peggyosterkamp

Temples and Stretchers (Croc Clips)

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One more thing about temples and croc clips!

Devices that deal with too much draw-in
If everything about your cloth is just as you want it, but the draw-in is causing the selvedges to break. You can stretch out the warp near the reed so the reed can’t abrade the threads while weaving.

Temple (Click to enlarge)

Temple
A temple is a stretcher that holds the cloth out at the selvedges.
See Figure 529. It allows you to snug the wefts up to the selvedges without breaking the threads during weaving. It may be made of wood or metal. Any temple needs to be
strong. They are available in many widths for weaving wide rugs or narrow placemats.

Cord and clip stretchers

Croc Clips

This stretcher is a variation of a temple that you can make yourself. See Figure 530. The clips are “Crocodile clips” (also called “croc clips”) and are available at hardware stores. They are made to clip tarps and are very inexpensive.

This information is from page 312 in my new book, “Weaving for Beginners” in the chapter on selvedges. For more information, see the tip: “Using a Temple or Stretcher“.

Woven box with Lid

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Box with Lid (click to enlarge)

This box and lid were woven with two layers with the supplementary warp threads (for the triangles) in between the layers. I used 8 shafts–4 for the two layers and 4 for the supplementary warp threads. They are woven with linen threads with embroidery floss for the triangles. There were an awfully lot of warp threads to work back into the cloth. I maybe spent a week doing that finishing job (happily, I might add).

Optical Illusiion Weavings

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Optical Illusion (click to enlarge)

These three little pieces were in my show. The triangles and rectangles were woven with a simple inlay technique. That is, the yarns for the shapes were on separate bobbins or in butterflies and put into the regular weft sheds where needed. I’ve played with transparency and illusions over the years. It fascinates me.

Rigid Heddle Weaving in my New Book

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Another comment–it makes me so happy.
“…You did a great job with it (Weaving for  Beginners) and I have referred to it a few times as a budding weaver.

I have a large floor loom that I have not “confronted” yet, and the rigid heddle helped me to understand clearly the basic process and also enlighten me that I knew more than I realized. I was excited to see this section in your great book.”

Sett (ends per inch) and Ashenhurst

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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 me address all of this.

Most sett (ends per inch) information is determined by the yarn and the structure. We know twill and plain weave require different setts. When a different weave structure is described, usually the appropriate sett for the structure is given–eg. “use a plain weave sett”, or “use a sett more open than plain weave”. When a sett chart gives 3 setts, two are the usual plain weave and twill which we might think of as medium and close. The third sett may say for lace, but we could also think of it as open. So, for a given yarn you are given 3 options for each yarn–depending upon the weave structure. Ashenhurst offers a way to calculate the sett and gives more specific setts for various purposes. The words, calculation and purpose are the operative words here. A yarn for plain weave for upholstery would require a different (closer) sett than for a delicate shawl. With the three-choices charts, you might choose the open or lace sett for the shawl, but you wouldn’t know what to use for upholstery.
Can anyone help me with my discussion of Ashenhurt? Do you understand what he calls diameters? Where should I start to clear up this important, important subject?

I look forward to hearing from you.

I am Weaving–Hooray!

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Neal Howard Warp (click to enlarge)

I’m weaving a lovely warp I bought as a kit at Convergence in Albuquerque last summer. It was made by Neal Howard. She dyed three warps and told how to thread them in the heddles to integrate them. Each one is different, so it is great fun to weave along and see the color changes–in one or all of the stripes.

Neal Warp Showing Separate Selvedges

I’m not following her idea–so I’ll report later if my idea for the cloth works out. Dyeing is Neal’s speciality– I bought one of her jackets at the previous Convergence. She offers yarns and woven pieces.

Japanese Spool Collection

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Silk Spools (click on to enlarge)

I have a small collection of the spools that fit my various Japanese spool winders. The dark one on the left goes with the Mingei winder in yesterday’s post. There are two spools that don’t fit any of them.

Very Large Spool

One is huge–18″ high and has fiber wound on it that I think might be wisteria vine thread. I also have a tiny one–about3″ tall. I have no idea whether it is a toy or a real piece of equipment.

