linen – Page 17 – Warped for Good

What to Do about Weaving Errors

January 23, 2018January 22, 2018 Karen

I’ve been waiting for a bright sunshiny day to thoroughly examine this tightly-woven linen satin dräll fabric. Today is perfect. Fixing errors must be done before the fabric is washed, when the weave will become even tighter. I am looking for unwanted floats where the shuttle skipped threads, and for loops at the selvedges.

In my examination I did find an errant float and a few small selvedge loops. Let’s get started.

Tools:

Blunt-tip needle. Sharp needle tip has been sanded to a rounded tip.

Thread. Use the same weft or warp thread that is in the area needing repair.
Good lighting. If the fabric has a complex structure, good lighting is essential.
Magnification. I take a photo on my iPhone, and then zoom in to see the minute details.

How to Mend Skipped Threads:

1 Locate the error. Here is a long weft float.

2 Thread the blunt-tip needle with a length of the same thread as the float.

3 Following the exact under-over pattern of the weave, start one inch before the float and needle-weave toward the float. I lay my iPhone nearby, with the magnified iPhone photo clearly showing the weave pattern.

4 Needle-weave the correct path of the thread through the float area. Continue needle-weaving along the same thread pathway, going one inch beyond the float.

5 Check the front and back of the fabric to see if your stitches match the correct pattern of the weave.

6 When you are certain that the float thread has been accurately replaced, clip the float and remove it (or, leave it and trim it after washing). Leave two-inch tails on the replacement thread, and trim after wet finishing. (I leave the replacement tails so I can find and check the repair after it is washed. This also allows for shrinkage before trimming.)

How to Fix a Small Selvedge Loop

1 Locate the loop.

2 Using the blunt-tip needle, gently ease the excess thread to spread over four or five stitches inside the selvedge.

3 The thread that has been eased in (just above the needle) will completely smooth out in wet finishing.

What skipped threads and loops would be found if I were examined this closely? Would I leave them and hope no one notices? Or, would I allow re-weaving and cutting away? A negative attitude is replaced with a thread of thankfulness. A loop of complaining is eased back in. The result is joy. A thankful heart knows joy. When the fabric is washed, the errant floats and loops are gone. What remains is the woven fabric with lustrous threads of joy.

May you have a bright sunshiny day.

With you,
Karen

Anticipation Is Looming!

January 19, 2018January 18, 2018 Karen

Everything starts on paper and in my mind. And then the action begins! Warps are ready now to dress two more looms. One in linen, and one in cotton. Linen for chair-seat upholstery, and cotton for kitchen towels.

Counting linen warp ends on the warping reel. — Counting thread goes over and under groups of warp ends (in this case, 40 ends) to help me keep track of the number of ends being wound on the warping reel. 8/2 linen, unbleached.

Cotton thread is measured out on the warping reel. — Solid color cotton is wound (measured out) on the warping reel.

These are part of the coordinating textiles I’ve been designing for our Texas hill country home. (See Awaken the Empty Looms) I am looking forward to the moment these fabrics become visible! The anticipation is electric! I will know the success of my plans when I can see and feel the fabric. Every step, including getting these threads ready for the loom, gives me a preview glimpse of the actual fabric to come.

Two linen warp chains, ready for dressing the loom. — Two warp chains are prepared. This is a striped warp, and the chains will be spread separately, each with its own set of lease sticks.

Three warp chains of 8/2 cotton, ready to dress the loom! — Nothing like big, soft warp chains of 8/2 cotton!

Visible. Actual love is visible. It’s much more than kind thoughts and intentions. It is threads of kind thoughts that become touchable fabric in someone else’s life. Jesus Christ is the love of God made visible, in that God sent His Son so that we could fully live. How appropriate for us to make such a fabric visible for each other.

May you get a glimpse of the fabric to come.

Love,
Karen

Beauty in Cutting Off

January 12, 2018January 11, 2018 Karen

There is beauty in cut threads. They signify completion. Look what has become of these linen threads! Order and sequence, timing and continuity, perseverance and pursuit. Through a weaver’s hands it all adds up to fabric made for a purpose.

Cutting off! Linen threads flow through the reed like a waterfall. — Cutting off! Linen warp ends flow through the reed like a waterfall after the cloth is cut off.

Linen 5-shaft damask. Cutting off! — Cut threads appear as tidy fringe on the stately linen satin damask weave. The warp beam holds the cloth until it is ceremoniously unrolled.

