Warning: Rant Follows!
I just finished weaving the second mixed warp throw, and while weaving, I encountered a LOT of knots. This wasn't a surprise, I could feel them pass between my fingers as I wound the warp, so I knew all along that they were there, and that I'd have to deal with them eventually.
(The nice thing about mixed warps is that when you swap in a length of yarn to replace a knotted end, it doesn't really matter what color you pick. I'd run out of green, so when I found a green knot, I swapped in something the same value but didn't obsess about the same color. It won't even show in the finished cloth.)
These yarns are better suited to knitting than weaving - they're very soft spun, especially the slub or flake yarns. I've never seen so many huge dust bunnies accumulate on the floor in such a short time!
My question is, do knitters really not care about knots? There must have been a knot in the middle of almost every ball or skein of yarn that I used. How can the manufacturer sell a product that can't go 100 yards without a knot? I don't get it.
I have been know to complain to a retailer about excess knots in weaving yarn. I always ignore the ones I cause myself, whether by poor skein winding or rough handling in the dyepot or whatever. My knots, my fault, my problem, no complaints. Once I showed a yarn retailer a photo of my loom with almost 20 replacement warp ends hanging off the back. In that instance, their supplier's knots, their fault, not mine. The retailer kindly replaced the yarn, and promised to pass the complaint on to the supplier.
But that was a 17-yard warp of fine silk, so 20 replacement ends (and 20 knots) meant there was way more than 100 yards between the knots. Nowhere near as bad as this knitting yarn. It's a Good Thing I'm not a serious knitter.
It's also a Good Thing that I didn't weave these throws back when I bought the yarns, when I was just a beginning weaver. It would have soured me on weaving to have to cope with these yarns. I'm wondering why it is that soft, flake or slub yarns are considered a good beginner project - when in fact a smooth, firmly twisted yarn is much easier to handle at all stages of the process.
Oh, well, another part of the Stash Reduction project is nearing completion. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I've mended, laundered, and pressed the throw.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Second Mixed Warp Throw in Progress
It's been a while since I posted (a week!) so I thought I'd better show what I've been working on. Plain weave this time, with a weft of black 20/2 mercerized cotton.
I'm about half way through this throw. There was a hiatus of several days for weaving guild meetings and other interruptions.
From the camera angle, it's easier to see the bands of colors that came about during warping.
Here's my method for mixed warps:
I want the two halves of the cloth to be sort of symetrical, but not necessesarily thread-by-thread identical. I start by figuring out how much of each of the many yarns I have, and that gives me an idea of how wide each stripe is going to be.
I make the warp half as wide and twice as long as the finished cloth, allowing enough at both ends for warp waste.
I divide the cones of yarn into groups. Larger groups for the main stripes and smaller groups for the "effect" yarn stripes, in this case the cones of variegated rayon/cotton boucle that are the basis for selecting warp colors.
Anyway, let's call the larger groups A, B. C, and D. They're all vaguely the same color range, and in some cases contain some of the same yarns. Each consists of 6 cones.
Let's call the smaller groups 1, 2, 3, and 4. They may contain some of the same yarns as the large groups, plus the cones of variegated boucle. Each consists of maybe 4 cones.
When I wind the large groups, I use 6 strands at a time, so the cross at both ends is a 3x3 cross. That means when I get to the threading stage, if I take each thread as it presents itself, there's a fair likelihood that the two sides will be ever so slightly different in color order.
So I wind 48 threads of A, 12 threads of 1, 48 of B, 12 of 2, 48 of C, 12 of 3, 48 of D, and 12 of 4. The last stripe will be the center, so it will be twice as wide as the other small stripes.
In this instance, I had some extra of the variegated boucle, so I would a separate warp (same length as the main warp) and interspersed the extra ends semi-randomly into the main warp.
When I beam the warp, both ends go on the warp rod and into both raddles, being careful that the center stripe is really going to be in the middle :) I put the lease sticks in place between the two raddles.
