Honeycomb On Rigid Heddle

Day 188: For once I wasn't tied up with other projects when it came time for the April Weave-Along. My shafted looms were full, yes, but honeycomb is easily woven on a rigid heddle loom using either two heddles or a single heddle with a pickup stick and a heddle rod. Although this loom can use two heddles, I decided to go with the last option for no particular reason. The honeycomb structure is also known as waffle-weave, the first term being used more often in the UK and the last in the US. There's really no difference, although I tend to think of "waffle" as having fewer warp floats between the cells. Theoretically, this was to be a runner, but after I had wet-finished it and the fibers softened, it seems to want to be a spring scarf instead. Sometimes weavings have a mind of their own.

Weaving Honeycomb

Day 172: With both shafted looms currently loaded with projects, I decided to do the April Weave-Along on my 16-inch rigid heddle. I suppose I could have set it up with two heddles, one functioning as one of the pickup sticks, but it was too much to think about, so I opted for using a heddle rod instead. To weave this particular pattern (cells of five up, five down), the pickup stick or the heddle rod are used with the main heddle in the up position, one row of cell sbeing formed with the pickup stick, and the staggered row of cells with the heddle rod. Each sequence is eight throws of the main colour, followed by a simple up/down made with the heavier dark blue thread. The sequence is as follows: *heddle in the up position with the pickup stick, heddle down* repeated four times; heddle up with heavy thread, heddle down with heavy thread; *heddle in the up position with the heddle rod lifted, heddle down* repeated four times; heddle up with heavy thread, heddle down with heavy thread. Honeycomb does not come into its own right until the tension is let down, and preferably, the piece has been given a good wash. Then the cells will be in greater relief. If desired, cells can be made narrower, wider, taller, shorter or in combination depending on the texture desired. It's a fun little weave!