Tag: threading

No Crossed Threads Here

Karen

Properly dressing the loom means no thread out of place, no crossed threads, no missed threads. Every linen end is threaded through a heddle on one of four shafts, following a draft for dice weave (pattern weft on a plain weave background). I insert each thread one by one in a specific order. My fingers are the only tools I use for this task, and I love touching and directing every single thread.

Dressing the loom with linen.
Pattern repeat has twenty-four ends, repeated across the warp.

Someone great is looking after you. Our Father in heaven knows what is going on in your life, details and all. He knows the placement of every single thread in your personality. He knows the ins and outs of our needs, hurts, and desires. Father knows what we need before we ask. And yet, he invites us to ask. That’s a good invitation.

May you feel cared for.

Happy Threading,
Karen

Tools Day: Lease Sticks

Karen

What can you do with a pair of flat beveled wood sticks, with a hole at each end? Use them for lease sticks, of course! This is an example of efficient simplicity. By slipping these two sticks through the opening of the lease cross made while winding a warp, and tying the ends of the sticks together, all the warp ends stay perfectly in order throughout the process of dressing the loom. After beaming the warp, with the warp still under tension, I tie the back lease stick to the back beam. Then, when threading the heddles, I simply take each thread in order by going to the cross in between the two lease sticks and picking up the next thread. I always weave with the lease sticks in. I don’t remove them until the end of the warp comes over the back beam.

Pairs of lease sticks, various lengths.
I keep several lengths of lease sticks on hand. Some were purchased from Glimakra, and some were fashioned by my skilled hubby.
Striped cotton warp for tea towels. Lease sticks tied to back beam.
Striped warp threaded and ready to weave cotton tea towels. Pair of lease sticks are tied together at the ends with choke ties, and back lease stick is tied to back beam.
8/2 linen warp ready for threading.
Linen warp is ready for threading. Lease sticks are tied together at the ends, and secured to the back beam. This warp is for another rya project.
Threading 8/2 linen warp. Lease sticks show which thread is next.
Threading the last grouping of threads in this 8/2 linen warp. The lease sticks separate the threads in a way that clearly shows which thread is next.

May you encounter simplicity in your creative process.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Coral Shawl for a Memorable Occasion

Karen

Have you ever experienced a chain of events, where the dominos start falling, and you just try to keep up? That is the story of this shawl. My daughter got engaged, so I bought a dress to wear at her wedding. The dress is sleeveless, so I wanted a shawl to wear over my shoulders. Not knowing where to find a matching shawl, I decided to weave one. To weave a shawl, I had to finish weaving these towels that were on the loom, plan the draft for a shawl, and order thread.

Thread and yarn record notebook.
New 10/2 bamboo thread samples added to my thread/yarn record book.

The excitement of dressing the loom, trying out weft color options, weaving the delicate huck lace pattern, twisting fringe, wet finishing the cloth, and waiting for the wet cloth to dry, is all intensified because of the meaning of the event where I will wear the shawl. The shawl, itself, is a minor player that will serve best if it is not even noticed. The attention will be on Melody and Eddie as they pledge their love and faithfulness to each other, embracing companionship for a lifetime. Three weeks to go!

Threading heddles with coral bamboo thread for huck lace.
Threading heddles for huck lace.
Sleying the reed on Glimakra Ideal.
Reed is sleyed with two ends per dent in a 12 dent reed, which means the sett is 24 ends per inch.
Every thread is ready. Let the weaving begin!
Every thread stands at attention, each in their proper place. Let the weaving begin!
Weft color auditions on coral bamboo warp. Karen Isenhower
Trying out the weft colors in the late afternoon on the dark coral warp. First, coral weft; and then, hot pink weft.
Coral pink bamboo shawl in huck lace.
Pink coral shawl was woven first. The hot pink huck lace weft floats are on the back side of the cloth, visible as the cloth angles toward the knee beam.
Hemstitching on the loom. Huck lace bamboo shawl.
Hemstitching at the beginning of the coral shawl. Notice the subtle border treatment that starts with plain weave and three closer rows of huck lace before the body of the shawl.
Twisting fringe.
Twisting groups of warp ends together to create twisted fringe that embellishes the ends of the shawl.
Wet finishing begins for coral huck lace shawl.
There is nothing that makes me more nervous than wet finishing. A mistake at this point can ruin the handwoven masterpiece. For this reason, I first wet finished the sample piece, and then the pink coral shawl. Now, I am confident about throwing the coral shawl into the washing machine with a half-capful of no rinse delicate wash concentrate.
Bamboo shawl, laying flat to dry.
After gently rolling the wet cloth in towels to remove excess water, I lay it out smoothly on my longest countertop, and leave it to dry overnight.
Trimming the fringe after washing. Frayed ends removed.
After the cloth is fully dry, knots at the ends of the twisted fringe are trimmed off, removing frayed ends and leaving clean-cut ends.
Finished handwoven coral bamboo huck lace shawl. Karen Isenhower
Ready for a special occasion!

May those you love know how much you love them.

With Anticipation,
Karen

Cut It Off and Start Over

Karen

This is what starting over looks like. After weaving a couple inches, I had a bad feeling. Uh oh, there is a fatal mistake in the threading. Not just one or two wandering threads, but I mis-threaded all the way across the warp!

Threading error. Re-threading 866 heddles.
Sample with various weft color options. After cutting off the sample, the process of re-threading the 866 heddles begins.

Cut off the sample. Pull 866 threads back out of the reed and out of the heddles. Re-thread 866 threads. Re-sley. Redo the tie-up. Tie-on again! Breathe. Even so, I am thankful I get to begin again. The mistakes are completely removed and I have a fresh start.

I had to search to find the root of this error. I examined the threads in the fabric; and I compared the woven sample to the draft. Not until I studied my planning sheet did I see that I had written out the draft incorrectly. I had mistakenly exchanged shaft 4 for shaft 2 in the threading draft. Aha! and Ugh! My instructions to myself were faulty!

We cannot fix everything in our lives. Often, we cannot even find the root of the problem. Fortunately, our grand weaver, who searches hearts and minds, is able to reveal the source of our error. And then, in his grace, cuts away what was not working and gives us a brand new start. No old strings attached.

May a fresh start come your way.

Grace to you,
Karen

Threaded Heddles Set the Stage

Karen

I love threading the heddles! It allows me to touch every single thread with my fingers. I guide each thread through a heddle on one of four shafts. Threaded heddles set the stage for the motion of cloth-making. Each thread has its own path, yet groups of threads function together as a unit. Kind of like a friendship network.

Threading Texsolv heddles for cotton hand towels.
With 36 threads in each grouping, the Texsolv heddles are threaded one-by-one, using only hands and fingers as tools.

I double-check my threading as I go. As I finish each section, I immediately go back through the bundle thread-by-thread to verify that each thread is inserted accurately. This effort on the front end is worth it. With every warp thread in its proper place, the design in the fabric is assured, even before the weaving begins. A friendship network is like that. Each person has their own path, and when those paths are aligned and given common purpose, the individuals form connections that make a friendship fabric.

Connection with our grand weaver gives us a friendship network with each other–a skillfully woven fabric. The beauty of this created fabric is that it reflects the heart of the maker. Each individual thread, aligned with the others in interesting patterns, becomes an essential part of the finished cloth.

May you glow in the fabric of friendship.

With you,
Karen