The Virtues of Plain Weave

Well, we're lashed on:



And weaving!



"Mommy, why is that weaver making plain weave on a jacquard loom?"

Because it's the best way to spot lifting errors. And I'll keep on weaving plain weave until we've fixed all the errant hooks, one way or another.

There are some hooks staying down when they should lift:



And some lifting when they should stay down.



Generally, the same ones repeat their bad behavior. It's not the solenoids, it's usually twisted or very-slightly-bent-the-wrong-way hooks. We're gradually taming them. Each pick had errors in the beginning. Now we're down to two hooks (on different modules) that don't want to be on Santa's "good kid" list. Eventually, we'll nudge them into a shape or position that makes them happy, and things will improve.

In the meantime, the biggest learning curve is the fly shuttle. Getting used to the totally different feel of a downward-pull shuttle cord is almost as frustrating as the darned hooks! The side-pull shuttle cord is firmly in muscle memory; now I've got to get the down-pull shuttle cord into muscle memory, too. I feel like an old dog being coerced to learn new tricks.