peggyosterkamp

What is “Tromp as Writ”?

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When the treadling draft is exactly the same as the threading draft, we say the draft is treadled “tromp as writ.” Sometimes, only the threading is given and the words “treadle as written” or “treadle as threaded.” Tell you to tromp as writ.

Here is an example of a draft that is treadled tromp as writ.

You can tell because the blocks in the drawdown draft are squared.

The illustration shows the treading is the same as the threading.

You can “tromp as writ” in other ways, too. For example, you can use the order the colors were used in the threading for the order of colors in the treadling. That sequence would make a plaid.

Turned Drafts Explained

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You can put the threading draft in the treadling area of a draft and the treadling into the threading area. It’s called a turned draft. You literally copy one draft into the other position and vice versa. In the next illustration, this draft will be turned.

This is a turned draft: the threading became the treadling, and the treadling became the threading from the first illustration.

I had fun with the pine trees and turned them upside down as well as from positive to negative as in this illustration and the next one.

Here the positive turned to the negative. For more information on turned drafts go to: Mastering Weave Structures by Sharon Alderman and The Complete Book of Drafting for Handweavers by Madelyn van der Hoogt.

Profile Drafts Explained

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Threading drafts vs. profile drafts
Sometimes, every thread is indicated in the threading draft. The illustration shows a thread-by-thread threading draft and the complete drawdown draft that results. Other times groups of threads are indicated according to a design. The actual threads to be threaded aren’t given in the threading draft. They are indicated in words that tell which weave structure is being used.  Each weave has its own rules, so only the design is shown because the weaver is expected to understand the weave and its rules. They are called profile drafts. They are for working out designs as opposed to patterns.

Profile drafts
The illustration is a profile draft. The threading draft only shows sections of threads, not individual threads, and the drawdown shows the resulting design of the fabric. The treadling draft is not shown, but would be a profile, as well, and the sequence the blocks are treadled is the same as the threading sequence (often called “tromp as writ”).

The bottom line of the threading draft is called block A, and the next line up is Block B. Succeeding blocks going up away from the bottom of the threading draft will be C, D,E, etc.  Read more about blocks in my previous posts.

How to use profile drafts
Let’s say the weave structure you want to weave is “monk’s belt”, where Block A is threaded on shafts 1 and 2, and Block B on shafts 3 and 4. See the illustration.

The threading draft would read: 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2, etc. for as many threads needed for the width of the block indicated in the profile draft.

In this illustration, the blocks are different widths: the size of the first block is very small—only one repeat—so only 2 threads would be threaded in the first block A section. The illustration shows the actual threading for that draft.

Summary
Substitute the threading for your weave structure into the profile draft. Each structure has its special threading and weave structure. There are books that explain this method thoroughly: Sharon Alderman, Mastering Weave Structures and Madelyn van der Hoogt, The Complete Book of Drafting.

More About Patching Moth Holes with Needle Felting

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Introduction:

I took my favorite sweater out to pack for my trip to Venice and Basal this month. I hadn’t worn it all summer and hadn’t washed it at the end of spring. I was surprised to see several moth holes! I knew I had to patch it before they got worse and wash it and perhaps spray it.

This shows the patches I made. I didn’t have the exact right color, but the patches look pretty good even so. At least it saved the sweater. I’m told often at the seams you can find some loose fibers. All these seams were overcast.

I used fibers from roving I got from Dharma trading Co.

I also bought yarn that had fibers, but that didn’t work—the lines of the yarn were distracting.

You really need very, very thin layers of fibers as you do the needle felting. These fibers are ready to cover the hole with more ready for subsequent THIN layers.

You need a needle felting pad and a special needle for needle felting.  I’ve seen Styrofoam used for pads, too.

Put the pad under the hole and lay very thin fibers around the hole and tap the needle up and down  a few times just to attach the fibers. Note how fine the fibers are when first you poke the needle up and down to cover the hole.

The first layer is thin and is the size just to cover the hole.

Fold over some more fine fibers and needle felt them and fold over more layers of fibers. You don’t need a lot—just enough to secure the hole. Discard any extra fibers. I was able to shape some of the patches into squares as I got more experience.

The back of the cloth will look fuzzy. Needle felt it to bring it to the right side and finish the patch by poking the fibers back to the wrong side, so the patch is  relatively flat. I previously made a post on needle felting patches, but this time they are better, I think. With experience I realized that the trick is to use thin—almost whispy—fibers. See the link to the previous post where I also attached patches. HERE 

Two Knots and Maybe Three

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Introduction:

There is a whole chapter of knots in my book Warping Your Loom & Tying On New Warps. The knots here are from the book. 

 Surgeon’s Knot 
This is the knot I usually use when tying 1” groups of warp on to the cloth apron rod. It’s fast to make, easy to adjust and has more bite than an ordinary knot. 

Tie the beginning part of a shoelace knot, but before you tighten it, while the knot is still loose, take the tail you were working with into the loop and out once more. This gives the knot enough bite to hold, yet be adjustable.

Tighten the knot by pulling the tails in opposite directions. To adjust the warp tension, pull on one of the tails, and the knot capsizes or loosens. Hold on to the tails and pull the knot away from you to tighten the warp, then pull on the tails to tighten the knot down again.

Finish the knot with a half-bow knot as shown in the illustration. 

Half-bow Knot 
A half bow is a bow (shoelace knot) with only one loop. It is very fast to tie, secure, and pulls out with a jerk. Use it anytime you’d use a bow but want to make it faster and easier to pull out. I use it to tie the crosses when warping. It also can be used on top of a surgeon’s knot when tying the warp onto the cloth apron rod. 

1. Tie the beginning of a shoelace knot.  
2. Make a slip knot on top of that: First make a loop by crossing one of the tails over the other. Then reach through the loop making another loop within the first loop. Remember, don’t pull the tail completely through but make a loop instead. 
3. Tighten the knot by pulling the loop and the other tail in opposite directions. 
4. To release the knot, pull on the tail that made the loop (usually the shorter one). 

Weaver’s Knot 
The weaver’s knot’s characteristics—non-slip and a quick release—are valued not only by weavers but by climbers and sailors too. It’s slower to work than a square knot, but more secure and smaller. So if a square knot doesn’t hold, try a weaver’s or double weaver’s. Even so, some threads aren’t compatible enough with each other or are too slippery to tie either a square or a weaver’s knot. A splice knot is good then, or Jim’s fisherman’s knot holds the most slippery threads.  

1. Cross the two tails, left over right, and hold the crossing part between the thumb and first finger of the left hand. The “ears” are the ends of the tails that should stand up straight.

2. The right standing end is the worker thread. Take it around over the thumb and pass it behind the left-hand ear—just the left one—and bring it to the front between the two ears.

3. Drop the worker. Take the right-hand ear, bend it down into the circle, and place it under the thumb so it is pinched by the thumb along with the thread already under the thumb. The bent thread is actually bending on itself and held to itself in the pinch. 

4. To tighten, continue holding the thread bent on itself in the pinch between the thumb and index finger of the left hand while pulling on the remaining standing end with the right hand.  

