Taming Tangles

 

Finally started threading the next warp and thought I should remind people how I deal with the warp during that job.

I beam on the Megado sectionally.  You should be able to see the stick I store the taped sections on to get the cut ends close enough to thread through the heddles.

I print out the entire width of the warp, in as large a font I can 'afford' to print out.  This warp fit onto 5 pages of paper.  Fiberworks prints out with numbers in the draft, and numbers the pages in order.  If I remember to save the file before printing, it also prints out the name I have given the file on the top of each page.

As I thread, I have a typists clipboard that I clip the draft to for easy viewing.  On the Megado, the 'castle' is fairly low and the clipboard fits (just) on the castle so I can easily see it.  I then study the progression, decide on the number of ends in the groups - which varies depending on how the progression flows across the width of the warp.  Sometimes there may be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 per group.

 As I thread each group I slip knot the group I've just threaded, then mark that group off on the draft.  When a repeat has been completed, I take that larger group and bundle them into one large group and slip tie those.  You can see 3 large knots, then, if you look really closely, you may be able to see two smaller knots.  The two smaller groups are the straight draw from 16 through to 1, divided into two groups of 8.

Now some people object that they can't face tying all those slip knots.  The thing is, by having smaller groups secured, I can grab the next group *when I'm sleying* and separate out the next group in the proper order and slide the group to where it belongs in the reed, and sley the reed.

Instead I see photos of threaded warps that are not secured in any way at all with the individual threads loose and willing to tangle with their neighbours.  And you have to then *find* each thread in the sequence, when you can just group the next few together and know which ends belong in their proper place.  

When people complain about the knot tying I ask them to show me how they do it, and...usually they do it some strange, unergonomic way.  I have a very short video on You Tube  It was taped showing exactly how I tie a slip knot for a group in preparation for sleying, but when I'm doing it 'at speed' it takes about a second - maybe 2.  It takes almost no time at all, keeps my threads secure, makes the task of sleying easier...plenty of reasons for me to learn how to tie that very simple knot.

But of course, everyone has to do what they prefer.  People who dress the loom front to back will do something else.  If they are happy, then they are happy.  :)