While winding on, I'm hanging onto the loop at the middle of the warp. When that loop gets close to the upper raddle, I cut the loop. Then I lay the warp so the cut ends (still engaged in the lease sticks) are hanging down behind the shafts, suspend the lease sticks from their hooks, and I'm ready to thread.
Oddly enough, while I'm weaving, the stripy look doesn't show up - it's only in the photo from the side that the symmetry is apparent.
I'm about half way through this throw. There was a hiatus of several days for weaving guild meetings and other interruptions.
From the camera angle, it's easier to see the bands of colors that came about during warping.
Here's my method for mixed warps:
I want the two halves of the cloth to be sort of symetrical, but not necessesarily thread-by-thread identical. I start by figuring out how much of each of the many yarns I have, and that gives me an idea of how wide each stripe is going to be.
I make the warp half as wide and twice as long as the finished cloth, allowing enough at both ends for warp waste.
I divide the cones of yarn into groups. Larger groups for the main stripes and smaller groups for the "effect" yarn stripes, in this case the cones of variegated rayon/cotton boucle that are the basis for selecting warp colors.
Anyway, let's call the larger groups A, B. C, and D. They're all vaguely the same color range, and in some cases contain some of the same yarns. Each consists of 6 cones.
Let's call the smaller groups 1, 2, 3, and 4. They may contain some of the same yarns as the large groups, plus the cones of variegated boucle. Each consists of maybe 4 cones.
When I wind the large groups, I use 6 strands at a time, so the cross at both ends is a 3x3 cross. That means when I get to the threading stage, if I take each thread as it presents itself, there's a fair likelihood that the two sides will be ever so slightly different in color order.
So I wind 48 threads of A, 12 threads of 1, 48 of B, 12 of 2, 48 of C, 12 of 3, 48 of D, and 12 of 4. The last stripe will be the center, so it will be twice as wide as the other small stripes.
In this instance, I had some extra of the variegated boucle, so I would a separate warp (same length as the main warp) and interspersed the extra ends semi-randomly into the main warp.
When I beam the warp, both ends go on the warp rod and into both raddles, being careful that the center stripe is really going to be in the middle :) I put the lease sticks in place between the two raddles.
While winding on, I'm hanging onto the loop at the middle of the warp. When that loop gets close to the upper raddle, I cut the loop. Then I lay the warp so the cut ends (still engaged in the lease sticks) are hanging down behind the shafts, suspend the lease sticks from their hooks, and I'm ready to thread.
Oddly enough, while I'm weaving, the stripy look doesn't show up - it's only in the photo from the side that the symmetry is apparent.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Mixed Warp Throws
The first one is finished. Cut off the loom, washed, dried, and pressed. It's a nice, cozy, nubbly surface. Size was 80x28 inches before finishing, 72x27 after. As expected, the soft warp yarns shrank more than the mercerized weft.
Now on to the next one. I wound the warp of greens, blues, and purples yesterday afternoon:
The warp colors blend with this cone of variegated rayon/cotton slub, which is scattered among the solid warp yarns:
Now on to the next one. I wound the warp of greens, blues, and purples yesterday afternoon:
The warp colors blend with this cone of variegated rayon/cotton slub, which is scattered among the solid warp yarns:
Friday, September 18, 2009
Reading List
Here's a look at my reading list:
These are books that have been mentioned on various online discussion groups (WeaveTech, Natural Dyes, etc.). I put them on my Amazon wish list, and ta-dah, birthday gifts.
My father-in-law is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and told me he nearly kept "Jacquard's Web" to read himself before sending it to me. I've put his name on the library card right after me and DH.
The Emery book looks like it'll be a great addition to the weaving library, and the Cardon book seems to be the best of the books on natural dyes, as it not only includes history and traditions, but also the chemistry behind the magic of the dyepot.
Altogether, nearly 10 pounds of printed material!