The key to knowing you’ve tied the weaver’s knot correctly is to be able to release or undo it. To undo it, you want to straighten out the thread that makes the “U” in the completed knot. No matter which way you tie it there is one thread in a U-shape and the other thread winding itself around the first. Pull on both ends of that “U” thread—in opposite directions—to unbend it and straighten it out. The squiggly portion can be slipped right off, and even the squiggles relax so you have two fresh threads when you’re through.

When You Want to Hide a Warp

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I won’t say how I ended up with a 3” wide warp; but I did. White fisherman’s wool which I’ve been using lately, and I like it a lot. However, I wanted to weave some of the natural dyed silks I did during the pandemic. That’s a long time for those fabrics to be sitting around but I couldn’t figure out a way to use them. For this piece I made little tufts covering the entire 3” width and about 17” long. Way too slow and hard on my back to bend over forever!

In India, we went to a large fabric shop that had silks for weddings. In the end I bought about a meter of 21 different white silks. A reoccurring theme for me is to put several different fabrics in one dye pot and see the variations of color in the result. So I did that.

My next set of 21 silks was woven weft face. My threading was a point threading on 4 shafts and for each weft I only lifted two shafts at a time to insert STRIPS of the fabrics.  It did go much faster.

Then, surprise! I turned the piece over and I liked the wrong side as much as the right!

The next one I decided to work with the ends of the fabrics on the right side. This may have been red onion skins, but I lost the records while trying different things over the years.

Ha! I like the other side, too. So now I have to think of how I will arrange them because that’ s what I have in mind!

This is strip #4, flat side.

Strip 4, tuft side.

Piece 5 on the loom. I got the idea from a photo I saw on Instagram! It’s off the loom now and the back looks very similar to the front and as good as the front. I want to do another strip that uses all the white fabrics to show how they started out before dyeing. I’m working on that.

Combination #1. I haven’t figured out how many combos there will be! The thing I like about natural dyes is that they all look good together.

Combination #2. I’m thinking of them being attached at the tops with both front and backs showing. We’ll see what happens. There are other colors-ways that seemed too contrasting but maybe they can fit in if I have several of them—or keep them separate. I have quite a bit more warp and I’d like to weave it off and put on the next warp! Sound familiar??

Does a Teacher Like to Teach?  Who wouldn’t like these testimonials?

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“That’s what makes life worth living.”

That’s what 90-year-old  Lucy Wait said the other night while she was weaving. She lives across the hall from me and was suffering from extreme anxiety 2 years ago and no drug or therapist could help. She started weaving on a little Structo loom I had in my apartment and loved t. Then she wanted to weave a scarf for her son.

“I was so depressed this afternoon, and now I’m not and it’s all your fault.”

So, we went to the yarn store and in 3-4 minutes she found the yarn she wanted. Then she told me she didn’t want a tiny narrow scarf, but a regular size one. Over the counter a 15” Cricket loom was displayed. “Yes!” she said and we got another ball of yarn and took the loom home.

“Now that I’m wobbly and using my walker I can sit down and do something very satisfying.”

Lucy is weaving her 11th scarf for her friend who is a friend of her son. The first one she wove in July  2024. Her three children and 2 grandchildren and other relatives already have scarves, so she is now working on gifts to her friends.

“I feel like I’m giving each of them a lump of gold.”

Here are 3 scarves all folded and finished and ready to present to a granddaughter and 2 friends. The dark and light ones were woven with wool given to her when we visited a sheep farm. She kept raving all along about how wonderful the yarn felt.

“When my son and his friend are going to a race, I don’t let them know how anxious I really am. The blessing is that my loom is across the hall in Peggy’s apartment”

While Lucy is weaving, I work on things along side at my table. Often several things are in progress!

A Fairy Tale Explains a Simple Tension System: In Other Words, a Brake!

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There is a website for Ahrens Looms. https://ahrenslooms.com/

We made it years ago to help explain how these simple looms work. Ahrens stands for Jim Ahrens, the “A” part of AVL. The brake or tension system as he called it is simple and I’ve seen it used all over the world. When I couldn’t explain how it worked, he told me the fairy tale he made up. That did the trick! This system is on many AVL looms as well as the ones Jim personally made.

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time long, long ago before there were ratchets for looms, ways to tension the warp were very primitive. One day a weaver found a new way to put tension on the warp beam. He put a sturdy stick, like a peg, vertically in his warp
beam, hooked a rope on it, wound it around and around the beam, and hung a big rock on it. With the weight off the floor, he had full warp tension, and he was very pleased with himself.

Fig 176A_149 A


As he wove along and advanced the warp, the rope wound up on the beam and the rock rose higher and higher off
the ground. Pretty soon he had to stop because the rock was up on the warp beam, and he had to unwind the rope
to let it down. Then he wove along until the rock got too high, stopped to unwind some rope and let it down again. This worked fine and he was very, very pleased with himself.
One time when he was unwinding the rope, he pulled out the peg and the rope slipped off the stick into his hand. He was surprised when he held the end of the rope, that he didn’t have to pull hard on it at all to keep the rope from slipping around the beam. In fact, he could hold the loop in the end of the rope with one finger, and the rope around the beam
didn’t slip. The big rock still hung in place putting full tension on the warp!
He had been winding the rope say, 1/2 dozen times around the beam, so he decided to see if he could wind fewer times.
He found with only 3 turns on the beam there was still not much weight needed on the end of the rope. So he hung asmall rock on the end of the rope and began weaving.

Fig 176B_149 B


As he wove along, the big rock rose and the little rock fell until it hit the floor. Then the most amazing surprise came. When the warp threads were lifted to open the shed, the beam rolled forward slightly, raising the big rock and lowering the small rock to the floor. The little rock touching the floor took the tension off that end of the rope for an instant. As soon as it did, the rope slipped a bit on the beam. As soon as the beam slipped, the big rock put tension back on the rope pulling the small rock up off the floor again. The slippage let the warp move forward a few thousandths of an inch—just enough to compensate for the take-up of the warp for the weft! The big rock was off the floor, obviously, while the small rock dangled just above the floor, where it bounced and dangled on and off the floor as he wove along. Now he didn’t have to get up and unwind the rope to let the big rock down! He could weave along continuously, and the big rock would hold the full warp tension. The little rock would let the warp beam slip a bit with each weft and also would let it slip when he advanced the warp. The two rocks remained in these positions all during his weaving. This pleased him very, very, very much. When the shed closed, our weaver realized that the beam rolled backwards to its starting place. The tension on the warp threads never changed even when the warp threads were lifted to open the sheds, because the weight (the big rock) was always the same. This was perfect for fine silk warp threads that couldn’t stand the stress of stretching with the old locked beam systems. He was enormously pleased with himself! Rocks (with one rock ten times heavier than the other) and the weaver’s invention are still used today!

When Jim Ahrens Began Using the Weight-Counter Weight System


He tried the two weights and noticed the two weights jerked when the rope slipped. Then he got the idea to use a small spring in place of the counterweight The spring let the rope slip slowly so there was no jerk or sudden change, just smooth weaving.

Fig 176C_149 C

He came up with the idea on his own, but never claims to have invented it; her said, “I always found someone else had done the things I worked out on my own.” When he needed to make smaller looms, there wasn’t enough room for the big weight so he substituted a heavy spring for the weight “It was no big advance, there was no place for the weight.” he said. It works the same way as the weight and small spring.

