A Universal Tie up for a Countermarch Loom

Janet Phillip's book directs countermarch loom owners to use a universal tie up to weave the sample blanket - unless you have 14 treadles. I have 10 treadles.

I had heard of universal tie up before, and although I could understand easily how with a jack loom you can tie one shaft to one treadle, I did not see how on earth it could work for a countermarch. Generally, with countermarch looms the rule is that every treadle lifts or lowers every lam. So, you don't leave any gaps in the tie up unless you have unused shafts.

After all the playing about I did learning to get my countermarch tied up and balanced, I couldn't accept this universal tie up notion - except I had to because I believe that Janet knows what she's writing about. So I put disbelief to one side (if there's one thing I've learned in life it's how little I know) and I tied up on the scheme she gives. This tie up enables plain weave, and lifts for 2/2 twill, 3/1 twill and 1/3 twill.

Using 8 treadles, and 4 shafts, the scheme is:

treadle 1 tied to upper lams for shafts 1 and 3
treadle 2 tied to lower lams for shafts 1 and 3
treadle 3 tied to upper lam shaft 1, and lower lam shaft 3
treadle 4 tied to lower lam shaft 1 and upper lam shaft 3

treadle 5 tied to lower lam shaft 2 and upper lam shaft 4
treadle 6 tied to upper lam shaft 2 and lower lam shaft 4
treadle 7 tied to lower lams shafts 2 and 4
treadle 8 tied to upper lam shafts 2 and 4

It's a very skimpy looking tie up compared to the normal countermarch arrangement:

You always use two treadles together, and if you get the right combination it works! However, my initial skepticism nearly caused me to give up before I started. Especially when having followed the basic instructions I got to this vision of chaos:


I stomped downstairs to make a cup of tea, shouting out "doesn't work". Fortunately I live with a man who likes solving problems. Keeps me on my toes. "It should do" he said, "I read the book and it's logical, I'll have a look at it in a moment...."

That had me running back upstairs with the cry of "If it does work, then I CAN do it, it's MY mechano set, MY model railway..."

(Sad isn't it, these are references to childhood 30 plus years ago when my brother had engineering toys and and I wasn't allowed in the room when they were out. I had to make do with wool, a crochet hook and bits of string and card for constructing things (I managed to make a theatre for my string puppets)... if only someone had given me a loom in those days!) (Later in life I made up for the frustration by working for engineering firms and playing with old motorbikes!)

I got the book out again and checked I had done everything as Janet directs. Then I looked at the ties, and decided that my normal principles applied: upper lam ties need around two texsolv notches slack and lower lam ties should be taut. It only took a handful of alterations and suddenly it worked.

The treadling plans in the book for the sample blanket show shaft lifts. For each lift, I was going to have to use two treadles, so I copied out the diagram showing in the bottom row the treadles and above the shafts lifted.And this I pinned to a handy little cork board on the castle of my loom. (I'd been wondering what it that was for).
Then, for each pattern I wove I wrote the shaft lifts in order on a small white board which I placed at the side of the loom.
It's not a very clear photo, but I divided the list with horizontal lines as this helps me keep track of where I have got to. Then I recited the pattern to myself as I went, "4 - and - 5, then 3 - and - 5". I found I could get into a nice rhythm for weaving this way.