar 'breaks' to improve their performance.  

And while the re-learning is slow and can also be frustrating, it can be necessary.  Because it is a lot easier to prevent a soft tissue injury than it is to heal from one.

The class I'm taking on neuroplasticity covered this very well in yesterday's class - how what we learn creates neural pathways in the brain.  In order to learn a different way, we have to erase the old pathway and replace it with a new one.   This takes time.  Repetition.  And concentration to remember to use the new movement, not default to the old one.

I used to tell students to give themselves 7 warps of using the new technique for it to become the new default.  Turns out I wasn't wrong.

Check your posture and position at the loom.  I've talked about this elsewhere - click on the ergonomics label for everything tagged for more information).  If you have my book or access to any of my online classes, there will be video showing what I do.  There are clips on You Tube.  

You can even email me for more information if you have a specific question.

Links to my above mentioned books and classes:

Blurb

Long Thread Media

School of Sweet Georgia

You Tube