Plastic and Wooden Spools

The white one in the picture is plastic and the size of the regular spools–about 5-6″ tall. It comes apart so can be stored as the legs and the center pieces.

Japanese Spool Winders

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Old Japanese Spool Winder (click to enlarge)

I have had this old spool winder for years–but the arm to guide the thread onto the spool was missing.

New Arm on Old Winder

A friend made a new arm complete with tiny wooden pegs to attach it. When I bought it I loved all the gears. I tried to use it a few years ago, but without the guiding arm it was almost impossibly tedious to both turn the crank and guide the silk onto the spool.

New Spool Winder

So, I bought a new one from Habu Textiles in New York. It’s that winder I used for the skein that took a month to spool off. (see previous post) In the end, I sent the remaining skeins to Habu to spool off. I have several old wooden spools. they look lovely with silk thread wound on them just as they are.

Blue Indigo Weaving

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Blue Indigo

This is one of the pieces in my show. It is linen ikat dyed with indigo. The warps were tied and dyed (called warp ikat) in the borders. The center is weft ikat. The patterns in the weft ikat are were simply made by one or two ties on the skeins of weft thread. In other words, the length of each weft was determined by a few inches of weaving. Then small skeins of weft yarn were made to be the same length as the wefts. A few ties were made on the skeins that resisted the dye when the skeins were immersed in the dye. Where the ties were remained white while the rest of the yarn became blue. Each section was woven with a skein tied in a different way to create the different patterns.

My New Old Studio

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Here are photos of the “new” old space.

studio to the back wall (click to enlarge)

I’m thrilled with it. There are things yet to put away (the difficult things), but I began

Studio to window

putting a warp on the loom over the weekend. How nice it is to have my hands

Studio, right wall

on the threads and be threading heddles again.

It’s nice to have my work on the walls, too.

A Video About Me, sort of

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Check out this video–I am thrilled with it.
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2011/03/04/what-is-energized-yarn.aspx Click on “What is energized yarn?” and scroll down to the You Tube video.

I loved working with Kathryn Alexander and in this video she tells about working with me. The thread she spun for me that she talks about was really fine and fragile. She was sure that I couldn’t weave with it and that I would be mad at her. But I did–warping “back-to-front”, of course. I wanted to test my warping process with the most fragile thread I could find, so that’s why I asked her to spin some for me.

Pink Creature (click on to enlarge)

She calls the yarns “energized” I call them overtwisted. These  yarns are what I’ve used for collapse weaving where the cloth puckers. Search  for “Pink Creature” to read my post about it. This is one of my favorite collapse pieces. There is also a picture in the post of the cloth after woven but before washing.

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2011/03/04/what-is-energized-yarn.aspx

Empty Teaching Studio

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Empty studio used for photo shoot

Monday was the last day in the old teaching studio. I had a big photo shoot of much of my work while the space was empty. It was a good way to end that era and begin the next. Photos of the “new” space in a future post.

More of the photo shootIt was a grand way to close the studio. Photos of the "new" space in a future post.

Sheds Too Small?

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One day a student complained that the boat shuttle I loaned her was too big for the sheds on her table loom. I suggested that she throw the shuttle closer to the heddles and advance the warp often. The reason is that the shed is bigger the closer it is to the heddles (shafts). It’s obvious that the shed is small when it is closer to the fell of the cloth (the place where the last weft is woven). A made this into the weaving tip: Sheds Too Small.

Weights and Croc Clips, Continued

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Croc Clips (click on to enlarge)

Here is a welcome response to my post about how much weight to use for using croc clips instead of a temple to hold out the width of the warp. You can read a summary of  my post, below. Read more about temples in the tip section.  The illustration here  is from “Weaving for Beginners” on page 312.

Thank you so much! I have 3 lbs on each side right now, weaving with JaggerSpun Zephyr. It seems to be just right. I started with a temple, but it is one of the new Glimakra ones, these have mean thick teeth that no matter what seem to damage the cloth. The older ones have nice small teeth that cause no damage. That is why I am using the clips. I was uncertain, it was working, but…..was it right? Now I know it is for sure. thanks again!