These are books that have been mentioned on various online discussion groups (WeaveTech, Natural Dyes, etc.). I put them on my Amazon wish list, and ta-dah, birthday gifts.
My father-in-law is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and told me he nearly kept "Jacquard's Web" to read himself before sending it to me. I've put his name on the library card right after me and DH.
The Emery book looks like it'll be a great addition to the weaving library, and the Cardon book seems to be the best of the books on natural dyes, as it not only includes history and traditions, but also the chemistry behind the magic of the dyepot.
Altogether, nearly 10 pounds of printed material!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Commercially Available Tie-Up System
There is a commercial version of the rear tie-up system available from Woolhouse Tools. Look on their "Kirsten and Gertrude Looms" page - it's called the 20+, as it adds at least 20 years to your weaving career). Susan at Thrums has one on her loom, and loves it. Hers looks a bit tidier than mine, but the basic mechanism is the same.
Be kind to your body, and your body will be kind to you.
I've been trying to follow that adage, and seem to be succeeding. After several months on Niaspan (a mega-dose of niacin) my good cholesteral (~85) is in what the doctor calls "the target zone" in relation to the bad cholesteral (~75), and the triglycerides are way down. He's happy. I'm happy. Better living through pharmaceuticals.
Be kind to your body, and your body will be kind to you.
I've been trying to follow that adage, and seem to be succeeding. After several months on Niaspan (a mega-dose of niacin) my good cholesteral (~85) is in what the doctor calls "the target zone" in relation to the bad cholesteral (~75), and the triglycerides are way down. He's happy. I'm happy. Better living through pharmaceuticals.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Simplified Tie-Up for Double Countermarch Looms
That's the title of the original article by Peter Collingwood. I'm assuming that the "double" in the title refers to the fact that there are two sets of lamms: risers and sinkers.
I'll scan the copy of the article and put it on my website later, and will post here when it's in place.
On a conventional countermarche loom, each treadle is tied to every shaft, either via the shaft's rising lamm OR its sinking lamm. So each treadle has as many cords connected as there are shafts. (We're talking conventional tie-up here, not a skeleton tie-up that requires the weaver to press two treadles to get the desired shed.)
With the "simplified" tie-up, the treadle has two cords for each shaft. One cord is tied to the rising lamm and the other to the sinking lamm. The two cords go from their respective lamms down through an eye-bolt on the treadle, back under a metal rod added to the loom above and parallel to the treadle pivot point, then up through holes in a board added to the back of the loom.
On that board, there is a column of paired holes for each treadle. We implemented it like this:
The cord that came from shaft 1's sinking lamm goes through the topmost left-hand hole; the cord from shaft 1's rising lamm goes through the topmost right-hand hole. And so on down the shafts.
Let's say I want shaft 1 to rise and shaft 2 to sink. I pull the right cord for shaft 1 taut, pull the left cord for shaft 2 taut, wind them around the wingnut, and tighten the wingnut so both cords are held securely. The unused cords for those shafts are left slack. I continue on, tightening the appropriate left or right cords for each shaft.
If I had used texsolv cord, I could just plug a standard white plastic texsolv pin into the appropriate opening in the cord. However, texsolv cording for this project was outrageously expensive compared to the ordinary braided nylon cord available at the hardware store, so we went with the wingnuts and saved $$$.
Keep in mind that you need about 2 yards of cord per shaft, times 2, times the number of treadles. So with 8 shafts and 10 treadles, I needed 320 yards of cord. The amount of cord required for each shaft is determined by the distance from the lamm to the treadle and out the back with some slack. My loom is an Ideal, the small-frame Glimakra. If you have a Standard Glimakra, the yardage requirement might well be more because the loom is deeper from front to back.
I still haven't woven enough with this tie-up system to be certain that it's superior to the conventional system, but anything that provides an ergonomic improvement from the perspective of the weaver's back is A Good Thing.
I do agree with Neki's comment that the best solution to the tie-up problem is, of course, a dobby loom :) But I'm biased.......
