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

A Ray of Sunshine

The trouble with winter snowfall and rain is it brings many cloudy days and the sun can be a rare commodity.  Well, I had these finished runner set aside and I was waiting for the sun to appear. I was ready, camera in hand!

I was able to weave three runners, and all finished up as sixty inches long and fifteen inches wide. Two have hems and one has a twisted fringe (for variety).  This time I wove a much longer hem allowance and after doing my usual turn overs, I must say I like it much better.  I will add this to my repertoire for the future. 

The warp was 10/2 mercerized cotton (Valley Yarns from Webs) in a natural colour. My sett was 28 epi.  It had some extra twist to it and was a bit energized when it came time to beam it, and again later when twisting the fringes.  Smooth, no knots and held up well under tension with no breakage.  All in all, a good experience .... which is good as I have ordered some more!  😁

The draft is a twelve shaft design based on a variation of M's and W's and I have used it before with great success. Normally it produces a series of medallions but I have isolated a portion of the treadling and repeated it.   Its fully reversible.  Hemstitching and a neat tight hand sewn hem means you are hard pressed to see which is the 'right side'.  Does it matter?   

The weft used in this runner is taupe 8/2 tencel. Its suits the natural cotton but gives good contrast to show the pattern.

The table runner below is also fifteen inches by sixty inches but has a three inch fringe.  The weft is tencel again, this time one of the newer colours "birch". Its a lovely soft silvered green.

The contrast is softer too. I really like this one!

The last picture has the cloth flipped to show the reverse.

The last runner was woven with 10/2 UKI Supreme mercerized cotton in a medium grey.  Crisply twisted cotton makes for a totally different feel to the cloth and also a sharper definition of the pattern.

Again, the larger hems.

Below is the reverse pattern. Both sides looks equally good to me! Both the taupe runner and the cotton runner are sold already so the new owner can decide which they like more.

The studio is all set up now and I must say that my knee replacement (and other joint replacements) are feeling pretty good now and so I have returned to twelve shaft drafts again and the heavier treadling with few problems.  My problem now is getting more weaving done and so have more inventory.  Rather embarrassingly, its selling as fast as I make it.  Nice problem to have huh?   Better get busy.....

I have a new book acquisition; a belated Christmas gift. My daughter and SIL had given us an Amazon gift certificate and I chose this book based on Frances L. Goodrich's studies on early American  Coverlets and Counterpanes.

As with the earlier book: Frances L. Goodrich's Brown Book of Weaving Drafts  it shows the old draft and a clear modern version that is easier to read, and therefore, easier to weave and reproduce yourself.  Its wonderful so much effort has gone into preserving these old drafts and weaving history,

Its well thought out and printed on quality paper. My book is a gently used one but apart from a few minor scratches on the cover, its as new. I'm looking forward to making my way through and admiring Frances's work.  That's her in the last picture. Her research efforts help  us to understand our collective weaving past, and to know where you're going, you have to know where you have been.

Fruits of Our Labours

.... and then, just like that, its September and summer is (almost) done. Happy Labour Day !

I would love to tell you that I have been out having fun and playing, but no.  The cold we both caught in early August was no cold and it became apparent that it was the flu and I spent an uncomfortable three weeks where days blended one into another.  I literally did not leave the house for three weeks and when I did, I felt like I had been beamed in from another planet. I had gone for groceries and left a still sick Bruce at home as he was about three to five days behind me. I rallied and started to feel a bit better and even spent time weaving, but a nasty cough reappeared and has stayed with me.   A chest x-ray later and it seems I have walking pneumonia now. So more rest and so on....    I would hate to still have this when they finally call me for my knee replacement operation as I would have to pass and wait again!  I'm one of those people with a compromised immune system so getting well is a longer go for me compared to other healthy folks.

So when I was feeling a bit better, I did get the third instalment of the runners loaded and underway. This time in a deep rich red called cerise. I wove a batch of these last year (draft there at the older post) and they sold quickly for Christmas and I thought I would try them again.   So to review:  the yarn is 9/2 French linen from Brassards in Quebec, sett 24 epi, and an eight shaft diamond huck lace.  I love this pattern as it gives an all over lace effect and is stable due to even placements of plain weave through out.   The linen weaves up beautifully, and is very satisfying to hemstitch as it stays tight and neat.    Yes, it does lint a bit and I had to vacuum off the loom after each runner.   I also ran the weft yarn through a damp cloth as I wound the pirns to help reduce the lint and  tame its wiry 'behaviour'.

I love the linen,  and the huck lace but I'm so done with it now and ready to move on!

I also have a new gadget in the studio:

I found trying to hard press the other linen runners literally gave me  'arm ache', so Bruce said to order a press and he'd pay for it.  What a sweetheart! Some research and price comparisons and we got this one on line. Lynnette has one and had lots of good things to say about it and she has no regrets on buying hers. I would tend to agree and wish I had done it a lot sooner!

