Warped for Good – Page 35 – a handweaver's journey

Process Review: Drawloom Weaving without Errors

June 23, 2020June 22, 2020 Karen

I found a way to practically eliminate draw cord errors on the single-unit drawloom. After making one too many mistakes while weaving this rag rug, I resolved to find a solution. True, I will still make mistakes, but now I expect them to be few and far between. (To view the first rag rug on this warp, see Stony Creek Drawloom Rag Rug.)

My most frequent error is having a draw cord out of place, either pulled where it shouldn’t be, or not pulled where it should be. And then, I fail to see the mistake in the cloth until I have woven several rows beyond it. I determined to find a way to eliminate this kind of error. (For an example of this kind of error, see Handweaving Dilemma.)

Test 1. Double check my work. Pull all the needed draw cords for one row and then double check all the pulled cords.
Results: This bogs me down. And I still fail to catch errors.

Test 2. Double check my work little by little. Treat every twenty draw cords as a section—ten white cords and ten black cords. Pull the cords in the first section. Double check. Pull the cords in the next section. Double check. And so on all the way across…
Results: Easy to do. I quickly catch and correct errors.

Now, I am implementing this incremental method of double checking my work on the little bit of warp that remains. With a Happily-Ever-After ending, the short Lost Valley piece is completed with NO draw cord errors! (Lost Valley is the name we’ve given our Texas Hill Country home.)

Woven Rag Rug and Lost Valley process in pictures:

May you learn from experience.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Warp Chains Are Beautiful

June 16, 2020June 15, 2020 Karen

The reel spins ‘round, ‘round, ‘round one way, and then ‘round, ‘round, ‘round back the other way. Rhythmic, mesmerizing, and strangely soothing. Counting, as I wind two ends at a time, I find myself whispering “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, ….” The warping reel is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. This warp has seven colors of 22/2 Cottolin for bath towels which are to accompany the hand towels I recently made. I am winding this in four bouts, and there are different color changes in each bout.

Winding a warp for cottolin bath towels. — First bout on the warping reel.

Making cottolin bath towels. — Second bout. Choke ties about every meter keep the ends from shifting as the warp bout is chained and taken to the loom.

Making a warp for handwoven bath towels. Cottolin. — Third bout. Each of the four bouts has nearly the same number of warp ends.

Glimakra warping reel - one of my favorite pieces of equipment! — Fourth bout.

I marvel at the combination of thread colors as I chain each bout off the reel. The warp chains look beautiful. They always do. Warp chains are dreams in the making, where anything is possible. Haven’t you dreamt of handwoven bath towels?

Winding a warp on the Glimakra warping reel. — Came close to running out of thread on some of the tubes. (I did have backup tubes, but not from the same dye lots.)

Beautiful warp chains! — Beautiful warp chains, ready for the loom.

When we listen closely, we can hear the inaudible. Our hearts can hear the softest whisper. “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, …” Even the hairs on our head are numbered by the Grand Weaver who planned our existence. Our days are numbered, as well. And when our heart is listening, we can hear the quiet whisper of the Lord Jesus, “Are you weary and burdened? Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

May you listen for the softest whisper.

Gently,
Karen

Tried and True: Organized Reeds

June 9, 2020June 7, 2020 Karen

My weaving history includes very fine threads all the way to heavy-duty rug warps. As a result, I have acquired a wide selection of reeds over time. All five of my looms have beaters that will accommodate any length or height of reed. When I plan a project, one of the first things I consider is whether I have the size reed that is needed. To keep my reeds organized, I need two things. One, a simple method to manage the reeds I have, tracking the reeds as they go in and out of use. Two, a place to store all the reeds, arranged in order by dents per cm and dents per inch.

Reed Organization

Reed Inventory

I keep a list in my Notes app on my phone with the sizes and lengths of reeds that I have. If a reed is in use, I note which loom. If a reed will be needed for a planned project, I also note that. As soon as I remove a reed from the beater at the end of a project, I put the reed away and update my Reed Inventory list.

Simple system for tracking reeds in and out of use. — Sample Reed Inventory note. When I am planning, I look at the note on my phone to see what reeds I have that are available. “Next” reserves the reed for the loom that needs it next.

Reed Holder

Steve created a storage solution for my reeds. The holder goes along the back wall of my drawloom studio for about six feet. Here are the details, using nominal board sizes. The reeds sit on a 1” x 6” board at the base, which is supported against the wall by a 1” x 4” board. The base, with a 1” x 2” lip, sits about 12” off the ground. The reed dividers are 3/8” x 5 3/4” dowels that are sunk into a 1” x 3” board that is attached to the wall, which sets the dowels about 27” above the base.

