A replacement heddle

This is the last of set the photos I took when I was weaving during my Christmas holidays. When I had got my warp on the loom, and started weaving, after a few inches I thought the pattern looked odd in places. The weave structure was an advancing twill and the threading doesn't use alternate odd and even shafts, so my tabby (plain weave) treadles didn't work. I normally weave a header in plain weave and this makes it easy to spot most errors made in threading and sleying the warp.

This is the first error I spotted: I had used a heddle on the wrong shaft. The texsolv heddles do not undo - I looked really closely because if it had been possible to untie it I could have simple moved the heddle. I contemplated for a while the idea of cutting the warp off and then re-threading. I felt really depressed by that idea. It would take me ages.

Then I remembered reading somewhere, probably first in Osma Gallinger Tod's Manual of Helpful Hints for Handweavers, the solution of making a new heddle and tying it on the correct shaft. I got a couple of lengths of warp cotton and tied two overhand knots for the heddle eye, then tied it on the top shaft. Tying on the bottom shaft I didn't manage so easily. I did this from sitting under the loom and reaching across. Big mistake. I pulled a muscle in my back that stopped me weaving for a couple of days. It didn't help that I managed to tie the heddle to the wrong shaft first go, and used a knot that wasn't easy to undo. I consulted my friends in the Online Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers about this - and received the useful suggestion that on some looms you can use a paperclip around the bottom shaft. Well, my shafts are too wide for that - but the concept in this suggestion, of a loop around the bottom shaft to tie on to is a great idea. A slack loop of knotted thread would work fine - next time. Anyhow, I was rather proud of my achievement in getting this new heddle made and getting rid of the mistake without having to cut the whole warp off, so I took these commemorative pictures.

One new cotton heddle, ready for service!


And, next picture, the single cut thread is knotted to a length of (red) thread for attaching into the woven cloth. I had no problems with this, I didn't know that new heddle was there once I got weaving and the tension of the thread was as good as the rest of the warp.

A second problem: after weaving a few more inches, I had to use the cutting-off and sewing back into the cloth method again when I found I had two other threads in the wrong order.

Once again, this solution worked perfectly.

Warping up again

I've been putting a new warp on my loom this afternoon, and thought it's about time I wrote about these photos I took of my previous warp. The first shows my new raddle. I made this with a spare lath bought when I was making loom aprons, with some 30mm (1 1/2") stainless steel panel pins. I marked out 1/2" points and tapped the pins in, so the intervals match the other raddle I use at the front of the loom when winding the warp on, and behind the shafts when threading. This little raddle is to be used clamped onto the back beam for keeping a nice even warp spread as I wind on.


It works a treat! It doesn't seem to make the least difference that I didn't get the pins all perfectly upright - the main thing is they are exactly at the 1/2" point.



The next new thing I tried out is the reed position suggested by Cally for sleying. I had to think about this a bit, the sides of my loom are too far apart and too low to rest the reed on, but there, ready to hand was the box I rest my treadles on when tying them up, and another handy box that my new boots came in.


I've been working on my lashing on technique as well. Thanks to encouraging words from Peg. I was going to give up on this, I was so sure it wasn't going to work for me. Peg's offer of help left me feeling obliged to have another go - and I'm glad now that I did, because I made it work well this time.

I wanted to use a knot that would not skew the thread group sideways. So, instead of the overhand knot I used before, I tied my threads with a slip knot. I did this by starting with the threads wrapped over my finger, and my finger at 90 degrees to the warp. This terminated the warp with a knot that held all the threads at equal tension and provided a flat knot for the lashing cord to wrap around.

The next, small, change that made a big difference was that I wrapped the lashing cord through the thread groups without pulling it up tight until all the groups were lashed. This photo is a bit small, but the warp apron and warp rods are resting on the knee beam of the loom.


I must go now, I need to eat my tea early as I am intending to get to along the Alsager Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers meeting tonight. I'm taking my double treadle Timbertops Leicester and some North Ronaldsay wool with me - more about this anon!

Warp preparation

Here are a few pictures and notes with a little change I've made to the way I prepare a warp. All credit to Peggy Ostercamp, again.

I think everyone learning to weave should have her books, I'm now looking at getting hold of the one I don't have - the first - on Winding a Warp. It isn't in the stock lists of the UK suppliers I've looked at yet, so I will have to choose between ordering from abroad or a special order with a UK supplier. Sigh. Last time I got a book by special order it took 3 months. I might place an order with Canadian supplier Camilla Valley Farm. I love their web site! They have all sorts of lovely things for weavers and spinners, and the most wonderful booklist for weavers, spinners and knitters with really helpful book reviews. The problem is, if I order from them I know I will end up ordering more than just the one book because they have several titles not usually offered in the UK. I need to think about whether I can afford to do this.

Now, back to the preparation of my warp, which is done on an Ashford warping frame.


What I used to do is to tie four bows in linen warp thread to preserve the cross in the warp for my lease sticks.



What follows bellow is just a simpler method to achieve the same thing, and it worked beautifully.


The linen yarn was threaded through one side of the cross, back through the other and the ends then knitted together, making a continuous loop.




Then one end of the loop is pulled through the other end - less work, and it did the job beautifully! You can pull on the long loop to lift the top thread groups and open up the warp cross to put the lease sticks in.









I was so keen to get the lease sticks in that I nearly forgot the little bows I tie by the last peg on the warping frame.

These help me to ensure that the apron rod goes in exactly the end of the warp. I think it saves time and fuss later to have the end of the warp marked in this way.




This lovely green warp was for my Christmas holidays weaving. I chose the colours of holly leaves and berries - red weft on the green warp. You can see what I was weaving in my eariler post of 6/1/08 about advancing twills.