Fig 176D_149 D

The heavy spring puts the tension on the warp; the small spring is the counterweight. When the shed opens, the warp beam rolls forward a bit loosening the tension on the other end of the rope at the small spring. The rope slips a little. The heavy spring takes over again, putting the rope back under tension. when the shed closes the warp beam rolls back to its starting point. The slippage is a few thousandths of an inch and the warp stays under constant tension.

As you crank the warp forward you exert more force on the warp than the force of the heavy spring causing the cord to slip. this allows the beam to turn and the warp to unwind.

Jim preferred using the combination of a heavy weight and the small spring because he can beat harder than with just the two springs. But the double springs are a good enough substitute if you don’t beat too hard.

How to Change Blocks when Weaving

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I wove a table runner for my former mother-in-law. But after it was finished, I decided she wouldn’t have appreciated it so I still have it and love it. It is waiting for a new owner to come forward, however. Here is a corner which shows the borders on the ends and on the sides. That means for the beginning and the ends the weaving must be different from the weaving in the middle section.

If you’ve understood my previous posts about naming blocks, you’ll remember that the arrangement of the blocks is A, B, A.

In other words the side borders always weave alike so they are Block A . For this discussion, disregard the lines in the middle section in the runner photo and pretend that section all looks alike. Then that is Block B. 

The weave structure is twill, and some areas are warp face and some weft face (and some all the same).

The illustration shows both warp-face and weft-faced areas. The main body is warp faced with the weft faced areas being for the borders.

Next the threading:

Let Block A be threaded on shafts 1,2,3,4

And Block B threaded on shafts 5,6,7,8

Now, how to weave them!! That is a very good question.

When you want both Block A and  Block B to be weft face for the end borders, you would treadle: these 4 rows in a sequence: lift shaft 1 & 5, next row lift shaft 2 & 6, next row lift shaft 3 & 7, and then 4 & 8 for the last row in the repeat. Can you see the treadles and the tie up in the draft in the illustration for the border?

However, when you weave the enter section you will need to do something different and that means you’ll use another set of treadles. Then you’ll weave: 1,2,3,4 as before for Block  A but for Block B on shafts 5,6,7,8 you’ll life three shafts at a time. Check this in the draft:  The Center treadles are different from the Border ones , but this time it will weave warp face: Here are the 4 rows in the twill sequence you’ll weave: 5,6,7—6,7,8,—7,8,5—8,5,6; plus of course you’ll be lifting 1,2,3,4 along with them.

To change blocks when weaving:
All this means that you will need two sets of treadles.

To repeat: One set of 4 treadles will weave the side borders with the center section different. The other set of 4 treadles will weave the END BORDERS where both blocks weave alike (weft face). To repeat again: Then you’ll  use 4 treadles to lift these shafts for the end borders:1&5, 2&6, 3&7, and 4&8. Another set of 4 treadles are needed to weave the center section: 1&5,6,7;   2& 6,7,8;  3&5,8.7;  4&5,6,8

This is the look of the surface after I wet finished the linen and ironed it hard with a rolling pin on a bread board. To review that previous post go to the link: HERE 

The Twill Circle: A Design Tool

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Sometimes you might want to have a certain number of warp threads threading in one direction, say in the S direction  (with the slant going / ) and then a certain number of threads in the Z direction (opposite direction), and to repeat them over and over for a threading draft. You do not need to have a multiple of 4 threads for 4 shafts or 8 threads for 8 shafts, etc. Say, you want to have 6 threads going S, and then, 12 going Z and reversing (or making a point) after each number of threads. The threading would be 6 threads in the S direction, 12 threads in the Z direction, then, 6 in S and 12 in Z for as wide as your draft (or cloth).

Using the twill circle can help you greatly. Make a circle with as many points on it as shafts you are planning to use. For 4 shafts, number the points 1,2,3,4 as shown in the illustration. Now, working clockwise on the circle and also on your threading draft, begin with 1,2,3,4, and repeat the numbers until 6 threads are indicated on the threading draft. You’ll stop at shaft 2:  1,2,3,4,1,2. Next, reverse the direction of the threading (make a point and reverse directions), and work counterclockwise on the circle. You’ll stop at shaft 3: 1,4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,3 for 12 threads. Since the point thread “goes with” both directions, count it as a thread in each direction. (Note that for the 12 threads, the 2 from the first set of threads is counted as thread number 1, and there are only 11 new threads written in.)

The circle can be helpful in making a treadling draft as well. I find it quite useful when I’m drafting twills, and at other times, too.

A special kind of point
There’s another kind of point that is nice to know about because sometimes the regular point discussed above can look a little odd at the tip. It just isn’t crisp or sharp because of the floats of threads. If this phenomenon happens with point twills, beat the wefts at the points more gently than usual to avoid the wefts from packing in too close together there.

A broken point can solve the problem and create very sharp points. Again it can be used in either threading or treadling drafts, or both. At the point, there is a “hitch” in the threading. To find out how to make the hitch, use the twill circle. When you have enough threads going in on direction (S or Z), go directly across the circle and begin going in the opposite direction with that number. In the illustration with 4 shafts, if you stopped at shaft 3, working clockwise, you would go across the circle to shaft 1 and work counterclockwise to determine the threading or treadling.

This illustration shows a twill circle for 8 shafts. If you had stopped at shaft 5, the next shaft to use for a broken point would be shaft 1. If the last shaft before the direction change were 7, the next shaft would be 3.  

This illustration shows a broken point threading on 8 shafts.

Identical Vertical Columns! Identical Vertical Columns!

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To identify blocks, look for identical vertical columns! I wish I’d learned another phrase, perhaps look for vertical columns that are exactly alike. But that’s not much better. Knowing how many blocks there are in a pattern is important to know.

So, looking at the two illustrations, how many blocks are there? There are two. Looking at the draft on the left and beginning at the right edge (as we do in threading drafts traditionally), assign the first area (or block) as “Block A”. Move your eye across to the left and when something else happens, that’s a second block—“Block B”. As you continue working across the warp toward the left, you come to a column that is identical to the right-hand column which was assigned as block A. Hence this design has two blocks.

Now look at the draft on the right and go through the same process, starting on the right and working left looking for columns that are exactly alike. Again two blocks.

Now look at the draft above on the left  and count the blocks. Notice that there isn’t anything going on; i.e. there is no pattern on the right. That counts as a block because there is cloth to be woven there. So, again there are two blocks in the draft. The draft on the right is for two blocks as well—the same two blocks as a matter of fact. Are you catching on now? You can name the sequence of the blocks, working from right-to-let: A Block, B Block, A Block; or A, B, A.

Now count the blocks in this illustration. Remember, the key is looking for identical vertical columns. Vertical, because we are looking for how the threading will be. At the right edge is Block A, the usual–you can give it any letter, but usually, we start counting on the right and name the first section Block A. Move along until you get to a vertical column that is different; it is Block B. Moving along, there is some more Block A. The next column is one that is completely different from any so far; so that will be Block C. (so far, there are three blocks.) Moving along, there is some more of Block A then, there is a change again. Look at it carefully. Is it a block already identified, or something completely different? Is there any other place in the design where the vertical column is exactly the same? There is no other exactly identical column, so this must be called block D. The left-hand edge is Block A again. How did you do? Were you tricked because Blocks B and D are the same shape and size? See that they are different by looking from the top to the bottom of the design in both areas—the vertical columns are different. Where Block B is shown, there is nothing special going on in the area where Block D is threaded.

