Working Over a Core

Day 305: When a friend saw my post about making bootlaces on my inkle loom, she asked if I would be willing to make curtain tie-backs for her. We exchanged several emails to settle on the specifics (colour, diameter, length), and I was ready to start experimenting. I put on a 60" warp (pretty close to the least this inkle loom will hold) with about 60 threads and began weaving. It became obvious early on that I needed to reduce the number, so I cut out half a dozen or so, but was not happy with the way the weft was beating. I tried adding in cores of several diameters to space out the threads, but still was not pleased with the result. After two more reductions, I settled on 45 threads around a 3mm core thread which gave just the right diameter and flexibility to the cord. Working around a core isn't as difficult as it sounds. Simply lay the core thread over the top peg, find some convenient spot to put the spool (in this case, on the end of a peg!), and weave as usual, taking the shuttle over the core thread as it is returned to the starting side (remember, when weaving a cord, the shuttle always passes through the shed from the same side). The weaving naturally draws the warp threads around the core. Bingo! And Bob's your uncle!