DIY Reed Holder behind my drawloom. — Reed holder is fastened to the wall behind the drawloom. (Notice that the drawloom rag rug warp has come over the back beam…)

Organized reeds! — The dowels are placed at a height that will hold even my shortest reeds.

Reed holder stores weaving loom reeds. DIY — Reeds are in order by dent size. Metric reeds are separate from those with dents per inch.

If you would like a PDF copy of Steve’s diagram that shows all the dimensions, click HERE to send me an email request.

May you have a place for everything, and everything in it’s place.

Yours,
Karen

Handweaving Dilemma

June 2, 2020June 1, 2020 Karen

I am making great progress on my drawloom rag rug, closing in on the final segment. And then, I take a picture and the camera reveals something I had failed to see. A mistake! Here is the dilemma that I’m sure other weavers face, too. It’s an internal dialogue. I can live with the error. Or, can I? No one will notice. Well, I certainly will notice. But I am sooo close to the end. I really don’t want to undo the last forty minutes of weaving. What would you do?

Mistake in the weaving, exposed by taking a photo. — Photo reveals my mistake.

Back it up. Using the chart that I follow for pulling draw cords, unit by unit, I work my way back until I get to the error. On reflection, doing the task is easier than thinking about doing it.

Removing weft to fix an error. — Backing up.

Single-unit drawloom. — One single unit draw cord makes all the difference. This cord should have been drawn in the affected rows.

Rag weft is taken out to correct an error. — Undone. Weft is removed. The mistake has been taken out.

Drawloom rag rug. Correcting an error. — Ready to start fresh from here.

My feelings can fool me. I don’t feel like going back and correcting my mistake. This is the time to pause and listen. Wisdom is at the door. Wisdom requires thinking, and listening, and time. Time is my friend, if I refrain from hurry. Wisdom is much like the skill of an experienced craftsman—one who understands precision and artistic expression and do-overs. Wisdom knows that patience is powerful. The easiest way to do something often forfeits the greatest rewards.

May you keep your ear at wisdom’s door.

Peace,
Karen

Process Review: Jämtlandsdräll with Julia

May 26, 2020May 30, 2020 Karen

My intention is to weave fabric for a couple of cushy throw pillows. But after just one pattern repeat, I realize that this cloth on my brand new Glimåkra Julia is something I would like to wear! No pillows this time. Instead, here is my new autumn/winter shoulder wrap, embellished with frisky swinging fringes. Miss Julia has proven her worth on four-shaft Jämtlandsdräll (crackle) in 6/2 Tuna wool. Her next adventure will be something that explores all eight shafts. (See My New Glimåkra Julia Loom.)

Jämtlandsdräll Wool Wrap - woven on Glimåkra Julia. — Finished wrap. Ready for cool weather!

This project starts with the draft for the Jämtlandsdräll Blanket on p.59 of Simple Weaves, by Birgitta Bengtsson Björk and Tina Ignell. Tuna yarn samples, along with Fiberworks Silver for Mac, help me jazz up the color. I settle on three colors for the warp, with burnt orange as the anchor. Six different colors are used for the pattern weft, plus dark teal for the tabby.

Planning my next weaving project on Fiberworks. — Paint chips, Tuna yarn samples, and Fiberworks Silver for Mac aid my planning process.

Colors! Let's see how they work together on the loom. — Colors! Let’s see how they work together on the loom.

Beaming the warp on my new Julia. — Beaming the warp.

Weaving Jamtlandsdrall (Crackle) on my new Julia. — Daylight, plus colorful yarn. As summer is warming up outside, Julia is dressed warmly inside.

Color gradation in the pattern. — Some color gradation in the pattern.

My new Glimakra Julia! — Miss Julia, filling up her cloth beam.

Crackle (Jamtlandsdrall) in Tuna Wool. — Ending with a few picks of plain weave.

End of warp on my new Glimakra Julia. — Thrums at the end of the warp will serve as fringe.

Cutting off Jamtlandsdrall (crackle)! — Cutting off, giving a view of the back side of the cloth. Front and back have reverse images.

Twisting fringe on Jamtlandsdrall wrap. — Much to my pleasant surprise, after removing (unweaving) my short sample weaving at the beginning, and untying the front tie-on knots, I had the EXACT same length of fringe–*to the centimeter*–on both ends of the woven wrap.

Chunky, frolicky fringe. — Overhand knots secure the weft. Two groups of four warp strands each form each chunky fringe. Now, this wrap is ready for wet-finishing.

This is one of those times when the weaving is so satisfying that I truly don’t want the warp to come to an end. (…except that I’m excited to start on Julia’s second adventure!)

May your adventures never cease.

Happy Weaving,
Karen