Take a short stroll through our home and you will see and touch linen in all its superb versatility. Linen warp and weft speaks of elegance. Yet, this natural fiber is right at home with ordinary daily living. Linen, oh, how it sings!
I am thrilled to be dressing the Julia now with 16/2 linen on eight shafts. We will have another linen highlight to grace our home—a table runner for our dining room table.
It is a happy day when new tubes of Bockens 16/2 line linen arrive at the door.Winding two threads together at a time on the warping reel.Dividing the warp into three bouts makes it easier to spread and beam the warp with even tension across the warp.Golden bleached linen is a gorgeous backdrop for the olive center section and contrasting midnight blue borders.
Is there anything more vibrant than the sheen of linen saturated with color? And, have you noticed that plain unbleached linen is anything but plain? Linen fills both ends of the spectrum—glowing exuberant color and natural wrinkled humility. Linen, oh, how it sings! There’s always room for more music in the home.
I waded into deflected double weave for the first time. It took me one full scarf to figure out what I was doing. By the second scarf, I had a much better sense of how the pattern fits together and what to do with the shuttles (most of the time). Both scarves are quite imperfect (no one will ever know…). The loom behaved perfectly, though. This is my Julia’s first project using all eight shafts. Now, I know that this sweet loom is up to any challenge I give her.
20/2 Mora wool by Borgs. Yarn is temporarily secured by pulling a loop behind the warp at the nearest upright on the warping reel.Preparing to dress the loom. The lease cross end of the warp chain is placed through the beater.Warp is beamed and tied on, and the treadles and lamms are tied up.First scarf gives me a chance to learn. Beat consistency is getting better with practice.Trickiest part about deflected double weave is understanding how the shuttles interact so that the color from one shuttle (the salmon color) never goes to the selvedge.Gaining confidence and consistency on the second scarf. Stiff Mora wool will soon soften in the wash. After cutting off, I discover that a tiny misunderstanding gave me a consistent wrong thread all along one selvedge on the back side. Maybe we should call this defective double weave. (But, really, no one will ever know.)Bundles of light and dark threads are twisted into swinging fringes before the scarves are washed.
By the way, I like the finished airy scarves, even with their flaws.
Finished scarf has delightful pattern and character. Mora wool is sufficiently softened through washing and drying, to make a supple fabric.Perfect (imperfect) scarf to brighten up a foggy day in Texas hill country.
I am winding a narrow warp for my next drawloom project. My warping reel is in a little four-foot-by-four-foot corner of my drawloom studio, and has just enough room to maneuver. When I am ready to wind a warp the first thing I pull out is my trusty checklist. I use a checklist for efficiency. It keeps me on track. And it’s more dependable than my memory.
Checklist for Winding a Warp
__ Weigh warp thread and write the amounts on the project notes. By weighing the thread before and after a project, you will know exactly how much warp thread was used in the project.
__ Stick a sample four-inch thread to each thread label; put a rubber band around the tube. After you finish winding the warp, you can quickly pair each yarn with its correct label because of the sample thread stuck to the label.
__ Bring supplies to the warping reel. If your warping reel is in a different room, or in a separate building, like mine is, make sure you have all you need before you head to the warping reel.
+ Project notes, with fully completed draft — An incomplete draft may give faulty information. Also, a review of the project notes and draft is a good idea, especially if weeks or months have passed since you wrote it all down.
__ Set up the warping reel for warp length. Use a guide string, or measure the distance needed to place the pegs and turning pin at the right place on the warping reel for the warp you are going to wind.
__ Set out the thread on the thread stand. Wind the warp with two or more threads at the same time, for best results.
__ Hang or tape up the project notes at eye level. Project notes show the warp sequence and other vital information.
__ Take note of warp length, number of bouts, and number of ends in each bout. Aim for 25 cm (10”) or less in the reed, or 200 or fewer ends, per bout. For the drawloom, wind the warp in pattern unit increments when possible.
__ Wind first bout, counting warp ends. Use a cord between groups of ends to keep track of the counting.
__ Visually check the warp order. Check to see that the warp order on the warping reel matches the warp sequence on the project notes. (I added this step to my checklist after the time I omitted 6 threads at the center of a warp, discovered after threading the loom.)
__ Tie off around the turning pin or the outside peg. Always wind the last pass with two or more threads together so you can tie them around the pin or peg.
__ Tie the lease cross; and tie choke ties on the warp. Tie the cross first, and tie any passes of the warp directly above the cross. Then, spin the wheel and tie the warp wherever it passes on the side opposite the cross. Also tie at the turning pin, at the top and bottom of the loop.
__ Chain the warp bout. Start the chain by holding the loop at the turning pin, and pull out the pin. Chain the warp, ending at the cross. (I use my knee, not so gracefully, to control the turning of the reel as I chain the warp.)
__ Place the warp bout on the loom, with the lease cross end going through the beater.
__ Wind remaining bouts, following the same procedure. When you place the warp chain on the loom double check the warp sequence to make sure the bouts are in the right order.
__ Roll up the thread tubes, replace labels, weigh thread and write down amounts, and place thread tubes in project bin. Each loom has its own project bin to hold the thread for that project.
__ Put away the choke ties, scissors, and thread holder.
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.
First bout on the warping reel.Second bout. Choke ties about every meter keep the ends from shifting as the warp bout is chained and taken to the loom.Third bout. Each of the four bouts has nearly the same number of warp ends.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?
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, 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.”
You could say I finished these scarves too late. Winter in Texas has come and gone. But I prefer to think of it as considerably early. When cool weather comes back around in a few months, I’ll be ready. I began with the draft for the lovely Stardust scarf, designed by Mona Nielsen, published in Happy Weaving, from VävMagasinet, p.74. I simply substituted the yarn and colors in the book with what I had on hand.
Warp is mostly 6/2 Tuna wool, with some 7.5/2 Brage wool included.Made with yarn on hand. This means that additional stripes have been added to the plan.Weaving by the fire in the middle of winter. Mora 20/2, a fine wool, is used for weft.Two scarves coming off the loom.Fringes are cut and twisted.
The scarves are delightful, but the icing on the cake is the addition of fluffy, furry pompoms, an embellishment with youthful flair. And that is exactly what I will put on at the first sign of autumn chill.
Some of the thrums are used in making pompoms.With the Pom and Tassel Maker by Red Heart I can make seven pompoms at a time. I wrapped the yarn around 100 times, making full and thick pompoms.Each furry ball is shaped and trimmed. I used 8/2 cotton for the 12″ tie around the center of the pompoms.Each pompom is stitched to 3 – 4 twisted fringes. Seven pompoms at each end of the scarf.Now, the scarves are ready for wet finishing. Notice how you can see the separate strands of yarn in the pompoms before they are washed.Scarves have been washed by hand in warm water in a large sink, with Eucalan delicate wash. I purposely gave them as much agitation as I could by hand. They are hanging to dry. Notice how the pompoms have slightly felted, making them even more soft and furry.Winter scarf amid spring bluebonnets in Texas hill country.
Some things are certain. The sun will rise tomorrow. The seasons will follow their schedule. The faithfulness of the Lord our God will never end.