The order of the threading of the blocks is: (reading right-to-left): A, B, A, C, A, D, A. Notice that there is only one C Block mentioned even though it occupies two vertical columns. The reason is that that block is twice the width of the other blocks.

How many blocks are in this illustration? They can be read as A, B, C. D, A.

If you are weaving a specific design, you need to weave it from the bottom up, because that’s the way weaving “happens”. To weave the above figure (repeated from above), you would begin at the bottom of the treadling draft and weave as follows:

  1. Weave the bottom border with the treadles that weave all the blocks alike in your chosen background weave structure.
  2. Weave with the set of treadles used for Block C in pattern, and with all the other blocks weaving in background.
  3. All the blocks are in background again; use the first set of treadles.
  4. Blocks A, C, D are weaving background with Block B weaving in pattern—another set of treadles is needed.
  5. Weave with the first set of treadles for all background again.
  6. Another set of treadles is needed to weave where only Block D is weaving pattern. You will need four sets of treadles: 1 set where all the blocks weave alike for the background, 1 set with just Block B in pattern, 1 set with just C in pattern, and 1 more set with Block D in pattern.

Treadling blocks
Multi-shaft looms often need a lot of treadles. One way to keep track of your treadles is to organize them so that when you are weaving, you alternate your feet, called “walking the treadles.” I think beginning from the outside treadles and working in is a good idea, because your feet can always “feel” the outer most treadle without your having to look down at the treadles. So, the treadles for weaving all the blocks alike might be the left one, the far right one, the next-to-the-left, and the next-to-the-right one.  I try to put the treadles I will use more often nearer the center of the loom, so my feet don’t have to reach so far for them. If possible, I like to leave a treadle down between my sets of treadles, so my feet can feel their way easier. Always try to set up the treadles so you don’t have to look at them and can feel them with your feet. Walking your treadles makes keeping track of them easier.

Use a template to find blocks

Make a template with a card or the edge of a piece of paper. To find the blocks in the illustrations above start with the column on the right as usual . And working up and down along that column, mark the position of the filled-in-squares on one edge of the template. Slide the card along and as the vertical columns remain the same you will have one block.  Use another template and mark the edge when a new block appears. Shielding the design with the template as you go can make it a lot easier to count the blocks.

How many blocks can I have?
Different weaves require different numbers of shafts for each block as well as different rules to weave them. The chart can tell you the number of blocks you can have for the number of shafts you have. When you read about these weaves, you will learn how the blocks are threaded and woven for each weave.

There is much one can weave with only 4 shafts!
According to the chart any weave using these structures can have 4 blocks with only 4 shafts: Crackle, Overshot, and Shadow Weave. There’s no need for “shaft envy”!

Repair Heddles: New (to me) Methods

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While at Asilomar for CNCH as I sat in front of the huge stone fireplace,  I read my wonderful Weft magazines that had accumulated. This way of making repair heddles seemed quick and easy. I wonder if I am the only person who didn’t know about using Texsolv heddles for this fiddly job. Just before publishing my post I looked up Texsolv on the web and found another method from Handwoven Editors 2/2/2026. Susan E. Horton wrote about this method that she learned from Jannie Taylor. I’m adding her variations in with what I got from the article in Weft magazine (Issue #1 I think). (Jannie’s method eliminated the tricky job of tying knots in the slippery Texsolv heddles.)

Take two Texsolv heddles. Susan adds: and a 5” piece of smooth yarn

Tie them together. Finding a knot that would hold was tricky at first. A square knot slipped right out. Susan says “Fold the end of one heddle through the end of a second heddle, and pull the long end of the first one through the loop to join them end to end. The join will be the bottom of your repair heddle. My friend Susie suggests—just use two heddles that are  already joined together when you get them.

It took an overhand knot to hold. Instead of a knot, Susan G. and Susie have alternate suggestions as suggested above.

Drape the heddles over the top heddle bar and tie the two heddles together below the bottom heddle bar. This will turn into ONE repair heddle. Read on…
Susan G. “Place the joined heddles around the BOTTOM heddle bar where the repair heddle is needed and carry the unjoined ends up to the TOP heddle bar. Pass the piece of yarn through the top loops and tie them together tightly.”

Thread your warp thread through BOTH heddle eyes. Voila! No fiddling and easy I’m thinking.

Designing Good Proportions: Use the Fibonacii Series AND this Magic Number!

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Introduction:

For years and years I’ve been using the Fibonacci Series to determine the dimensions for my weaving projects. You can find out more about Mr. Fibonacci on the web. The way I learned was to create a series. Then all of the numbers in that series will work together in a design.

I often make several series until I find the one that fits my situation. Here are a few series for examples. I usually think of them as strings of numbers. Every project’s notes I think I’ve ever made has the series I tried and used attached to it.

How to make a Fibonacci series

First, you start with a number—any number. Say 3 (for 3 inches.)
Next you double that number to get the series started. This is the only time you double a number.
That would make the next number 6. Now we have the first and second numbers.

From here on to get the subsequent numbers you add the two previous numbers to get the next number. Hence 3 plus 6 equals 9. So now we have a series of 3 numbers: 3,6,9. We could say 3”, 6” and 9” if we were using dimensions.

To continue: 3,6,9,15,24,39. Can you take it further?? Here’s how it works. For example: That could mean with a length of 39” I might choose 6” and 9”  bands of colors and upper and lower borders of 3” . That might be starting at the top: 3” border, bands of colors of 6”,9”,9”,6”and  3” border.

Now look at the strings in the original photo, seen again here. Can you see how the strings of numbers were created? Again, in each string are numbers that will work together in any order to make measurements for a design with good proportions.

What if the beginning is an unusual number?
THE MAGIC NUMBER to find the NEXT number
There is a given number that Mr. Fibonacii used to make a string using any beginning number. The number is 1.618. That way you can always find the next number or the previous number. Multiply a given  number by 1.618 to give you the next number. I would use this if I wanted an unusual number, say, 3 1/2 inches. In that case, 1.618 multiplied by 3.5 gives you 5.663 or about 5 5/8”. Keep going by multiplying by 1.618 for subsequent numbers.

THE MAGIC NUMBER to find the PREVIOUS  number
To find a previous number, DIVIDE a number by 1.618. If  I began with 31/2 inches, to find a previous number divide 3.5 by 1.618 for 2.163 or 2 1/8”. The string would then be: 2 1/8”,3 ½” and  5 5/8” . More numbers can be added using the trick number of 1.618

The Tricks for Lacing On the Warp When Tying On Expensive or Slippery Warps

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If your yarn is jumpy like linen or slippery like rayon, or so expensive you don’t want to waste an inch, lacing on to the apron rod may be the choice for you.

In succession, all across the warp, take 1” (2-3 cm) worth of warp at the reed and carefully tug and pinch the threads to get all the threads under the same tension.

