Planning for Success

Ah, yes... its been awhile since I last posted.  Sorry about that.   I do have some valid excuses  reasons!  I had the issues with my feet and that took time to resolve, then there was the week long migraine I dealt with..... and just when things started to look good, I pulled a muscle in my mid back.   Seems the old gal isn't aging well...    yup, another birthday has come and gone and lets say I'm entitled to all senior benefits now.  

So lets get  down to weaving which is why you really come here and not to hear me whine.  🍷  Anytime in the past when dealing with a newbie weaver I have always stressed the importance of planning for success. That weaving starts with a pen and paper.    You have to know a few things in advance:

• what you want to weave and its end purpose.
• what yarn do you plan to use; what size, colours etc.
• how wide and how long?
• can your loom handle the width?
• do you have the right size reed?

So lets use my runner project being shown here today.  I wanted to use 10/2 mercerized cotton. The recommended sett is 28 epi for a twill.   I used a 12 dent reed and will dent it 2, 2, 3.   

I'd like the runners to be 15 inches when all finished so  I adjusted my 12 shaft draft to be 492 warp ends and so 17.6 inches in the reed. This allows for draw in and shrinkage.

I wanted to weave three runners where the main portion will measure: one 36,  a second 45 and the third 55 inches in final length.  I want them to be hemmed and I particularly like a wider hem allowance  and so planned for 6 inches either end x 6 hems.  I plan to do ladder hemstitching and have a slippery thick cord on hand for the spacer.

I allow 12 inches for a project sample for my records.

Now that I have all the woven portions of my project planned, I calculate the take up.   I allow 3 inches for every yard woven.

Only then do I add in the loom waste.

So my rough working notes looked something like this:

492 ends divided by 28 epi = 17.57 inches in the reed  (Project width)

Project Length:

3 runners (36, 45, 55 inches for length of main portion of runners)  = 136 inches

hem allowance  (6 inches x 6 hems) = 36 inches

sample = 12 inches

Take up allowance of  15 inches   (136 + 36 + 12 = 184 inches, divided by 12 = 15.33 feet divided by 3 = 5.1 yards)  Allow 3 inches for each yard so add another 15 inches.

Now add in loom waste of 20 inches (based on my loom)     Still with me here? 😊

That comes to a grand total of 219 inches

Divide by 12 = 18.25 feet

Divide by 3 = 6.08 yards     I went with 6.5 yards. 

I measured my guide string and put it on the warping mill and again planned to make 4 bouts of 123 ends. This makes it more manageable to wind and to beam later.  I also added two additional ends as floating selvedges.

Now and only now do I start winding my warp.    This comes last after all the paper work and number crunching.  Its not very glamorous like the 'throw the shuttle part'.... but I call this part weaving too.  If you think of it this way, then it becomes an integral part of the whole experience.

So the project is finally loaded on the loom and under way.  You can just see the hem allowance and my hemstitching.... then the start of the pattern. I took a picture of this part right away. Why?   So I have a visual reference of what I did so I can finish it at the other end in the right configuration.  Reverse the pattern in the hem allowance  so its like a mirror opposite.  In the past if I have not taken good notes of what steps I have taken, I have had to unroll the cloth beam and see what I had previously woven at the start and then try to rewind again. It doesn't always go well. So this picture step is something I added to make life easier for myself.  Also it has the additional bonus of showing you any threading errors before you go too far!

I don't know the how or why of it, but our eyes want to see symmetry and will skip over the errors no matter how hard you search.... but take a picture, and they stand out clear to see (especially if you have shared it on line  😳)

The draft is a 12 shaft turned satin weave that came to me by way of a friend in Scotland.  Its a lengthy repeat and you had to really pay attention. I made little cheat sheet on a lined post it note of the repeat and slide a little alligator clip from line to line as I go along.  If a line between blocks looked a bit strange on the loom, then you have missed a treadle step at the transition.   Go back and fix it !    Errors are mistakes, NOT design elements.

I experienced some tension issues on the right hand side of the warp and so made the first runner my 36 inch one and cut it off the loom.   Re-tensioned correctly and started again. This meant my loom waste just became more than what I planned so there went my sample!   My records now have a picture instead.

Once I had woven the final two runners, they came off the loom and go straight into the finishing phase.  I'm not a fan of a 'project pile'.   I serged the runners apart  and then put them into a warm sudsy soak.   Rinsed and then I spun them out in the washing machine using the spin cycle only. Pulled them into shape and smoothed and hung on a drying rack over night.

