Simple, Not Easy

knot in warp - repair end threaded through same heddle, woven together with original end for 1 to 1.25", then cut original end and continue weaving until...

original end is long enough to re-thread through the heddle.  Weave 1 to 1.25", then cut repair end.  Clip all tails once cloth is off the loom before wet finishing.  No sewing required.

This warp is reminding me that just because something is 'simple' doesn't mean it's 'easy'.

There is a reason so many testing/learning programs concentrate on the execution of a good plain weave.  While the thread interlacement is 'simple', making it good is much, much harder.  Every little inconsistency will show up.

How do you get better?  By first of all training your eye to detect those pesky inconsistencies.  By listening to your loom, yarn and most of all, your body.  Weaving is a biofeedback activity.  It has to be because you are using equipment and tools and you need to be able operate the equipment and handle the tools with skill.  And by that I mean obtain the results you desire through the use of those tools and equipment.

People who don't weave don't have a good grasp of just how skilled you have to be to make good cloth.  Especially good plain weave.

The first step in achieving a good plain weave is to learn how to wind and beam the warp under consistent tension.  There are many different processes that people employ to do this - it doesn't matter which you use so long as you have a warp that is consistent on the beam.  In my studio this means beaming the warp with fairly high tension, using firm warp packing (unless I'm sectional beaming on the AVL in which case the warp is beamed with high tension and no warp packing).

The warp must then be tensioned for weaving - again, consistently.  Unfortunately this is easier said than done because when the fell is advanced and tension reapplied it is nearly impossible to achieve precisely the same tension as was previously used.  Looms with finer adjustments (two 'dogs' rather than one, for instance, smaller teeth in the pawl for another) are easier to reset.  So the weaver has to replicate as closely as possible the tension on the warp each time the warp is advanced.  And then s/he has to adjust their beat to compensate for the different tension on the warp.  This becomes more difficult on a long warp as the cloth is being woven, building up on the cloth beam.  Instead of a nice hard surface, the cloth beam becomes padded with layers of woven cloth.  In addition the ratio of the diameter of the warp beam to the diameter of the cloth beam continuously changes.

The weaver has to train their eye to spot inconsistencies so that s/he can see what is happening, analyse why it is happening, and know what and how to adjust what they are doing to get the results they desire.

They must pay attention.

They must be able to handle the shuttle in such a way as to leave the appropriate amount of slack in the weft so that there is appropriate draw in.  If they choose to use a temple, they need to know how to most effectively apply that.  They must know how to wind 'good' bobbins and control the feedoff of yarn from the bobbin.

Again I say, pay attention.

Pay attention to their equipment, their tools, their results.  Spot errors immediately and fix them to avoid unweaving or worse, have to fix them off the loom.

Once a weaver has mastered plain weave they will have achieved a level of skill or competency that will bring them a long way towards understanding the subtlety of the craft and a level of mastery that will make weaving less stressful and more enjoyable.  They will even be able to function with just surface attention so that they can have other thought tracks running alongside of their weaving.  But their eye and their body will know what to do and as soon as an inconsistency crops up, the weaver will be able to deal with it efficiently.  Mistakes will happen, but they won't be the end of the project. 

 Most things in weaving can be fixed, one way or another, depending on how much time one is willing to devote to the fix.  Some things aren't 'perfect' but don't really do much harm.  I know my beat isn't perfect in this cloth but I'm also working with a slub yarn which makes achieving a 'perfect' beat pretty nigh impossible.  And ultimately it's a tea towel.  I'm not submitting it for jurying.  I just want to make something 'nice' for people to dry their dishes.  These will do just fine - even though they aren't 'perfect'.  

Sometimes the best lesson to learn is when to let go of perfection.

A Knotty Problem

At times knots can slip through your fingers while winding a warp and you find them later during weaving.   Kerstin explained a nifty way to fix them which requires no further repairs once the cloth is cut from the loom.

Oh no!  A knot in the warp!

insert a repair end into the same heddle and dent as the warp end with the knot

pin the repair end into the cloth, hang it over the back beam and weave about an inch and a quarter or so

cut the end with the knot out and toss it over the back beam out of the way

weave until the original end is long enough to bring back through the heddle/dent and pin it to the cloth (white pin)

weave an inch and a quarter or so and cut out the repair end

Remove pins and clip all loose ends and continue weaving.  The cloth is repaired and no further work is required once you cut the warp from the loom.  Tack, Kerstin!

Overcoming Challenges

Using Kerstin Froberg's method of fixing knots in the warp - a new end is threaded through the same heddle as the end with the knot and both are woven for about 1 inch or so, then the knot is cut out.

Weaving proceeds until the original end is long enough.  It is then threaded into it's original heddle and both the repair end and the original end are woven together for about an inch, then the repair end is cut out.  Nothing else is required once the cloth is cut from the loom  Tack, Kerstin!

The yarn for this warp is - well - challenging.

It arrived from the mill a day or two before my brother suddenly died three years ago, and I couldn't get to it right away.  In the days and weeks after Don died, I began to realize that this yarn had a lot of issues.

It is a very softly spun, loosely plied yarn, more appropriate for knitting than weaving.  The tendency is for it to start shredding at the selvedges when used as warp.  It is also poorly plied with some of the singles going into the yarn as a 'pig tail'.  And knots.  Lots and lots of knots.

I'd imported the yarn intending to dye and sell it to others.  It very quickly became apparent that that plan was not going to fly.  I threatened to take the whole shipment to the landfill, but Doug cautioned me to not make a decision I would come to regret later.  It was a lot of money to literally throw away.

Eventually I realized that the only way to recoup some of the money was to go ahead and dye it and weave it up myself.

It's taken 3 years, but all of the yarn is now dyed and I have woven some of it and made quite lovely shawls and baby blankets with it.  It's a combination of merino, bamboo and silk and has a lovely drape and handle once wet finished.

I've also been able to use up some of my very fine wool yarns as weft for the shawls, so even though it is a challenge to weave, it's getting done.  Stash is being reduced!  :)

Yesterday was a very challenging day.  One of the things I've discovered about myself over the years is that I don't deal well with uncertainty.  I am, in a phrase, a control freak.  Being unable to control what is going on in my life right now is emotionally difficult, and not knowing what is going on means I can't make plans - I'm left on tenterhooks, waiting for word.  I'm a great planner, but in order to plan, you have to have information.

I don't feel strong or brave or courageous right now.  I feel out of control and weak.  Not knowing what lies ahead generates fear.  One of the reasons I'm sharing these feelings here is that I need to vent them or I'd keel over entirely. 

After I blogged yesterday, wonderful things started happening.  Your lovely supportive comments helped enormously.  They remind me that this too, shall pass.  That word will come in it's time - the oncologist is working hard on my complex issues and answers will come when he has them.  And that no matter how isolated and lonely I may feel, I am not alone.

And one dear soul emailed to say that she'd nominated me for the Handwoven Teacher's Award.  I was so touched I was speechless.  :}

Currently reading Bitten by Kelley Armstrong