I had a couple of things not work out as planned with the third warp.
I started winding for 2 more scarves and about half way through winding, I realized that I was running out of yarn. I had enough yarn for just the warp on two scarves, or warp and weft for one scarf. I unwound the warp into a ball and started again with a shorter warp for just one more scarf. This time it worked.
I cut the two finished scarves off the loom, leaving the yarn threaded through the heddles and reed, and I started tying the new warp to the old ends. I am worried about the knots holding on this slippery alpaca yarn, so I tied them tight. The warp wound on easily and I wove about an inch. That is when I noticed that the pattern did not match up with the warp stripes. It is one thread off!
Because these scarves have a due date hanging like the sword of Damocles, I did not undo anything. I adjusted the treadling slightly to make a fancier twill and continued weaving scarf number 6. The pattern will still make a beautiful scarf, it is just disappointing that my plan did not work.
As I have been weaving I have been thinking about where I went wrong in my planning. I drew out the threading, with a full draft, and colored the stripes where I needed them. I wound the warp following that plan. But I realized when I started tying on, I started at the wrong end. My threading is not balanced, I am on a straight draw (shafts 1 through 8) so my threading starts on a 1 and ends on an 8. Usually when I thread for a point twill I thread, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 so that it ends on the one, also since this is on 8 shafts, the twill would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2...a repeat over the eight shafts.
So when I started tying on the new warp, I started tying the left side of the new warp on the right side of the old warp. I was tying thread one to thread eight and thread two to thread seven, and so on.
None of this really matters in the short run, I will have a beautiful scarf, but if I want to repeat this method of weaving scarves (tying on the warp instead of re-threading everything) I need to remember that there is a up and a down side on that new warp. I have to start working with the correct side up!
I started winding for 2 more scarves and about half way through winding, I realized that I was running out of yarn. I had enough yarn for just the warp on two scarves, or warp and weft for one scarf. I unwound the warp into a ball and started again with a shorter warp for just one more scarf. This time it worked.
I cut the two finished scarves off the loom, leaving the yarn threaded through the heddles and reed, and I started tying the new warp to the old ends. I am worried about the knots holding on this slippery alpaca yarn, so I tied them tight. The warp wound on easily and I wove about an inch. That is when I noticed that the pattern did not match up with the warp stripes. It is one thread off!
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| Sixth Scarf in a point twill. |
As I have been weaving I have been thinking about where I went wrong in my planning. I drew out the threading, with a full draft, and colored the stripes where I needed them. I wound the warp following that plan. But I realized when I started tying on, I started at the wrong end. My threading is not balanced, I am on a straight draw (shafts 1 through 8) so my threading starts on a 1 and ends on an 8. Usually when I thread for a point twill I thread, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 so that it ends on the one, also since this is on 8 shafts, the twill would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2...a repeat over the eight shafts.
So when I started tying on the new warp, I started tying the left side of the new warp on the right side of the old warp. I was tying thread one to thread eight and thread two to thread seven, and so on.
None of this really matters in the short run, I will have a beautiful scarf, but if I want to repeat this method of weaving scarves (tying on the warp instead of re-threading everything) I need to remember that there is a up and a down side on that new warp. I have to start working with the correct side up!
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