The next morning I carefully snipped all weft tails and then used my steam press to smooth the cloth. Then I used an iron to press again and turn the hems.  Divide the hem allowance and turn twice and press firmly and pin.  I turn it right at the base of the hemstitching.   Then I hand sew the hems; both ends are closed and one tiny running blind stitch to each and every 'ladder'.  This gives you a very neat finish and the runners are reversible.

Yes, its a lot of work....there's a lot pressing / ironing but its so worth it.   You are setting the threads into their forever positions.  Future pressing will not be so intense as this.

10/2 tencel weft in a pale gold that I call Honey Gold.  The hem was given another press in the Singer steam press to flatten the hem after the hand sewing. All the shrinkage was done before hemming so it will lay flat.

The final width on the runners?   Planned was 17. 57 inches at the reed..... they are 15 1/2 inches finished. Pretty close huh?

These runners would look so much better if I had a darker wood table, but maple will have to do!

A peek at the reverse side.... and you can see how the hem allowance looks neat on the reverse.

The last runner was woven with a 10/2 tencel called silver, which I call Grey Mist. It measures 62 inches over all. I think you can see the lovely soft drape? 

Here's the reverse of the Grey Mist runner.

So if you are a new weaver or a lapsed  mature weaver I heartily recommend that you plan for success and slow the whole process down. Newbies are in a big hurry to get by the 'boring bits' and rush a project to completion. Then they rush another warp on.    Its all a lot of work and I'm sure you want it to look its best? Take time over the small details.   They really matter. 

Above all, no winding a warp and then go looking for a draft to fit it!  That's the cart before the horse....

This post is dedicated to hand weaver and author Virginia West who wrote "Finishing Touches for the Handweaver" which set me on the path to giving my projects the elegant finished look.  She passed away this week and many weavers the world over collectively thank her for her book, her seminars and workshops over the years.  

Virginia West

🌎 One Day Among Many

Sorry about the missing pictures, but this is a problem that Blogger is looking to resolve.

Welcome from the  'bunker' formally known as our home.  We enjoy our house and yard, but the instant you are told NOT to go out, you are suddenly filled with a desire to go shopping, visit friends and just get out there.  I can get over that urge!

Well, we tend to stay home a fair amount anyhow so there's not much change really.  We got some groceries ordered on line and delivered to our front door, we both have three months worth of our medicines, the car's gas tank is full and we have propane for the BBQ.   We have scads of books, internet, on line streaming services..... and even some toilet paper left.  We're just fine here.

Hubby is puttering around the house and yard. Fixing irrigation lines and doing light garden work.  The primroses, crocus, heather and tulips are up.  Everything  that needs pruning has been done and the hedges have been trimmed up. Power washing was done  two or three weeks ago.    I guess window cleaning is next up soon. Maybe when it warms up some more?

The Covid 19 pandemic is top of mind for everyone and the uncertainty is the hardest part.    I have seen some interesting memes on FaceBook:

Your grandparents had to live through and fight in World War 2.... you are being asked to sit on the couch. You've got this...."

The virus doesn't move, people do..... so practise social distancing!

Adopt the attitude that you have the virus and then work hard to prevent passing it to others.

Our days seem to have settled into a routine.  Coffee and news in the morning, then house chores and / or laundry.... then lunch. I go into the studio after lunch and work on several things, all of which are under way and not close to being finished.

I have been spending all of my weaving time on the Megado and my 9.5 yard 8/2 towel warp.  I have about five or six towels done. This the one currently underway and its a muted plum shade

The roll is starting to build nicely  and its a great stash buster as I dig through the cottons looking for choices for the next towels.

Here's the winding station with all the part pirns of colours and I may just do a towel with multi colours for each pattern change to use them up.  The blue and teal is for the crackle weave on the Spring which hasn't advanced at all  and is patiently waiting for my attention. 

I've been doing project planning and warp winding.  I have several projects and drafts all worked up.

I like having a longer warp on the Megado for towels and so dug around in the stash and found a lovely  two pound cone of natural 8/2 Venne cotton and have been winding six bouts of  one hundred ends, ten yards long.  I have also wound another warp, also ten yards, of 10/2 cotton for table runners. Here they are hanging on the beater bar assembly of the tapestry loom.  (This weavers equivalent of "laundry on a treadmill" right now  😁 )

I still have one more bout of one hundred ends to wind of the cream cotton. This is where I confess to a guilty pleasure. I like to stream nature shows on my computer and sort of half watch, half hear them as I wind away.  David Attenborough has a delightful way of narrating the episodes and no matter how dire the situation environmentally, he always ends them on a positive note.

Here's the colours for the runner and the cream is the Venne cotton.

