Inkle Weaving, Knitting, Lace, Weaving, Weaving Tips

The Never-ending Warp

Posted on by Jean

I should title this the never-ending post. I guess I’m gabby when I haven’t talked for a while. 🙂

I originally put this warp on in November 2018. It was a linen/cotton warp with textured cotton weft for a table runner and place mats for my brother and SIL. I ordered way too much of the textured cotton, so I tied another warp on to the existing warp again. Then I re-sleyed it and tied on a wool warp using a cone of yarn that has been in my stash for eons. Liked that so much that I tied on another wool warp. This time using yarns I dyed back in 2017. I re-sleyed it again to 18 epi to use up some more stash yarns that are a linen blend. It makes great yardage for pillows or tote bags. I liked that so much, I tied on more cotton/linen warp to just play with stash yarns as warp. Honestly, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tied onto this warp, but it’s a lot. These are the many lives of this warp:

Don’t get me wrong, Broken Twill is a beautiful, classic weave, but I’m over it. Yesterday I changed the tie up to “plain weave.” Because it’s broken twill, it can’t be a true plain weave. The sett is a little open, but I’ve learned to not judge a fabric until I’ve washed it. I think this will make nice napkins. I’m just weaving it as yardage, with no breaks, until the end of the warp… if there is an end to this warp. With every advance I sigh because I can see there’s a lot left.

A couple of things I wanted to point out… I had my son take some pictures of me changing the tie up so you can see how easy it is to change from the top of the lamms. I posted how I converted my counter march looms to this method here. It literally took about two minutes to change the four shaft twill tie up to a two shaft tie up and my shed was perfect. I didn’t need to tweak it at all after the change. Much easier to sit on my little stool and adjust my tie up. I sit on it with one leg out of the loom and one in and I’m very comfortable while doing so. https://jeanelizabethstudio.com/2019/11/15/top-o-the-lamms-tie-up/


The other thing I wanted to show is the cloth beam. Because I’m weaving with all different sizes of wefts, the width of the cloth changes. Some new weavers may not realize that this can wreak havoc on the tension of your selvedges. If the edge of the “new” cloth is narrower than the “old cloth” on your beam, it’ll be fine because it’s supported. If it’s wider it will cause problems because the extra bit of selvedge has nothing to support it so the edges of your warp will be a different tension. You can remedy this by adding warping stick in so that the whole cloth is supported. I also do this when I have a fat roll of cloth on the cloth beam that feels mushy to me. It just stabilizes everything.

I did a few other odds and end fiber related things lately. We lucked out with weather last weekend while camping at the lake near our house. I always bring an inkle loom with me and enjoy the peace and quiet along with the gorgeous views and wildlife. I’m including the draft for the band I’m weaving here. I don’t usually plan these out. I just wind and if I like it, I draft it so I have it if I ever want to weave it again.

I found out about a weaving shop in Comfort, Texas from a fellow fiber friend on Ravelry. Unfortunately, I found out about the shop because they were closing their doors. I met some Rav friends there and as soon as we walked in the door there was a Kromski Minstrel beaming like a light. In my head I thought, “I do not need four spinning wheels.” Of course I said that about dogs once, too…. My husband talked me into it. He didn’t have to convince me very much, but a little and I caved. I let “him” have “his” way. 🙂 All of my wheels have little baskets on them to hold their oil bottles, so I got to work and wove one for this one as well. I learned this technique in the Weaving Within Reach Book and have now done a couple of bowls in cotton cording and a couple of little baskets like these. I used a pint Ball jar for my shape. You can a watch a video of me weaving the basket on my Instagram.

I’ve been knitting a bit as well. I finished the Bousta Beanie and the Shetland Shawl I was working on. I’ll share a picture of the shawl once I build my stretcher and get it washed, but you can see Chico enjoying it’s warmth while I knit it. That silly little dog comes running as soon as I pick up my needles. That’s all fine and well when I’m knitting a shawl or sweater, but when he doesn’t realize the difference in size and tries to climb under a hat I’m knitting…. well… Right now I’m knitting the Symphony Shawl Kit from Sweet Georgia. The colors are stunning!

Jean

A handwoven cloth is a very special thing. This ancient art has provided basic clothing, kept our babies warm, decorated our homes, and added fun accessories to our fashions. It never ceases to amaze me the beauty that comes from some thread and imagination. My fingers touch every inch of every thread at least five times before I even begin to weave. This the warp, the threads that are put on the loom. The thread I weave with, that is wound on a shuttle, is the weft. Once the piece is off the loom, it still needs to be wet finished: washed, pressed, and hemmed or fringed. Believe it or not, the actual weaving of the item is the shortest of all the steps unless it's a very complex pattern. I use only the best quality threads and yarns. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to take the time to do something by hand, do it with the best you can find.