Tie the warps in slip knots or overhand knots close to their cut ends. Usually, I tie overhand knots in the bundles (see below) but I might use slip knots (see below) at the end of the warp bundles if I worry that I might have made a threading error. If your warp threads are very fine, you may want to tie the knots in ½” bundles. If the warps are at different lengths, trim the long ones, so the warps are about the same length before tying the knots. Remember, you’ve put the warps on under even tension on the warp beam, so any differences here do not affect your perfect tension.

The warp should be slack when tying the bundles. This is one of the tricks to success.

Choose a sturdy, thin cord that is very smooth, even slippery, and about 10 times as long as the width of the warp.

Tie one end of this cord to the front apron rod at one edge of the warp, with a double half hitch knot as seen in the illustration.

Now lace the cord down through the middle of the first bundle, then, take the cord under and around the  apron rod, down through the next bundle you tied, under and around the apron rod, and so on. See the illustration.

Don’t snug up the bundle right up to the apron rod; leave about 2 1/2” (6-7 cm) between the cut ends of the warp and the apron rod.

Always go through the middle of the bundles and be consistent about going down through the bundles and then under, and over around the apron rod. Fasten the cord by tying a double half hitch around the apron rod at the edge of the warp.

Poke each bundle at the knot working across the warp from right to left. That is, put your finger into the space between the threads above the knot, and push down a little. See the illustration. Then tighten the tension by a click or two on the ratchet brake. Then, poke all the knots again, this time working across from left-to-right. Tension again a click or two.

Repeat the poking and tensioning. You are adjusting the tension locally—not transferring tension from very slack sections to tighter areas. By the time the warp is under tension, all the bundles will be under equal tension. You shouldn’t have to adjust the tension of any individual bundles.

The tricks to lacing on
The tricks to lacing on are use a slippery cord, start with a slack warp, and tighten it gradually, a little at a time. Repeat the poking and tightening the tension. Don’t agonize. If you can feel a tight or loose bundle, adjust it, but if you can’t tell, then the tension must be even.

If some bundles are really very slack and some very tight, undo all the lacing and do it again. This time, draw up the tension on the lacing cord rather evenly—not precisely, but not allowing some to be very slack and some tight. Remember to keep the bundles slack at this point—just sort-of under even tension. I do this fairly often. It’s easier to redo the lacing than to try to even out the tension of the groups by tugging on a lacing ford and passing the slack in the cord on to adjacent bundles while trying to even out the tension on all the bundles.

Never let the lacing cords cross over one another or get out of order. If you do, the tension can’t pass along from bundle to bundle.

How to make a slip knot
Be sure to tighten the knot until you feel it bite. To do that you pull the loop and the tail in opposite directions.
To release the knot: Just jerk on the end you made the loops with.

How to make an overhand knot

Blocks! Blocks! De-Mystified!What Are They?? How do they work???

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Introduction:

I don’t think I can define blocks with one or two sentences. I’d love it if someone would do that. I will replace the bad definition I have in one of my books

I think of weaving blocks like having more than one loom side by side. That way you could weave different things next to each other on a cloth. For example, I would weave twill for some of my warp width and basket weave at the same time on another part of the cloth. Or, say I could have a twill cloth with borders in basket weave.  A secret: each loom will become a block, read below.

Let’s say you want to weave a design like the one in the illustration. One weave is for the main part of the cloth, and a different weave is for a vertical stripe.

The threading draft would look like the illustration. See that the “first loom” is used for the background and uses the first four shafts. Most of the warp would be threaded on shafts 1,2,3,4 because most of the warp is the background. It’s only in the area where the stripe is to be that the “second loom” is needed—and it’s only in that area where the threads are threaded on 5,6,7,8.

Don’t let the place where the stripe and background meet and the threading is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 confuse you. It’s really 1,2,3,4 and then 5,6,7,8 where the second loom begins.

How do you get both weaves? It happens with tie tie-up draft. Look at the illustration. First, the tie-up is given for “loom 1”, a balanced 2/2/ twill. See that the combinations of shafts to be lifted are; 1,2;  2,3;  3,4;  4,1. The tie up for “loom 2” is given in the second part of the illustration, for a warp-faced, 3/1 twill. (That means 3 shafts up and one down for a 3/1 twill (warp faced twill). Those combinations are 5,6,7;  6,7,8;  5.7.8;  5,6,8.

To make  both twills weave at the same time, combine the two looms’ tie-ups as shown in the third part of the illustration.

The treadling draft would show the first X under the combination 1,2,5,6,7. The second X is under the combination: 2,3,6,7,8. Since there are 4 combinations used, four treadles will be needed.

Again, working in the tie-up draft try a variation: “loom 1” a weft faced twill (1 shaft up and 3 shafts down: (lift 1,2,3,40 and keep “loom2” weaving the same as before—warp faced twill with 3 shafts lifted and one down. That is: 5,6,7;  6,7,8;  7,8,5;  8,6,5.

Notice in the illustration I’ve indicated a dotted line in the final tie-up to separate the looms.

Here is the complete tie-up now, putting the lift sequence for the “second loom” on top of the tie-up for the “first loom”, above the dotted line. I often write 1,2,3 and 4 very lightly instead of 5,6,7,8 at first. Then I write the real shaft numbers of 5,6,7,8 over the temporary numbers, because it’s easier for me to think of four shafts and two looms.

Remember that each treadle will lift shafts from both “looms”, forming one shed. Since there are four sheds for this design, only four treadles are needed.

Finally, What are Blocks?

We can give the different “things” we are weaving a proper name. They are called blocks. We name the blocks A or B or C or D instead of loom 1 or loom 2 or loom 3, etc. Look at the illustration above. There are two blocks or two different “looms” or groups of threads that act together as a group as though on separate looms. They can weave different things, but they will always be in the same location (vertical column )in the threading. Can you see that there are only two threading blocks or that all the threads on “loom 1” are in the same vertical column so they would be threaded on their own set of shafts, and all the remaining threads  are acting act alike so they would be on their own separate “loom”?

What if you don’t have blocks?
Then all the threads across the warp would work together as one loom from selvedge to selvedge.

Can you weave with blocks if you have only 4 shafts?  YES!!

You can divide a four-shaft loom into “two looms”. In fact, there are many weaves that have blocks that only need 4 shafts.  Some can weave as many as 4 blocks with only 4 shafts.

Here is a chart which shows the number of shafts you must have for the number of blocks you can have.

Weaving Double Weave in Blocks:  Learn the principles using two blocks. You’ll need 8 shafts and a special threading

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*** Note! Photo number 7 was incorrect when I published this post last week. It is replaced in this corrected post. Thanks to subscriber Bruce for making it more clear. I love getting comments, questions, and suggestions from my readers.

Introduction:

In the case of double weave, 2 layers of cloth are woven simultaneously. The basics of double weaving are discussed in detail in my book Weaving for Beginners and on this website. In this case,  the two layers of cloth go all across the cloth—from selvedge to selvedge and only 4 shafts are used. To review the basics see Weaving for Beginners or  my website posts: Double Weave for Dummies, Parts 1, 2, and 3. Go to my website and on the home page click on the Search box and type in double weave to find these posts.

This post is based on that previous knowledge.

When weaving with double weave blocks you can weave one layer part way across the cloth and a different layer across other part of the cloth.