After the runners came off the loom, I serged them apart and prepped them for hemming. Once my straight pins were in place I gave them a quick touch in the steam press and  spent a couple of evenings hand sewing the hems neatly.  There is something so nice about plying a needle and thread.

I filled the laundry tub with warm soapy water and left them to soak for half an hour and when I came back, this is what I found.

I gave them a good squeezing out to shift threads and get the excess dye out and rinsed very well. There was still some pink in the last water so I will mark these on the tag as 'hand wash separately' for sure!  I don't recall my last batch of the red runners being quite so bad for fugitive dye.

I rolled them into spare old towels to absorb the water and later before I was done for the day, I smoothed them out to dry overnight on towels on the ironing board. I gently shaped them and tugged them to the straight edges and corners I want to see in the final runner.   I also neatly nipped off any weft yarn tails as well.

The next morning I set up the press on top of the ironing board. I have to work out a better spot for it and that may be upstairs and work on the big kitchen counter. For now this set up  will work as I knew I wanted to give them  a final press with the hand iron afterwards.

I hope you can see this okay (maybe click to enlarge?) but I had positioned and pressed the end hem and approx six to eight inches. There is a line between the newly flattened linen and the bumpy textured cloth on the right hand side. That's one press for about five seconds, using  spritz of water on the cloth first and additional steam. I rolled up my metaphorical sleeves and got busy pressing the runners end for end and both sides.

I'm still new to the machine so in time I will learn all the tricks to do a better faster job. I tried rolling the runner and tucking in behind the pivot but there was too much material. I thought I could just unroll a section at a time. Nope!  Then I realized there would be a crease line regardless and so just did the easy pull through as shown above.   The press did a beautiful job of flattening the cloth but there was little to no shine.  

I tacked on my "made by..." label and then fired up the hand iron.   I didn't have to give that heavy downward pressure this time but simply smooth and bring out the shine. What a treat!

So here are the beauty shots:

So what's next? I have some ideas and I thought this might look good as warp.... its a variegated tencel called Sapphire Combo.

The Quiet 'Other' Project

Its been a busy time, a busy season so far! Between trips, family visits, doctor appointments and daily chores, my weaving has slowed down around here.  I'm still grabbing time here and there but I definitely have some distractions!

The maintenance work has resumed on the Woolhouse where I must mark all the cords at the sweet spot for pegging. The Megado is mostly together but is waiting on some parts, some adjustments and a laptop.  Seems everyone at Louet Canada is down in California for Convergence so all has come to a sudden stop until they come back and get back to business as usual. Then once they do, some parts may need to come from Holland.

The studio is looking 'fuller':

The Megado, which will be called Margaret, has the large single treadle installed in place now and the brake is in place but we're scuffling with the adjustments. It will all work out in the end but just take time to resolve. I haven't even looked at drafts for its inaugural project as yet. Too much else going on!

Do you recall the book mark project?  I left the tie up in place and planned a second project. I do this on the Louet Spring and its conventional tie up system to save my back from being hunched over doing the tie ups. We do raise the loom up on crates and I sit on a stool but its the leaning forward to reach the back shafts 9 to 12 that grabs me.  So doing a second project gives me a reprieve on the tie up, but by the end of weaving it, I'm more than tired of the pattern!

So we start with warp:

This time its 10/2 mercerized cotton from Webs and the colour is called Shell. My planned sett will be 28 epi. It will be roughly 14.5 inches in the reed.

The beaming went well. I really like the Louet method as it works well every time. I used a trick I learned on the Madelyn van der Hoogt DVD and tied cords around the back beam at the far left and right of the warp. Its hard to see as my cord is the same colour as the warp. It's there to prevent any spreading of the warp as its being beamed. It seems that they can creep out a bit and deviate by 1/4 an inch (or more.) It seemed to contain it well and keep it tightly on track.

My first runner I treadled 'as drawn in' and used 10/2 mercerized cotton in navy blue. The picture shows the end of 55" of runner and I've got a spacer in and about to weave the other hem allowance.

The second runner, still in blue, I treadled the main part of the pattern over and over. I had to pay more attention to where I was in the continuously looping run!

By now I was tired of blue as well as the same old, same old treadling. I got out the book marks and looked at the treadling variations I played around with and chose a couple for the next two runners.

So the next runner I chose cream/ white bamboo and really liked the sheen and subtle look of the pattern:

I simply treadled 1 through to 6 and back again for ten repeats and then treadled 12 down to 1 and back to 12 for a pattern break. I repeated this over for a series of blocks.  I liked it and so on the fourth and last runner, I stuck with the same bamboo, and the same colour, but did the reverse! I treadled 12 down to 7 and back to 12 for ten repeats and then a pattern break of treadling 1 to 12 and back to 1 again. Its different but still has the blocks :

I had to hold the camera at an angle to capture the pattern. Soon it was all over and the loom was empty.