Here’s a summary of my post.
“I have a question on the weight to put when using the crocodile clamps in place of a temple. …”
I’m not sure of an amount of weight to tell you. You want plenty of weight, that’s for sure–probably more than a pound on each side. What you want to achieve is to have the warp spread out to the width it is in the reed. You need whatever it takes to accomplish that. So much depends on the situation, such as, how wide is the warp and how much does the cloth draw in? I have a lot to say about draw-in in my new book, “Weaving for Beginners“–over 12 entries in the index.  (Too much tension on the warp can cause too much draw-in, for example.)
A weaving friend suggested that if you have a very wide warp it probably would be better to use an actual temple to be strong enough to hold out the warp wide enough. (There is a limit to the amount of weight croc clips can hold.)

better to use an actual temple to be strong enough to hold out the warp wide enough. (There is a limit to the amount of weight croc clips can hold.)

How Much Weight for Croc Clips?

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I received this question. “I have a question on the weight to put when using the crocodile clamps in place of a temple. I heard once it should be at least a pound on each side. Is this so? I have used fishing weights and it does not work, I know it needs more than that, but how much?”

Here are my thoughts. Does anyone have more information to tell us?

I’m not sure of an amount of weight to tell you. You want plenty of weight, that’s for sure–probably more than a pound on each side. What you want to achieve is to have the warp spread out to the width it is in the reed. You need whatever it takes to accomplish that. So much depends on the situation, such as, how wide is the warp and how much does the cloth draw in? I have a lot to say about draw-in in my new book, “Weaving for Beginners“–over 12 entries in the index.  (Too much tension on the warp can cause too much draw-in, for example.)
A weaving friend suggested that if you have a very wide warp it probably would be better to use an actual temple to be strong enough to hold out the warp wide enough. (There is a limit to the amount of weight croc clips can hold.)

Think about Ashenhurst’s Rule

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I use Ashenhurst’s rule to take the mystery out of sett (warp or weft-wise). Check this out in my Book #1, Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle” and also in my new book, “Weaving for Beginners“. In both books I’ve devoted a chapter to determining the ends per inch (epi) or sett. Book #1 has more details. In upcoming posts I hope to explain it and say why it’s so very, very useful. If you can read the book(s), you’ll be ahead of the game.  I’m swamped with getting my room in my studio emptied–more about sett next week or so.

A Home for the Curtain Stretcher

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A home was immediately found for the curtain stretcher! I couldn’t bear it just going out there to anyone. We call yarn and stuff like I’m giving away, “dead weaver’s yarn”. I’m glad I could pass on so much on my own steam. Today I took a workshop about silk–degumming and shrinking with overtwist yarns. It inspired me greatly. I’m glad I kept some of my overtwist yarn–but I gave away pounds of it. People were astounded that I wove my own cloth! I showed them the photos that are in the blog’s gallery. I know the silk in those pieces collapses a lot–so that with degumming and resisting parts of the cloth by clamping, I’ve got a lot of ideas swirling around in my head.

An Old Curtain Stretcher

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Today while cleaning out my studio I found an old fashion curtain stretcher that I think my aunt used to use. I hate to part with it, but I only used it a few times many years ago, so it must get passed on. It has wooden “sticks” that unfold to form a big rectangle the size of a curtain. The whole thing stands up (wobbly) or leans against a wall. There are pins on all four sides. I used it when stretching and drying some large pieces  I did when I was beginning to weave. There is something else–sticks that make a frame and some metal rods–perhaps it is an upright quilting frame. It is going out into the world, too. I used it once–perhaps to stitch hems on a piece, I can’t remember exactly.

Warping Paddles

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Slot and Hole Paddle

For many weavers, “paddle” is a mysterious word. Perhaps they’ve tried and never quite figured out how to make it work. It may have seemed awkward, confusing—but always seductive. How liberating to be able to warp multiple ends at once! But keeping one thread organized and moving freely onto the warping board or reel can be a challenge—how much

All Holes Paddle

more dexterity it must take to manage four or six or a dozen! But that is exactly the advantage of using a paddle. The paddle lets you measure many threads with every pass up and down the board or reel. Becoming proficient with the paddle need not take any special dexterity—in fact, its use has developed precisely because it acts as an extension of your own hand. See the Weaving Tip: Why Use a Paddle?

See Chapter 1: Using a Paddle, in my Book #1, Winding a Warp & Using a Paddle.