In other words, you can weave two things at once. In other, other words, when the shuttle goes across the warp it can weave two different things at once. In other, other, other words the two areas can weave independently and weave what ever each area wants to.

With double weave to accomplish 2 things at once we need to thread the 2 areas in the illustration above differently. For example section A is threaded on shafts 1,2,3 and 4. While section B is threaded on 5,6,7,8.

What are blocks?
We need to have words to distinguish the areas in the illustration above. Let’s call the area on the left Block A and the section on the right Block B.

 Areas that weave differently across the warp are called blocks. Another way to think about it is that there are two different “looms” or  two different groups of threads within the width of the warp. All the threads in a group can act alike because they are threaded to work as a unit. Read on and I think it will become clearer. See in the previous illustration the threading for 2 groups. And that the threads in A can do whatever you want them to, and you can have threads in Block B do something else if you like.

We need to make a convention to make it easier to be consistent. Let’s say all the odd shafts have light threads and give the even shafts dark threads.

For example, in the threading in illustration 2 above, the light threads would be threaded only on shafts 1 & 3 in block A and 5 & 7 in block B. Dark warps would be  threaded only on shafts 2,4,6 and 8.

How to weave the two blocks differently: Make a Key

Key #1: Block A light on top (dark on bottom)
                Block B dark on top (light on bottom)

Weaving the top layer is just like weaving a single cloth; lift one of the shafts, throw the shuttle; and change to the other shaft and throw the shuttle.

To weave the bottom layer, lift the top layer’s shafts up out of the way and also lift one of the shafts for the bottom layer. Then for the next weft, lift the top layer’s shafts up again plus the other shaft for the bottom layer.

These tie-up drafts explain how to weave the left half of our sample (Block A) light on the top layer and dark on the bottom.

With your light wefts lift shaft 1for a shot and shaft 3  for the next weft shot.

And to weave the bottom layer with both dark wefts : lift 1 & 3 up out of the way plus lift shaft 2 and for the next shot lift again 1&3 plus 4.

These tie-up drafts show how to weave the right half of our sample, block B: dark on top and light on the bottom.
With your first weft (light), lift 6&8 out of the way plus lift shaft 5. Then 6&8 plus 7. Then with your two dark weft shots lift 6 then 8.

Make the complete tie-up. This is the final result for the tie up for Key #1.

Now combine these two tie-ups so both Block A and Block B will weave at once—That is, Block A and Block B will weave side-by-side. In other words, they will weave simultaneously with 4 weft shots (weft rows): 2 light wefts then 2 dark wefts. Note that I made a correction in the tie up. It’s easy to make mistakes with these cfomplicated tie ups/ It was discovered by my “student”, Bruce, who I was trying to explain things to.

Now for more practice use this key:
Key #2: Block A dark on top (light on bottom)
                Block B light on top (dark on bottom)

Key #3: Block A light on top (dark on bottom)
                 Block B light on top (dark on bottom)

Key #4 Block A dark on top (light on bottom)
              Block B dark on top (light on bottom)

Tying On New Warps Revisited

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Introduction:

Yesterday I met a weaver with beautiful,  and very different hangings at an exhibition. All had the same threading. They truly were lovely and each one looked quite different—she had tied each new warp to the one before it so she did have to do the complicated threading over and over. We talked and I mentioned an easier way to tie-on that Jim Ahrens taught us. He always said, “If you can talk them out of tying  on in front, you will be doing them a big favor.” You can do it anytime you want to start a new warp using the exact same threading you already have in place. The threading for the new warp must be absolutely identical to the old one for you to tie on. It saves time because you only join matching threads—you don’t have to think about shafts, heddles, or dents. Note: There is a whole chapter of 10 pages on this subject in my book Warping Your Loom & Tying On New Warps. Here are the basics for tying on new warps behind the heddles. You begin with the new warp already wound onto the warp beam.

Here are the advantages of tying on behind the shafts.
. You tie only one set of knots. The warps are automatically on tension, and you don’t need to waste time or yarn by tying onto an apron rod.

.Because the warps are always under tension they can’t tangle or break or invite mistakes. (When you pull loose, untensioned threads through the heddles, loops and snags are inevitable.

.Keeping the threads under tension at all times is the key to pulling the knots through the heddles easily.

.You get a perfectly wound warp on the warp beam without any knots on the apron rod.

.You can accurately spread the warp on the warp beam. When working from the front, you wind the warp onto the beam after the knots are tied, using the reed as a guide to keep the warp spread to the right width. The reed is a long, long way from the warp beam, and as the knots pass through the heddles, the heddles can actually scatter the warps.

.With many looms, you can be much more comfortable tying at the back.

Adjust the two warps so they overlap each other about half way between the shafts and the back beam. Leave a 4” tail from each warp extending past the midpoint of the overlap. This is where you tie the knots. Long tails make tying the knots easier—you cut the tails off later. If you don’t have enough of the old warp to overlap 4” past the knot-tying spot, you can make the knots closer to the shafts.

Both crosses should be horizontal—parallel to the floor. If you are using lease sticks, probably the easiest way to make them horizontal is to tie the two warps together temporarily. Make two ties about one fourth of the way in from each edge. Take about an inch of warps from the old warp and a similar bunch from the new warp and tie them in a bow or half bow. It doesn’t matter that these probably are not exactly corresponding threads because you’ll tie them thread-by-thread later. The temporary ties make the crosses parallel to the floor, stabilize the lease sticks, and make it easy to see what you’re doing.

Four Tricks for Success:
#1: Raise the shafts so the warps are in the center of the heddle eyes. This is important so the old warp is straight while you’re tying the knots, and so the knots won’t catch when you pull them through the heddles.

#2: Use a support board for tying the knots. Position the board beneath the knot-tying area, midway between the back beam and the shafts. If your old warp is short, position the board closer to the shafts and adjust the warps so your knot-tying area is above the board.

#3: Tie square knots. With a little practice, square knots are fast to tie. You tie square knots while putting tension on both working ends, so the threads are under tension when the knot is finished. Many other knots must have some slack in one or both ends to make the knot. Since the warp is already under tension, you can begin weaving as soon as the knots are through the reed. You don’t have to tension the new warp; it will tension itself when you are weaving the heading. Also an important advantage is that they are easy to untie. It’s very simple to capsize the knot and slip it out. The granny knot has all the advantages of a square knot except it can’t be untied easily.

#4 Cut the tails. Leave the long tails on the knots until all the knots are tied. Then cut all the tails short—to about ¾” (or ½”). Don’t try to weave or pull the threads through the heddles with the long tails on! The tails will tangle terribly.

How to tie square knots under tension: The knots are tied in a special way because the warps are under tension both during and after the knots are tied. Don’t worry about equal tension on the threads: relax and tie the knots. The tension will even out as soon as you weave a couple of inches.

Hold the old end (coming from the heddles) in your left hand and the new end (coming from the warp beam) in your right hand. Pull a little on both warp ends to make them taut but not tight.

Photo B
Roll the old end over the new end and under it from right to left.

Photo C
Pull the old tail taut by holding the tail in your left fingers in a full-fingers grip, like a mixing spoon.

Photo D
Put your left thumb on top of the crossed threads, pushing them against the board.