I did my customary serging of the edges and my samples.

Next up was hand sewing the hems and I quite enjoy having the handwork to do while watching the TV at night. They took me three nights to get the four runners done.  Perfect for reruns....

This runner was gifted to friend Margaret. The second cream runner is on the dresser in our guest room. I found a treadling error that I did my best to needle weave in the one missing shot of weft but I wasn't happy enough with it to put it in the sale box.

Next up the blue runners... here's one variation:

I quickly got another warp beamed onto the Spring and so when time allows, I sit and throw some shots, but not often enough !  I'm not in a panic about the lack of weaving right now as soon enough I'll have another loom loaded and under way and the third will come on line soon after. I can only sit at one at a time so they will all take their turn.  I don't have much for inventory and I am thinking of sitting out any sales this fall. I'll continue to weave and add the box for the following year. There's a couple of very interesting prospects in the offering for 2013! Sure would be nice to have lots of stock!   I'd better get busy.....

Making Blue

The tie up on a countermarche loom is fully double that of a jack loom but oh, so worth it! The large shed and easy treadling is a delight. For a twelve shaft /12 treadle project, that's 144 ties. Even a healthy back may have an issue or three by the time you waded through that! So, I decided to make the most of my projects by leaving a tie up in place and reworking the project and loading on another warp. First project was three scarves and this project will be three table runners, all woven in the gebrochene hind und under pattern.

I was inspired by Dorothy's runner (also shown at the link above) that she sent me for my birthday and so went looking for a fine 16/2 mercerised cotton in cream. I was more than a little stunned to find that I have none! How did that happen? In fact it always makes me laugh that I have a stash the size I do and still need to buy more. So I decided to see what I did have that would work and found a mercerised deep midnight blue 16/2 that might do. So I wound a 6 1/2 yard warp of 537 ends, for a width of 14.92" in the reed. I plan to sett the project at 36 epi, using a 12 dent reed.

Beaming a warp on the Louet Spring is a breeze and it goes quickly. Here's a review of the process. Here's the current project ready to load on the loom:

The bubble wrap stops the ends from slipping into the raddle slots on top! After a bit of work slipping the ends through the rod and lacing on, and filling the raddle, you have this:

Slip in the brown paper and wind on, tweaking the threads at the raddle every so often. The warp didn't give me any trouble winding on but it was another matter when it came to threading! Mercerised cottons have been treated to be smooth and shiny... right? They should behave.... right?  Well, no!

Every single warp thread did this (above) as I tried to thread. They clung to each other like they were mohair!

I like to pull my heddles across in an easy pattern, in this case one through four and then take four warp ends slotted between my fingers and then reach through with a hook to thread. 

Some times the thread pulled free of its clingy siblings and other times, they knotted. I kept a needle handy to open snarls. This meant the threading took far longer to do and my patience ran thin at times. Air got a little 'blue'  :)

I also took many breaks as it meant being hunched over far longer than I planned on. I wanted to use a natural beige 40/2 linen and so wound six pirns tightly and then dampened a clean new dishcloth and rolled the pirns into it, then slipped it all into a zip loc bag and placed in the fridge. In 24 hours they should be evenly damp and easier to weave with over the dry wirey linen straight off the cone. {but once you start a project with damp linen, you must continue till you finish and not switch to dry weft. This may mean winding  new pirns and having to wait till the next day to finish. } Its also best to allow the new cloth to dry before being curled up on the cloth roll.  If you are not able to weave with the damp pirns, store in the fridge. If you can't get to weaving for a few days, then slip the pirns into the freezer. Why all this fuss? Linen is susceptible to mildew if left damp and warp. Defrosting pirns only takes 15 to 20 minutes ahead of resuming your project. I just leave mine in a spot of sunshine and its ready in no time.

This is the first runner underway and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Its a busy pattern and that's why I was looking for softer shades of cream to play the greyed beige linen off. I thought it wouldn't hurt to complete it as someone would love it and buy it for their home or as a gift.  Its never failed to amaze me how something I have woven that I didn't like becomes someone's absolute favourite!

These two pictures are of my second runner in a 'tone on tone' approach to use a play of light to show the pattern to a good advantage.  Click to enlarge and you'll notice that there are 2 shades of blue: the lighter shade is the 16/2 cotton warp and my weft is an approx 'skinny' 8/2 orlec. Yup, a synthetic yarn. For one, it was a gorgeous shade of deep navy blue and it also means the runner will be more hard wearing and easier to iron.  {Orlec comes in 90+ colours and is super for day to day table linens such as placemats, napkins and such as today's households can't fuss with specialized laundry. I have alternated end for end with a good quality cotton as well and the table cloth turned out great!}

Runner number three is due to start and I have no idea what the weft will be! It will be from the stash though as Canada has a nation wide postal strike going on right now. Can you imagine it? Being cut off from yarn orders like this?

Oh, the horror!