Warping for Double-Faced Satin Stripes

Back in February, I wrote a post about this project. Now I'm finally ready to get it on the loom.

First, I beamed 7 one-inch sections of 120/2 silk sett at 60 epi, for an open plainweave. Then I began beaming sections of 60/2 silk in two different colorways (holding 4 threads at a time, 2 of each color) sett at 120 epi, for a dense double-faced satin.

Everything was going well, the 120/2 silk was well-behaved and the 60/2 silk, as always, danced off the cones onto the warping wheel and then the sectional beam. Then I noticed the dramatic difference in the buildup on the beam between the two yarns. Hmmm. I'll have to deal with a difference in tension at some point during the weaving. Oh well, I'm accustomed to using dowels and weights and other nonconventional means of making the weaving work for me.

Here's the sectional beam so far, with three of the denser/thicker sections still to be wound:



And in closeup, where you can clearly see the difference between the skinny sections and the plump ones:



One face of the cloth will show dense stripes of a very slightly variegated blue, the other face will be dense stripes of a more dramatically variegated green, with sheer stripes in between the denser ones. That's the plan, anyway.