Category: Tried and True

Tried and True: Shuttle Shuffle

Karen

Some of the monksbelt flowers have a different color for the three center picks. The new color is only temporary, so I simply carry the first weft color up the side for that short distance.

How to shuffle shuttles.
Monksbelt with six colors of 6/1 Fårö pattern weft and three colors of 16/2 cotton ground weft.

More than one shuttle doesn’t necessarily mean more difficult. Everything runs a little smoother when there is an efficient exchange of shuttles between your hands.

Monksbelt flower garden.
Monksbelt flower garden.

How to Handle the Exchange of Shuttles

  1. For this example, the temporary weft starts from the left and goes to the right. Weave the first pick of the temporary weft, catching the shuttle with your right hand. (If the first pick of the temporary weft goes from right to left, reverse the right hand/left hand instructions, here and following.)
  2. Transfer the shuttle with the temporary weft (active weft) to your left hand.
  3. With your right hand pick up the shuttle that has the weft that will be carried up the side (inactive weft). Bring the shuttle all the way around the active weft and then lay the shuttle down again.
  4. Transfer the shuttle with active weft back to your right hand and continue weaving.
  5. Follow steps 2 – 4 until the section with temporary weft is finished.
  6. Tuck in the tail of the temporary weft and continue weaving with the weft that has been carried up the side.

Here’s a short demo:

May your shuttle exchanges go smoothly.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tried and True: Knee Beam Reminder

Karen

I first noticed that something was amiss right after advancing the warp. Something brushed my knees when I sat down. Aha! Beam cords, attached to the tie-on bar. I see that the tie-on bar is going straight from the cloth beam to the breast beam. I had forgotten to bring the tie-on bar over the knee beam. Really? Nearly everyone does this at least once when they are starting out. But it has been a few years since I made this mistake. Apparently, I still need my checklist.

Weaving monksbelt in a mixed-colors palette.
Looking through the warp at the knee beam, I notice that beam cords are strangely missing…

Fortunately, forgetting the knee beam is one of the easiest blunders to remedy.

Fixing this blunder - I forgot the knee beam!
See the beam cords going from the cloth beam to the breast beam? The knee beam is feeling left out.

Re-Set the Knee Beam

1. Remove the knee beam. Rest the beam on the loom frame.

Resetting the knee beam. Fixing a blunder!

2. Unlatch the front ratchet to release warp tension.

Fixing the knee beam blunder.

3. Pull the knee beam all the way out. Put it back across, underneath the beam cords. Rest the beam on the loom frame.

How to re-position the knee beam.

4. Reseat the knee beam gently, positioning the beam cords along with the beam.

How to remedy the knee beam blunder!

5. Tension the warp. Resume weaving.

Weaving Swedish monksbelt is fun!
Now you can see the beam cords through the warp, located where they should be.
Swedish Monksbelt on a Glimakra Standard loom.
Swedish Monksbelt weaving resumes. 16/2 cotton warp and ground weft, 6/1 Fårö wool pattern weft.

May your trouble be inconsequential and short lived.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tried and True: Just in Case

Karen

Texsolv cord is ingenious! It suspends shaft holders while I dress the loom. It also suspends the heddling bar during drawloom setup. A small anchor pin or arrow peg does the trick of holding everything together.

How to use Texsolv cord and anchor pins.
Anchor pin is buttoned through the Texsolv cord and placed into the hole at the bottom of the shaft holder.
Talking about Texsolv cord and arrow pins.
Thread one end of the Texsolv cord through a hole in the other end to make a loop. Insert an arrow peg through a hole to secure the loop.

But there is one potential hazard…

In order to adjust the height of the suspended heddling bar at the drawloom, I want to move the arrow peg. I hold one end of the bar while pulling the peg out of the Texsolv cord. That little peg fumbles out of my hand and drops to the floor. OOPS! I am left holding one end of the bar that has 148 threaded pattern heddles, weights included. Now what?! Alone in the room, I am now the sole support for that end of the heavy bar. The peg on the floor is out of reach.

Super Simple Tip of the Day

Always keep a spare anchor pin or arrow peg on the loose end of the Texsolv cord. Always.