Photo E
Hold the tail of the new end an inch from the tip with our right thumb and index finger. Point the tail toward the intersection of your left thumb and index finger.

Photo  F
Pass the tail of the new end over the old end, and under it from left to right, pulling the tail through the loop you just formed. I think of this step as twirling the new end over the old end. It’s a little like making a knot in a sewing thread by rolling it between the thumb and index finger—you roll the tail into the loop, then pick it up and pull.

Photo G
Pull the right tail toward you so the knot forms under your left thumb.

Photo H
Tighten the knot by pulling the old tail (left hand) toward the heddles and the new tail (right hand) toward the warp beam. Pull each end simultaneously and equally. Lay all the tails to one side so they are easy to pick up and cut off later.

The Mysterious Brake System in AVL Looms – Explaned in a Fairy Tale

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A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time long, long ago before there were ratchets for looms, ways to tension the warp were very primitive. One day a weaver found a new way to put tension on the warp beam. He put a sturdy stick, like a peg, vertically in his warp
beam, hooked a rope on it, wound it around and around the beam, and hung a big rock on it. With the weight off the floor, he had full warp tension, and he was very pleased with himself.

Fig 176A_149 A


As he wove along and advanced the warp, the rope wound up on the beam and the rock rose higher and higher off
the ground. Pretty soon he had to stop because the rock was up on the warp beam, and he had to unwind the rope
to let it down. Then he wove along until the rock got too high, stopped to unwind some rope and let it down again. This worked fine and he was very, very pleased with himself.
One time when he was unwinding the rope, he pulled out the peg and the rope slipped off the stick into his hand. He was surprised when he held the end of the rope, that he didn’t have to pull hard on it at all to keep the rope from slipping around the beam. In fact, he could hold the loop in the end of the rope with one finger, and the rope around the beam
didn’t slip. The big rock still hung in place putting full tension on the warp!
He had been winding the rope say, 1/2 dozen times around the beam, so he decided to see if he could wind fewer times.
He found with only 3 turns on the beam there was still not much weight needed on the end of the rope. So he hung asmall rock on the end of the rope and began weaving.

Fig 176B_149 B


As he wove along, the big rock rose and the little rock fell until it hit the floor. Then the most amazing surprise came. When the warp threads were lifted to open the shed, the beam rolled forward slightly, raising the big rock and lowering the small rock to the floor. The little rock touching the floor took the tension off that end of the rope for an instant. As soon as it did, the rope slipped a bit on the beam. As soon as the beam slipped, the big rock put tension back on the rope pulling the small rock up off the floor again. The slippage let the warp move forward a few thousandths of an inch—just enough to compensate for the take-up of the warp for the weft! The big rock was off the floor, obviously, while the small rock dangled just above the floor, where it bounced and dangled on and off the floor as he wove along. Now he didn’t have to get up and unwind the rope to let the big rock down! He could weave along continuously, and the big rock would hold the full warp tension. The little rock would let the warp beam slip a bit with each weft and also would let it slip when he advanced the warp. The two rocks remained in these positions all during his weaving. This pleased him very, very, very much. When the shed closed, our weaver realized that the beam rolled backwards to its starting place. The tension on the warp threads never changed even when the warp threads were lifted to open the sheds, because the weight (the big rock) was always the same. This was perfect for fine silk warp threads that couldn’t stand the stress of stretching with the old locked beam systems. He was enormously pleased with himself! Rocks (with one rock ten times heavier than the other) and the weaver’s invention are still used today!

When Jim Ahrens Began Using the Weight-Counter Weight System


He tried the two weights and noticed the two weights jerked when the rope slipped. Then he got the idea to use a small spring in place of the counterweight The spring let the rope slip slowly so there was no jerk or sudden change, just smooth weaving.

Fig 176C_149 C

He came up with the idea on his own, but never claims to have invented it; her said, “I always found someone else had done the things I worked out on my own.” When he needed to make smaller looms, there wasn’t enough room for the big weight so he substituted a heavy spring for the weight “It was no big advance, there was no place for the weight.” he said. It works the same way as the weight and small spring.

Fig 176D_149 D

The heavy spring puts the tension on the warp; the small spring is the counterweight. When the shed opens, the warp beam rolls forward a bit loosening the tension on the other end of the rope at the small spring. The rope slips a little. The heavy spring takes over again, putting the rope back under tension. when the shed closes the warp beam rolls back to its starting point. The slippage is a few thousandths of an inch and the warp stays under constant tension.

As you crank the warp forward you exert more force on the warp than the force of the heavy spring causing the cord to slip. this allows the beam to turn and the warp to unwind.

Jim preferred using the combination of a heavy weight and the small spring because he can beat harder than with just the two springs. But the double springs are a good enough substitute if you don’t beat too hard.

Sumo Wrestling?? What going through old photos can turn up

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In 2007 I was visiting Kyushu, the island, in southwestern Japan to visit two famous textile authors: Sade Torimaru and her daughter, Tomoko. After looking at textiles for a while we took off for the city of Fukuoka to see the International Sumo Wrestling Tournament. We sat high up in the stands. Turns out, they were big fans and this way they could show us things and still get to the tournament.

I found I became more interested in what they wore (or didn’t wear) than who won the matches!

Our friends took us under the stands—backstage-so-to-speak. Again, I eyed the costumes. I think I was too embarrassed to take pictures up close behind the men standing around waiting to go on—or come off, so here are some in their kimonos. Their hairdos interested me, too.

The sashes are woven in warp-face patterns especially for sumo wrestlers. We visited the place where they were woven, too. What fun it was to see these years old photos!

Sampler or Samples?

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Samper or Sample? Here is a post from May 25, 2020, that I found interesting. It shows samples and finished pieces I made awhile back. See it HERE

I’ve been thinking lately of the different weave structures you can easily get with only 4 shafts.  I’m going to be teaching a 4-shaft workshop to very experienced weavers in April. I want them to see the extensive ideas that you can accomplish with only 4 shaft and the 14 different tie-ups possible. It is in coordination with a talk about Dorthy Liebes given by Liz Schott to be given to the Santa Rosa California Weaving Guild.

Just in case some weavers have forgotten how to read a weaving draft, I’ve included it here. I think most weavers know the upper left quadrant is the treading draft. So, how do you know what to do to get different weaves? This information is given in the remaining two quadrants of the weave draft. The tie-up draft quadrant shows all the combinations of shafts that will be used for a weave. The treadling draft quadrant shows the order these combinations are to be used.

Now, this is a real sampler! I wove off a warp I’d made for a class and tried warp face and weft twills on the 4-shafts. I found out later this is called damask. I got the inspiration, then, to make a third level: warp face twill, balanced twill, and weft faced twill. I made little compositions within the sampler thinking about pages in a book. It is still intact.  I call it my “Clown Sampler” and it has never left my studio.

More Tricks for Threading without Mistakes

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Introduction:
My post on May 30,2020 shows in more detail these tricks for threading without mistakes. See that post. HERE

Jim Ahrens told us many times, “The only thread that can’t tangle is on under tension.” Taut threads are easier to see. To get them taut, use a light weight, such as a small wrench. Mine weighs 3 ½ ounces. Put a loop of string on the weight and add a rubber band onto the loop with a lark’s head knot. Then separate a bundle of cut warp threads about the thickness of a medium-sized carrot and with another lark’s head, tie the rubber band onto the bundle near the end of the warp. The weight hangs straight down from the lease sticks, behind the shafts. When you select a thread to thread next, you pull it out of the weighted bundle.