I'll scan the copy of the article and put it on my website later, and will post here when it's in place.
On a conventional countermarche loom, each treadle is tied to every shaft, either via the shaft's rising lamm OR its sinking lamm. So each treadle has as many cords connected as there are shafts. (We're talking conventional tie-up here, not a skeleton tie-up that requires the weaver to press two treadles to get the desired shed.)
With the "simplified" tie-up, the treadle has two cords for each shaft. One cord is tied to the rising lamm and the other to the sinking lamm. The two cords go from their respective lamms down through an eye-bolt on the treadle, back under a metal rod added to the loom above and parallel to the treadle pivot point, then up through holes in a board added to the back of the loom.
On that board, there is a column of paired holes for each treadle. We implemented it like this:
The cord that came from shaft 1's sinking lamm goes through the topmost left-hand hole; the cord from shaft 1's rising lamm goes through the topmost right-hand hole. And so on down the shafts.
Let's say I want shaft 1 to rise and shaft 2 to sink. I pull the right cord for shaft 1 taut, pull the left cord for shaft 2 taut, wind them around the wingnut, and tighten the wingnut so both cords are held securely. The unused cords for those shafts are left slack. I continue on, tightening the appropriate left or right cords for each shaft.
If I had used texsolv cord, I could just plug a standard white plastic texsolv pin into the appropriate opening in the cord. However, texsolv cording for this project was outrageously expensive compared to the ordinary braided nylon cord available at the hardware store, so we went with the wingnuts and saved $$$.
Keep in mind that you need about 2 yards of cord per shaft, times 2, times the number of treadles. So with 8 shafts and 10 treadles, I needed 320 yards of cord. The amount of cord required for each shaft is determined by the distance from the lamm to the treadle and out the back with some slack. My loom is an Ideal, the small-frame Glimakra. If you have a Standard Glimakra, the yardage requirement might well be more because the loom is deeper from front to back.
I still haven't woven enough with this tie-up system to be certain that it's superior to the conventional system, but anything that provides an ergonomic improvement from the perspective of the weaver's back is A Good Thing.
I do agree with Neki's comment that the best solution to the tie-up problem is, of course, a dobby loom :) But I'm biased.......
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
And We're Weaving!
Here's what I accomplished so far:
The structure is 2/2 broken twill, on 8 shafts. All looks normal from above the loom, but underneath it's a different story.
And behind the loom:
This is based on an article written by Peter Collingwood some years ago. I'm searching for an online copy of the text and drawings; please be patient. Either I'll post a link, or will retype or rescan the somewhat grubby copy we worked from. This method uses an ungodly amount of cord, but you really can set the tie-up sitting on a low stool behind the loom.
Of course, if I'd woven on a treadle loom sometime in the past millenium, it would be easier... and faster...
More information to follow. Stay tuned.
The structure is 2/2 broken twill, on 8 shafts. All looks normal from above the loom, but underneath it's a different story.
And behind the loom:
This is based on an article written by Peter Collingwood some years ago. I'm searching for an online copy of the text and drawings; please be patient. Either I'll post a link, or will retype or rescan the somewhat grubby copy we worked from. This method uses an ungodly amount of cord, but you really can set the tie-up sitting on a low stool behind the loom.
Of course, if I'd woven on a treadle loom sometime in the past millenium, it would be easier... and faster...
More information to follow. Stay tuned.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Oh, $%^#
So there I was, admiring the threaded, sleyed, and lashed on warp.
Then I noticed that behind the shafts lurked a few very slack threads. Turns out I had missed an 8-thread bout of warp ends somewhere about the 2/3 mark. Damn!
That meant unlashing, unknotting, and unsleying; followed by resleying, reknotting, and relashing... I'm quite sure none of you has ever made such a silly mistake, right?
Now, finally, the warp is ready for the next step - tying up the treadles.
