Peggy Osterkamp's Weaving Blog
"Weaving should be fun!"
Introduction: I’ve been beating around the bush recently with lots of topics all coming down to determining the sett for various projects. Sett is a large subject so this time I will be referring you to various previous posts. I think that way you can get a thorough picture of the topic. Follow the links … Read more
IntroductionAll these posts about ends per inch (epi) are very much related to a wonderful way to calculate sett invented by Mr. Thomas R. Ashenhurst for industry. (Can you image a textile engineer wrapping a thread for making bed sheets around a ruler?) I’ve written several blog posts about his formula and uses for it. … Read more
Introduction:Tal Saarony’s posts have led me down a wonderful “rabbit hole” for information about fine threads. I’m still gathering information from very experienced weavers, so I’ll start with how I’ve dealt with fine silk threads. You can see some of my sheer pieces by checking out my Gallery and the photos for on the headings for … Read more
Here are the sett charts from my book, Weaving for Beginners. They are more like summaries of the comprehensive charts found in my book, Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle but I think they can do for a quick check. My charts are based on the yards per pound (m/kg) of the yarns. … Read more
It’s been five years since I published my new website including over 100 weaving tips and I’m counting down the top ten. Here is number 7. I’m amazed that it has had about around 5,000 views. The top one has about over 23,000 views to date!! Can you guess what the subject of that tip is? This … Read more
New Sett Charts in Book I: Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle and “Weaving for Beginners” Sett Charts Sett charts can save you valuable weaving time. Instead of using the sometimes inaccurate wrapping method or doing the tedious calculations yourself, you can look up the type of yarn that you are using to find … Read more
In weft-faced fabrics, the warp is all but covered by the weft. To accomplish this, you have to space the warps far enough apart that the rows of weft will pack down and cover them. There is a method which can be used as a starting point for experimentation in finding this warp spacing. Use … Read more
This is a weaving trick for sett used in industry: a balanced looking fabric is actually a bit more warp predominant than precisely balanced. It looks balanced at a glance, but upon inspection, you will see that there are more warps per inch than wefts per inch. We handweavers can use this principle, too. And … Read more
There is another concern about sett to consider: The Purpose. Do you want a firm or an open or a medium weight cloth? Figures A, B, and C show the same yarns, all used in a balanced plain weave (warps and wefts show equally). So, an open weave can be as balanced as a tightly … Read more
The sett is the density of the warp. It is the number of ends (warp threads) per inch (epi). The sett you choose depends on the yarns, the weave structure (e.g., plain or twill, etc.) and the intended purpose of the finished piece (e.g., a loosely-woven shawl or upholstery in a tight, firm weave, or … Read more
Ellen Miller showed me her gorgeous alpaca double weave scarf. She was disappointed that the sett wasn’t exactly balanced as typical double cloth is. This showed more in the white areas. My sense is that it is beautiful with the more open sett. You can still see the solid black and white areas. For her … Read more
Ashenhurt and other sett charts tell you the setts for balanced weaves–where both the warp and the weft show equally. Weavers often don’t want both to show equally, they may want the warp to predominate in some cases, or the weft. Then you adjust the sett from the charts accordingly–more warps per inch (epi) for … Read more
There is a comment asking for more information and clarification about sett and Ashenhurst and various sett charts in other sources. My reply follows. What do you find confusing about my descriptions in my Book #1, Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle, and in my new book, Weaving for Beginners? Your input will help … Read more
Introduction:Once I saw on Instagram a loom where the treadles had numbers pasted on them. Starting from an edge the numbers were: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. I like to keep my treadles free of numbers so they can be tied up for any structure I might want to weave. I think of setting up the treadles is like … Read more
Introduction:Isn’t one cross enough? Yes, “if you want to do it the hard way”. (Jim Ahrens used to say that often.) What good does a second cross do? Two things:1. Allows you to spread out the warp quickly to its proper width in the raddle2. Makes it easy to count as you wind the warp. … Read more
Introduction: The reason this is not a good device for warp yarns is because the upper and lower yarns will be of different tensions when they leave the doubling stand. This isn’t a problem with weft yarns. Have you ever wanted to combine two or more yarns as one weft? Have you discovered it doesn’t work very well because, no matter what you’ve tried, … Read more
I wrote these 3 red books to pass on the production weaving techniques I learned in a Production Weaving class at Pacific Basin School of Textiles in the 1970’s. Jim Ahrens was the teacher. At the time he was also teaching John Violet how he built his production looms. That was the beginning of AVL … Read more
The vest complete with its button! It was on a stand beside my display at Asilomar. Here’s my display table. Next to my vest I had this handling piece so people wouldn’t touch the vest. Notice evidence of the 2-stick heading I used so I could cut off the 1st piece before the warp was … Read more
My first sample of weaving in strips of my natural dyed silks. These were dyed with avocado pits—with no mordant. I’m saving the more special ones for when I’ve made up my mind what to do next. All these silks were dyed in the same dye pot. The only difference is that each one was … Read more
Fourteen years ago on November 19, 2010, my new website was born, thanks to my tech guy. The first of 1,052 posts was a review of my book, Weaving for Beginners, that was in Handwoven magazine. Weather you know the book or not, you might be surprised to find things that are inside and possibly … Read more
Since this is a weaving blog, I realized that I should make sure to post some important weaving information. The 2-stick heading came up when a weaver asked me for advice about the sett (epi) for her project she was planning. I couldn’t totally decide and recommended one but said to make a sample first … Read more
I took a workshop at Fibershed not far from me to make and use pigments. The teacher was Tilke Elkins at info@wildpigmentproject.org. What inspired me was to make paint for watercolor painting which I hope to do soon when I have all my paints made. I was extremely fascinated by her showing us the process … Read more
Reed Substitution ChartWhen you don’t have the ideal reed for the sett (ends per inch), you must substitute one that you do have. Reeds go by dents per inch—meaning the number of spaces in the reed in one inch. The ideal reed accommodates two warp ends per dent, so that knots can pass through, and … Read more
A comment on my previous post gave more information about the yarn balance. It is available from Eugene Textile Center, in Eugene, Oregon ( www.eugenetextilecenter.com ) for $35. I find it one of my most important tools in my studio. It can tell you the yards per pound of a yarn as I explained in … Read more
I was given this beautifully presented saying years ago and always loved it. I kept it in a place where I wouldn’t forget it. And every few years it pops up again. I want to share it with all my subscribers, Facebook friends, and everyone else. My idea for this post is to call attention … Read more