Thread from a “claw”.
Behind the heddles you use your left hand, held palm downward like a claw, to hold four threads in order. To thread, separate out four heddles in order according to your threading draft. With your “claw” hand, reach below the cross and place one thread between your little finger and ring finger, one between your ring finger and middle finger, and so on, ending with one thread between index finger and thumb. Push the threading hook through the first heddle eye and with the hook curved down,  catch the thread between thumb and forefinger, then draw it through. Continue with the three remaining threads: first putting the hook through the next heddle eye in sequence, then catching the next thread in sequence and pulling it through.

Use adding machine tape (When I first wrote the book in 1995 adding machine tape was common. However, I was too cheap to buy some, so I cut strips of paper instead.)

With the adding machine tape attached to your loom glance at it for the shaft numbers listed on a row, separate out those heddles indicated on the tape then thread the heddles. As you finish threading each group of four threads, poke a pin through the paper at the of that line. Move the pin from line to line as you finish each group of four. If you’re interrupted, you know exactly where you left off—the pin holes show what has already been threaded and the pin itself is still in the last row you completed.

Threading Without Mistakes: Get Comfortable!

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The way to thread without mistakes is to get comfortable so you can see what you’re doing. Suspending the cross so it hangs vertically is a no-brainer, yet many people have their cross in the horizontal position for threading. Can you see how much easier it will be to see this way? You may need to move the cross to get it into the best position.

It is important for the cross in the lease sticks to be level with the heddle eyes so you can comfortably thread them accurately. (threading accurately isn’t difficult if you can see what you are doing.) Move the cross to where you think it will be when it is suspended like the illustration. You can fine tune the position while it is suspended.

You’ll tie a broom handle or long dowel to the back of the castle. If your loom has a low castle, tie the broom handle to the back-most shaft and suspend the warp with its lease sticks over the broom handle as in the illustration above.

To stabilize the lease sticks, tie the top lease stick to the broom handle with 2 loops of string—one on each side of the warp. Make the strings long and use bows for ties so you can adjust the height of the cross later.

More photos are in a previous post. HERE

Walk Your Treadles: Weave Without Mistakes

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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 arranging furniture!

Multi-shaft weaves often need a lot of treadles. One way to keep track of your treadles is to organize them so that when you are weaving, you alternate your feet, called “walking the treadles.” I think beginning from the outside treadle and working in is a good idea, because your feet can always “feel” the outermost treadle without your having to look down at the treadles. So, the treadles for weaving all the blocks alike might be the far left one, then the far right one, then the next-to-left, and the next-to-the-right one. If you have another set of treadles, say for borders or another block, put them on the outside and put the ones for the body of the design nearer the center of the loom, so your feet don’t have to reach so far for them. If possible, I like to leave treadles down between my sets of treadles, so my feet can feel their way easier. Always try to set up the treadles so you don’t have to look at them and can feel them with your feet. Walking your treadles makes keeping track of them easier. While one foot is pressing a treadle, the other foot will be resting on the next one!

A Counting String That Works and Comes Out Fast

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There are many, many methods and reasons for using counting strings. The three advantages of this special crochet method are:

1 the threads are held perfectly securely
2 the resulting necklace of bundles can be stretched for ease in counting, and
3 it’s easy to undo the chain when you no longer need it. Take the tails back through the last loop and pull on the tails.

At the beginning:
Take a long string (about 3 feet), fold it in half and slip the two tails through the loop at the fold around your group of threads. This makes a lark’s head knot over the group.

With the tails of the lark’s head you will begin to crochet around the bundles as you make them.

Looking at the first illustration, measure out your next groups of threads. Fold the tails between the first bundle and the new one, making a loop. Then put your right thumb and forefinger into the loop, while holding the tails with your left hand. 

Encircle the new bundle with a “crochet” by using your finger and thumb to draw up another loop from the tails. Holding onto the tails, pull on the loop to snug it up around the bundle. Leave that loop and the tails dangling (don’t pull the tails through the loop, as you’ ll be tempted to do).

The larks’ head is the foundation. From now on, you’ll crochet-chain using your fingers like this. Measure the next group of threads. With the thumb and forefinger, reach through the old loop, drawing up a new one from the dangling tails, and tighten to secure the new bundle.

After each crochet, both the loop and the tails should hang freely, ready for the next bundle.

To end the counting string chain, at the last bundle, pull the tails completely through the loop so that only the tails are hanging freely.

To undo the chain FAST, take the tails back through the last loop and pull on them (the tails).

Two Crosses—Isn’t One Enough for Back-to-Front Warping??

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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 raddle
2. Makes it easy to count as you wind the warp.

When you warp from back to front, you’ll still make a threading cross at the beginning to keep individual ends in order for threading. You’ll also make a second cross at the end to keep groups of threads in order for beaming.

The “new” cross is made of groups of threads. Each group will be the number of threads in one space in your raddle. For example, if your raddle has ½” spaces, you’ll put ½ of the ends per inch worth of threads in each group. Say your sett is 8 ends per inch (EPI). Then each side of the cross will have a group of 4 threads as in the illustration.

OH NO!  I see a third cross forming! Yes, that happens whenever you make a group cross. You can clearly see that it doesn’t look like either of the 2 crosses. It’s a FALSE cross—it happens but it is NOT USEABLE. In other words, it’s important, but not useful. It forms between the end peg and its neighboring peg which is one of the pegs holding the group cross.

I hope this illustration shows why the false cross forms between pegs 1 and 2 when more than one thread makes up one side of a cross.

I taught my students to always have 4 pegs in a line on the warping board so the path the warp takes on the warping board doesn’t interfere with any of the crosses.

Special ties, too? Yes, if you color code your ties it makes it simple to accurately put in the lease sticks AND you are less likely to twist the warp later. Use one color to tie all the bows on the tops of the pegs, and another color to tie the bows underneath the pegs. Notice in the illustration that the light ties are on the near side of the pegs and the dark ties are on the other side of the pegs. Note: the colors of the ties at each end of the warp do not need to coordinate. BE SURE TO TIE TIES AT THE END PEGS—THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT. One of my students always lost her group cross so I watched carefully one time and she didn’t tie at the end pegs—She said, “Oh, they don’t need to be tied.” But they do and that’s why she always lost her group cross when she took the warp off the warping board.

As usual, tie your choke ties tightly around the warps.

Here’s a completely tied warp with 6 ties at the top and 6 ties at the other end. With the choke ties as needed—about every yard or so.

After you have taken the warp off the warping board, put a pair of lease sticks in the group cross just like the illustration.

And put a stick in the end of the warp loop where the end peg was tied. Notice the tie going from end-to-end on the stick. If you don’t have holes, you can secure the string with strong enough tape.

Now you can easily “plunk plunk” the groups of threads from the group cross into the raddle spaces! The whole reason for making the group cross in the first place! Notice the set-up for this in the illustration. I do this job on a table.