I'm testing out a new method for countermarche tie-up that Peter Collingwood wrote about on WeaveTech a very long time ago. At one time, there was a document on Peter's website with text and drawings describing the process. It's an innovation begun by a British weaver who wanted to improve the conventional method of countermarche tie-up, which requires that each treadle is tied to all risers and all sinkers for its shed, while the weaver is sitting in a very awkward position under the loom. This new method lets the weaver accomplish the tie-up while sitting comfortably behind the loom. When I've got it working, I'll post pictures and a description of the modified setup.
Then I noticed that behind the shafts lurked a few very slack threads. Turns out I had missed an 8-thread bout of warp ends somewhere about the 2/3 mark. Damn!
That meant unlashing, unknotting, and unsleying; followed by resleying, reknotting, and relashing... I'm quite sure none of you has ever made such a silly mistake, right?
Now, finally, the warp is ready for the next step - tying up the treadles.
I'm testing out a new method for countermarche tie-up that Peter Collingwood wrote about on WeaveTech a very long time ago. At one time, there was a document on Peter's website with text and drawings describing the process. It's an innovation begun by a British weaver who wanted to improve the conventional method of countermarche tie-up, which requires that each treadle is tied to all risers and all sinkers for its shed, while the weaver is sitting in a very awkward position under the loom. This new method lets the weaver accomplish the tie-up while sitting comfortably behind the loom. When I've got it working, I'll post pictures and a description of the modified setup.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Warping the 8-shaft Glimakra
It's been since forever that I put a warp on the little (1-meter-width) 8-shaft Glimakra, so I'm feeling a bit fumble-thumbs during the exercise.
I posted about the warp here; I've finally gotten around to actually beaming it. Given the discussion on WeaveTech about using lease sticks during beaming, I decided to give it a go and see if it helped get good tension on the wildly differing amount of elasticity in this mixed warp.
The loom has been modified to have two raddles. One is bolted to the loom frame just above the back beam. The second consists of a row of nails in the rearmost rail of the castle.
I spread the warp on a metal rod that gets lashed to the wooden apron rod. I distribute the warp in the lower raddle, then tie a raddle cap on to hold the warp ends in their respective slots. The warp then goes up through the lease sticks and behind and over the upper raddle (no cap needed), and down into my hand.
Here, I'm standing a couple of yards behind the loom, camera in left hand, so you can see the path of the warp. The important thing is that the warp threads are parallel for almost 3 feet, which helps them wind on evenly. During actual beaming, I stand right behind the loom, holding the warp in my right hand and winding with my left.
When the end of the warp approaches the upper raddle, I lower it (and the lease sticks) into position between the back beam and the shafts.
I use a product called roof sheathing as warp separator. It takes up way less room than warp sticks, and isn't nearly as noisy as it's released onto the floor during weaving.
Once the lease sticks are suspended from the castle, I untie the cap from the lower raddle, unbolt the lower raddle, and remove it (making sure no threads are caught on the nails).
(My apologies - the first 2 photos were taken with the camera in some strange mode that put the white balance way off - much too yellow - and even Photoshop couldn't adjust the color. The last photo is much more accurate........)
At that point, threading begins.
Here, I've threaded about 2/3 of the warp, working from the center out. (This is a countermarche loom with cords running down the middle to the lamms, so I have to thread from the center out to avoid counting out every heddle on every shaft, which I'm much too lazy to do.)
My conclusion on lease sticks during beaming? For this mixed warp, it was helpful. Many of the yarns are actually better suited to knitting, but since this is a stash-reduction effort, anything in the approximate grist (sett will be 16 epi) and approximate colorway for the warp was fair game. The degree of elasticity varied wildly among the various yarns, and the lease sticks helped account for that. I ended up with some of the more elastic yarns almost 4 inches longer at the front of the warp than the less elastic yarns. I figure a little waste is better than crappy tension...
I posted about the warp here; I've finally gotten around to actually beaming it. Given the discussion on WeaveTech about using lease sticks during beaming, I decided to give it a go and see if it helped get good tension on the wildly differing amount of elasticity in this mixed warp.
