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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

First Project off a New Loom


This what 10 yards of 2/8 cotton all woven up and still on the cloth beam looks like. It has a soft, but fat satisfying bulk to it. I finished it yesterday afternoon but purposely left it till this morning to measure parts of it and take pictures... then do the formal removal off the loom. The first warp off a new loom. My friend Lynnette shared her results when she took her towels off her Louet Spring 'Lily' and measured the loom waste so we will have a better idea of how much to plan for in the future. Great idea! Here are some stats on this project:

  • 2/8 cotton, 20 epi at 22 inches in width at the reed (could have been closer set but I had an 'oops' with the warp planning for width.)
  • 10 1/2 yards in length and I have 9 towels of 34" in length each (before hemming) and a good selection of samples for sharing with friends.

The warp roll (including some of the back loom waste ) measures just a smidge under 1 1/4 inches on the front cloth beam.

From the top of the full cloth roll to the bottom of the beater bar, is two inches of space. The Louet Spring doesn't really hold a great deal of cloth. But if I was to prepare another 2/8 warp, I reckon I could put on 12 or maybe 13 yards but that would be the max. Finer yarns maybe 14 to 15 yards?

Look at how close I was able to weave to the back warp rod! The shed was 1 1/2 inches still at this point. I can't get this close on my other countermarche.

It laid nice and thick on the treadles! You really feel like you have accomplished something when you pick it up and feel the weight. So before I started to serge the towels apart, I measured the total loom waste.This is the back loom waste and it's just a bit under 15 inches. I probably could have woven a couple of inches more but I was 'done' at this point.

This is the front loom waste after I had slowly but surely undone all the knots. It measures approx 10 inches. I could maybe shorten the tying ends by an inch next time. I was a bit generous this time. So that's 25 inches of loom waste for this project. I allow 18 to 21 inches on my other countermarche so not too bad! So I serged the towels apart and tomorrow I will prep them for hemming. They will be back here when they are all sewn and washed and pressed.



7 comments:

bspinner said...

How impressive!!!! I can't wait to see the finished towels.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on finishing the first project on the new loom. That's such an impressive pile of fabric unfurled like that. Amazing!

Lynnette said...

The cloth looks wonderful all unfurled on the treadles - what a great feeling of completion you must have! Your photos show everyting so very well, I feel like I'm there with you, and I wish I was! I can't wait to see the tea towels all crisply pressed and photo'd.

Dorothy said...

What a great start with your new loom - you have no niggles or complaints, and that roll off cloth is testament to getting things right first go, so I take it you and the Louet are going to get along well. I've noticed that Louet owners do love their looms.

I do like the towel fabric. I love the way the different weft colours work with the warp, all very pretty.

Sunrise Lodge Fiber Studio said...

Hooray!!! They look wonderful and I can't wait to see them all hemmed;)

Susan said...

Thanks to you all for your comments! I'm busy hemming and hope to have them here to show you very soon. It's getting to be a busy time of year and 'other stuff' such as Christmas, is crowding out my weaving.

But a few minutes here and there, and every day is great.

Susan

Anonymous said...

Susan, what great photos, and what a lovely bolt of cloth. Inspiring!

Great way to christen the new loom.

Weave on!
Jane