Just in Case strategies.
Spare anchor pin stays on the shaft-holder cord. You do not want to be left holding a shaft holder with eight shafts if your anchor pin ever falls out of your hand…

The rest of the story…
When that pesky little arrow peg slips out of my hand I calmly take the spare peg that is there “just in case,” and secure the Texsolv loop that holds the heddling bar. No big deal, after all.

Strategies for Just in Case!
Spare arrow peg dangles below. Whew!
Tips for just in case!
Spare arrow peg is a life saver on the rare occasion it is needed. There is a significant amount of weight on that heddling bar.

May you be ready for anything, just in case.

Ready or not,
Karen

Tried and True: How to Remove Guesswork

Karen

Documenting your work for repeatability is valuable for any any step-by-step process. With the Lizard tapestry I learned how to do the finishing, including the backing. By the time I was ready to put a backing on the Siblings tapestry, I had limited recall of that first experience. Now that Eye of the Beholder is ready for backing, I need help again. Fortunately, I made note of every detail while constructing the backing for the Siblings tapestry. So, this time I have the benefit of written and photo documentation. No guesswork!

How to Document Your Steps

How to document your process steps.
Photo guidance on the computer corresponds with enumerated steps on my phone. This removes guesswork for the next part of the process.
  1. Do research. Gather your notes, search resources, and get advice from experienced weavers regarding the process you want to document.
  2. Outline the steps. Write out and number all the steps as you understand them. Doing this before you start helps you think through the entire process.
  3. Refine the steps. Begin working through the steps in order. Adjust the steps as you go. You may need to add or eliminate steps, or change the order in which they are done.
  4. Make it visual. Take a photo of any step that benefits from visual clarification.
  5. Finalize. Simplify and clarify the instructions in every step as if they are meant for someone who knows less about this process that you do. Remove redundant and/or unnecessary photos.

May you remove guesswork as much as possible.

All the best,
Karen

Tried and True: How to Count to Three – and Other Weaving Tips

Karen

We weavers are resourceful. We enjoy finding solutions that make our time at the loom more efficient, while raising the quality of our weaving. We’ve done some of these little tricks so much we don’t think about them anymore. And then, some innovations are things we think up on the spot because necessity, as you know, is the mother of invention.

Keep Count

Necessity: Keep from losing my place with treadling repeats.
Solution: A strip of blue painter’s tape with “3 2 1” and a rubber band, placed on the breast beam. Move the rubber band on the tape (from right to left) to track repeats.

Weaving tips - low tech solutions.
I need help counting to 3 when it comes to treadling repeats. On the Glimåkra Standard loom, I am able to loosen the warp enough to lift the breast beam so I can put a rubber band on it. Without a removable breast beam, one could use a separate small piece of tape instead of a rubber band to keep track.
Keep track of repeats. Blog post with tips and tricks.
Low tech solution for keeping track.

Shuttle Catch

Necessity: Keep from fumbling the catch, having to reposition the shuttle in my hand to send it back across the warp.
Solution: Keep my eye on the shuttle. If I turn my head to watch the movement of the shuttle, my catching and throwing improves immediately. This makes my selvedges improve, too.

Weaving tips and tricks. Easy tip on how to catch the shuttle perfectly.
It is easy to throw and catch the shuttle without actually looking at your hands. I have to consciously remember to turn my head to follow the shuttle with my eyes.

Leave No Trace

Necessity: Keep from leaving slightly perceptible lines in the woven cloth that reveal every time I stop to move the temple and advance the warp.
Solution: When it is almost time to advance the warp, I move the temple and then weave one or more pattern sequence(s) before advancing the warp. This helps me leave no trace of starting and stopping.

Tips and tricks for the weaving loom.
Almost ready to advance the warp, I remove the temple and reposition the pins on my guide tape. Then, I put the temple back on, near the fell line.
Tips about when to advance the warp.
After moving the temple, I weave one or more complete treadling sequences before advancing the warp.
Three simple weaving tips for efficiency and quality!
After advancing the warp, I know exactly where I left off because of my tape-and-rubber-band counter. My eyes are on the shuttle to continue this segment of weaving.

Do you have a simple tip that improves your efficiency and/or quality at the loom? Please share in the comments.

May you notice what you’re doing.

Happy Weaving,
Karen