The loom has been modified to have two raddles. One is bolted to the loom frame just above the back beam. The second consists of a row of nails in the rearmost rail of the castle.
I spread the warp on a metal rod that gets lashed to the wooden apron rod. I distribute the warp in the lower raddle, then tie a raddle cap on to hold the warp ends in their respective slots. The warp then goes up through the lease sticks and behind and over the upper raddle (no cap needed), and down into my hand.
Here, I'm standing a couple of yards behind the loom, camera in left hand, so you can see the path of the warp. The important thing is that the warp threads are parallel for almost 3 feet, which helps them wind on evenly. During actual beaming, I stand right behind the loom, holding the warp in my right hand and winding with my left.
When the end of the warp approaches the upper raddle, I lower it (and the lease sticks) into position between the back beam and the shafts.
I use a product called roof sheathing as warp separator. It takes up way less room than warp sticks, and isn't nearly as noisy as it's released onto the floor during weaving.
Once the lease sticks are suspended from the castle, I untie the cap from the lower raddle, unbolt the lower raddle, and remove it (making sure no threads are caught on the nails).
(My apologies - the first 2 photos were taken with the camera in some strange mode that put the white balance way off - much too yellow - and even Photoshop couldn't adjust the color. The last photo is much more accurate........)
At that point, threading begins.
Here, I've threaded about 2/3 of the warp, working from the center out. (This is a countermarche loom with cords running down the middle to the lamms, so I have to thread from the center out to avoid counting out every heddle on every shaft, which I'm much too lazy to do.)
My conclusion on lease sticks during beaming? For this mixed warp, it was helpful. Many of the yarns are actually better suited to knitting, but since this is a stash-reduction effort, anything in the approximate grist (sett will be 16 epi) and approximate colorway for the warp was fair game. The degree of elasticity varied wildly among the various yarns, and the lease sticks helped account for that. I ended up with some of the more elastic yarns almost 4 inches longer at the front of the warp than the less elastic yarns. I figure a little waste is better than crappy tension...
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Both Sides of the Pond
In Barcelona, Neki Desu blogged about a wonderful weaving of a lily pond. Here in California, I have been working on a photo from the Montana vacation, with the idea of weaving it on the jacquard loom when it arrives. (Can you tell I'm getting impatient about that arrival?)
Here's the original photo:
And here it is, manipulated somewhat and indexed to 6 shades of green and 2 shades of blue.
I'm thinking of a 7-end weft-backed satin base structure, with a black warp, one green weft for the shaded satin plus two blue wefts. The two blues will probably be made of multiple finer yarns twisted together, to give an even more "watery" effect.
Just goes to show that great minds think alike!
Here's the original photo:
And here it is, manipulated somewhat and indexed to 6 shades of green and 2 shades of blue.
I'm thinking of a 7-end weft-backed satin base structure, with a black warp, one green weft for the shaded satin plus two blue wefts. The two blues will probably be made of multiple finer yarns twisted together, to give an even more "watery" effect.
Just goes to show that great minds think alike!
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Home Again...
...after a 20-hour drive (the only thing I dislike about Montana - the distance)!
Here is one last lake photo, which may well find itself woven as a jacquard piece.
The new loom is scheduled to arrive in stages. First, we'll drive to the factory in mid-October to pick up all the wood pieces, so DH can put a good hard finish on them. Then the jacquard modules and all the metal bits should arrive on or around November 1. I need to decide what kind of warp to put on the loom first - probably 20/2 black mercerized cotton or black tencel.
Here is one last lake photo, which may well find itself woven as a jacquard piece.
The new loom is scheduled to arrive in stages. First, we'll drive to the factory in mid-October to pick up all the wood pieces, so DH can put a good hard finish on them. Then the jacquard modules and all the metal bits should arrive on or around November 1. I need to decide what kind of warp to put on the loom first - probably 20/2 black mercerized cotton or black tencel.
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