Here are the drafts:

So between what's under way and the warps waiting, there's lots of daily activity here.   I have taken my Etsy shop off line and in 'holiday mode' as I don't want to deal with post office trips.  So that's why there is a large white empty box on the right hand side of your screen.   We will get back to normal eventually but I believe it will be many weeks of social distancing as areas of infection peak and diminish.   Past history of pandemics show second and even third waves so we must be very careful. It could come back to bite us on the arse otherwise!  😳

I don't believe that people will return to normal spending habits for some time as they recover their financial lives.  So things like my scarves and shawls are not essentials.   I'll keep weaving to keep myself busy and build up my inventory for the better times to come. 

As you can see, I have many scarves, and a good number of shawls on hand.  Towels and runners are my only gaps  ..... and one runner will be for our large dining room table and will be 98 inches long!   I've been promising to weave one for us and apparently I have the time right now. 

So if you are at home  refusing to be an Uber ride for a virus bug, enjoy the time that comes along with this situation.  Read a book, watch movies, write, paint,  spin or weave.  Whatever your heart and mind feels like doing.   If somedays, its to simply do nothing, then that's okay too.   This is a stressful time for everyone and we must be kind with each other, including ourselves. 

Some humour for you:   

Maybe Third Time's a Charm?

There's something about a new warp on the loom.......such promise in the orderly theads!

I have been working recently with finer threads, so my new project on Emmatrude means an interesting adjustment on my part. It's an eleven yard warp of 4/8 cotton, sett 18 epi for placemats. We have some new everyday china in a soft cream and I thought new placemats would be nice. This grist of cotton is not something I have used very much of, other than the occasional warp at a workshop. While there are a great array of colours available, it's not what I reach for when planning projects. I lean towards finer threads but placemats need to be buffers between a warm plate and your dining room table (or lap!). The warp used about three and a half 1/2 pound cones so there's a fair amount of 'heft' to the warp when the yarn size is this chubby.

What I had in mind was a twill pattern that produced a star burst. On paper it looked grand! I threaded, sleyed and tied up.... and sat down eagerly to weave.

Oops, some threading errors.

Fixed those.

All set to go again.

Now I found the sleying error, which of course was at the centre of the warp.

Okay, fixed that and finally threw the shuttle.

I wove about 6 to 8 inches and stopped.

I *hated* the pattern.

So.... I replaced the lease sticks and pulled everything back through to hang just behind the heddles and went on a search for a replacement draft.

I was looking for something that would produce a reversible pattern, be pleasing to the eye and be a bit bolder. I searched my samples, went through Handweaving.net, searched the Complex Weaver cd's I have here, many of my books and also played with my design program: Fiberworks-PCW. I settled on a draft called Rosenkransen. An 8 shaft bold twill. I double checked numbers and confirmed now many repeats given the ends I had on the loom, then *slowly* threaded and sleyed, this time using the autodenter. The warp is black and these eyes are dim! No errors and I'm weaving again. I had company at the house and they saw the work in progress. Now this pattern has some little runs to and fro as part of the overall pattern. This non-weaver said as she pointed to a little run " is this a mistake here? " Then suddenly I realized that the pattern looked disjointed with these 'hiccups'.

Okay, rehang the lease sticks ( which had to be a single stick as there was no plain weave in this draft) I just lifted a lease stick under and made sure that all threads stayed in order and then used the second stick to push all threads straight down out of the heddles. To say I was discouraged was an understatement! I had done everything right the first time: planned the project, printed the draft up and checked it visually. The threading errors were all mine despite the fact I'm not a fast threader. I'd rather work sequentially through a draft and create logical groups of threads, double check and move on. Clearly this hadn't worked for me either!

So it was about this time that my two shawls were modeled at the fashion show and that cheered me up. But clearly this warp was a 'keep me humble' project. I even tried asking Lynnette for help! Maybe she had used this yarn before and had some success she would share? Nope, we both like finer threads...

So the reason this wasn't working as well for me was due (I think) to the possibility that patterns that look great worked up in finer yarns don't always look as good in heavier weight yarns. A good thing to note and file away for the future. If I ever use 4/8 cotton again that is.... ah, but I have to as I have a stash of it.

sigh.....

I pulled out Strickler's "A Weavers' Book of Eight Shaft Patterns" and got seriously browsing. Then I saw it. Bird's Eye Twill. It's a classic, it's bold, it's reversible. Why mess with anything else? So I didn't.... and perhaps third time is the charm? I'm on mat number 2 out of 14 planned as I write this, so wish me luck!

Now... for that other naked loom.....

Blogger turned my picture sideways again. The weft is cream orlec and it seems to be weaving up balanced!

See you again soon......