Linen damask weaving, just cut from the loom. — Fabric and warping slats fall to the ground.

Linen fabric just off the loom, ready for finishing. — On the sewing room work table, the completed fabric awaits the finishing process. I will look for and repair errors, secure cut ends with serger stitching, and wet finish the fabric. Then, I will hem them so they can be used as the towels I envisioned from the start.

Father. With God as our Father, we are on the receiving end of the process. Grace and peace, granted from the Father’s hand, shape our lives. And, like a good weaver, our Father makes something beautiful from the threads we offer him. Imagine the day when it may be said of us, “Look what became of the linen threads in the Grand Weaver’s hands!”

May your threads turn into something beautiful.

With joy,
Karen

Tools Day: Eliminating Warp Knots

January 9, 2018January 8, 2018 Karen

You are not going to believe how many knots I came across in this 16/2 linen warp! Too many. As I wound the warp I made the decision to leave most of the knots, and deal with them on the loom. (I did remove knots that were close to the beginning or ending peg on the warping reel.) I lost count, but I’m sure I have spliced the warp on this five-and-a-half-meter project at least a dozen times. (To see more details about how I splice the warp, visit this blog post and video: How To Splice the Warp – Video.)

I do not weave over warp knots. A knot introduces a spot of vulnerability to the fabric. Knots can fray, loosen, or come undone over time, even if the knot is originally imperceptible.

In a couple instances, a knot distorted the tension of the warp end because of catching on a heddle or passing through the reed. For that reason, I now try to eliminate knots in the warp before they reach the heddles.

Tool: Warp Separator

Identify the warp end that has a knot, and insert the warp separator between warp ends to isolate the thread.

With a length of repair warp thread, follow the path of the original thread to splice in the new warp end, feeding it through the heddle of the original warp end.

Bring the repair warp thread through the reed in the same dent as the warp end that has a knot.

Attach the repair warp thread near the fell by wrapping it around a flat straight pin.

Remove the warp separator from between the warp ends.

Place a weight on the floor below the back beam. Wrap the repair thread around the weight two or three times to hold the thread at tension that matches the rest of the warp. Loosen the wrapped-around thread before advancing the warp, and then re-tighten before resuming weaving.

Weave one to two inches with both the original warp end and the repair warp thread in place.
Then, cut the original warp end with the knot (behind the heddles) and let it hang over the back beam.

The original and replacement warp ends overlap in the weaving for about one to two inches.
Remove the straight pin when it reaches the breast beam.
Re-attach the original warp end when it is long enough to secure in front of the fell line with a flat straight pin.
And then, cut and remove the replacement warp thread.
Trim all the spliced warp tails after wet finishing.

Warp separator guy, ready to jump in and help!

This warp separator was a gift from The Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin, included in the goodie bag from last summer’s Contemporary Handweavers of Texas Conference. It would not be hard to make a warp separator like this from wood or sturdy cardboard. I have not been able to locate a supplier online.

If you know where to find a warp separator tool, please put a link in the comments.

May you have very few warp knots.

All the best,
Karen

Amazing Five-Shaft Satin Dräll

January 5, 2018January 4, 2018 Karen

Ten shafts and ten treadles. Isn’t it fascinating how all those parts synchronize and work together to turn threads into cloth? It’s a mystery unless you’ve been in the weaver’s seat. Even then, it’s a wonder. Especially when you see linen threads turn into this amazing five-shaft satin dräll!

All-linen 5-shaft satin dräll on a Glimåkra Standard loom. — Linen warp and weft in five-shaft satin dräll. A temple is a standard tool when I weave with linen. No draw-in means no broken selvedge warp ends…so far, at least.

There are three towels left on this warp, but I am weaving the remainder as one long piece. I will cut it into separate towels after it’s off the loom. Or, I might change my mind and leave it long as a table runner.

Linen 5-shaft satin dräll. Unbleached warp, ecru weft. — Warp is unbleached linen and the weft is ecru, also linen. The subtle difference in color highlights the dräll pattern in the fabric.

Mystery. The mystery of the ages is that Christ can dwell in us. Understand that? No, but I do understand a weaver sitting at the loom, managing the threads and throwing the shuttle to produce a specific fabric. What if I invite Jesus Christ to take control of everything being woven in my life? That is a mystery worth pursuing.

May you find your way into a good mystery.

Happy weaving new year,
Karen