Taking Up Slack

Even with my revised warping system using bag clips to ease out slack, I still wound up with quite a bit at the end of this band, particularly in the green pattern threads. Fortunately, it was possible to work it back toward where it was tied on, so there were no issues in the structure of the band itself, but had the warp been any longer, the threads would probably have become hopelessly tangled. X-ty-x Scandinavians have used Leksand-style looms over the years without difficulty, so it must be something I'm doing wrong. With that thought in mind, I have had an insight I'll be trying as my next experiment.

Current Band

Day 108: I'm happy to say that so far, there are no major issues with warp tension on the current band. That said, I wish I had not had to cut the warp where it was tied onto the cloth roller tape because when I knotted the threads again, the knot was rather large and cumbersome. In order to level up the band as it wrapped around the roller, I had to insert a piece of foam under the cardstock ("pool noodles" are a staple in my weaving supplies). Once levelled, the band will stack up on top of itself as it's wound onto the roller. I found that the traditional way of rolling it on a slight diagonal created an undesirable bias in the finished tape. However, stacking it directly on top of itself limits how much band can be made due to the fact that as the diameter increases, it changes the angle of the warp threads and therefore how the shed forms. This is a peculiarty of Leksand loom construction. My Glimakra band loom rollers are beneath the warp beam and cloth beam respectively (i.e., the warp travels over the beams before being wound on), and could accommodate many more yards before filling up.

Try, Try Again

Day 100: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Those seem to be the words to live by when warping a Leksand loom. The bag clips rescued my last band in the end, but what I really need to figure out is how to put a warp on with even tension which can be maintained through the weaving process. I decided to experiment with bag clips in place of choke ties, and as I wound on, I used them to move any slack in the warp toward the cloth roller. This is not a long warp by any means, but neither is it the minimum the loom can accommodate. I butted the loom up against a card table with a peg on the far side, effectively doubling the length to give myself roughly 9-10 feet of workable warp using seven pattern threads for the design. The pattern threads are where the slack comes in, so we'll see how it goes.

Solving the Tension Issue

Day 85: A Leksand loom is not the easiest thing to warp with even tension due to the fact that the threads go from the roller, wrap around the posts, pass through a rigid heddle, go over a separator or through string heddles before being attached to the cloth roller. I've tried several different methods, but even using the best of them, I still wind up with major tension issues. We're talking random threads sagging by inches, not just a few which aren't tight enough. Well, I finally hit on a solution. Every time I advance the warp, I loosen the warp roller and work the slack back toward it until I have even tension all the way across, then snap on a couple of bag clips...yep, the kind you use to close the potato chip sack...before winding the warp back on with a few twists in it to hold the threads securely against the roller. I use two clips for added security, and it's working perfectly.

Borders

 

Day 134: When making bands, it's good to keep in mind that an attractive border can be as essential to the overall design as the central motif. A border can also be used to add width to a piece, but care should be taken that it doesn't dominate the work (unless, of course, you intend it to do so). Border designs can be employed as spacers between patterned segments, and don't have to be identical to the outer edges. Borders are generally loom-controlled when doing pickup in the middle section, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule, either. Here, I am using white 16/2 cotton for the ground and 10/2 for both the borders and the center motifs, and am weaving this band on my Leksand loom, Jutta. The heart design is pickup on nine pattern threads, with the center section of the adjacent chains in the border echoing the main colour.

Jutta's Band

Day 126: Another loom emptied! And I'm having a little problem...a little grey fuzzy problem...with reloading this one because the warp has to be stretched across the length of the living room. Merry thinks suspended threads are a kitty zip-line, so I have to wait until he looks like he's going to stay soundly asleep for an hour or so before I can even think about stringing a new warp. That's one major difference between a Leksand loom like Jutta and a Scandinavian band-loom like Nelda. A warp destined for Nelda can be measured off on a warping board, chained and managed exactly like the warp on a shafted loom. In my experience, tension problems occur when warping a Leksand loom unless it is direct-warped like a rigid heddle. This particular band was woven with 16/2 cotton for the ground (white), 10/2 singles for both the border and pattern threads. It is a little over five yards in length. Jutta was built by Ed Stevens, and was his prototype model. For that reason, she is very precious to me, and I have to figure out a way to foil Small Cat so she can be about her work again.

Ten Foot Band

Day 95: I was so pleased with the new warping system for my Leksand loom that I was very anxious to start another band as soon as I took this one off the roller. I've spent the first hours of today hanging a new warp, and I've drafted a cute little shamrock pattern to carry me into St. Patrick's Day. This has been a good week for winding up projects and beginning new ones. Very shortly, I'll have both the floor loom and my 16-inch rigid heddle empty again. Planning! Planning! That's half the fun of weaving: planning the next project.

Ending At Full Tension

Day 94: With only a few inches to go on Jutta's current band, I am happy to say that the warp is still at full, even tension. I've struggled with slackness in the pattern threads on all but one warp, a problem which other Leksand loom users have mentioned to me as well. After trying half a dozen different systems, it finally occurred to me to direct-warp in a straight line much the same as I would for rigid-heddle weaving, but with one important difference necessitated by the Leksand construction: I anchored the warp about a foot away from the terminals (the two outer posts at the right) and extended the desired length out beyond the cloth roller (left, in front) and then reversed the path. Each thread was taken through its appropriate slot/hole/heddle during the warping process. The anchor point was then brought around and secured to the tie on the warp roller (rear), and the warp bundles were weighted as they hung over the cloth roller as I wound the warp over card stock to prevent it from sinking into itself where it crossed over. It might be too early to claim victory, but I think I have won the War Against Slack Threads.

At The End Of All Things

Day 280: "I'm glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things," said Frodo, and while not as cataclysmic, I have reached the end of one thing with far greater success than expected. Achieving even tension has been an issue when I've warped my Leksand loom in the past, with the pattern threads becoming more loose than the background threads every time I advanced the warp. As a rule, I prefer long warps so that I can create pieces which can be cut to size, but I was beginning to think it wasn't possible to warp more than three or four yards on the Leksand. Then I discovered Louise Ström's twisting method, and decided to go out on a limb with a warp stretched twice across my living room (i.e., down and back). I am happy to say that even tension was maintained throughout roughly 25-28' of weaving. I found that as I advanced the warp, I could work any irregularities back into the twisted portion. I expected to have them all piled up when I got to the end, and was pleasantly surprised when they all balanced out instead. I have two more repeats to weave on this band. For my next project, I will remember to double the pattern threads for a more solid look.

11 mm Band

Day 184: Now I feel I am truly weaving in the Leksand tradition instead of just making pickup bands! This dainty band is only 11 mm wide. I used #80 tatting cotton for the warp, 8/2 cotton for the pattern/coloured threads and weft. I call it "S & Z," appropriate for a spinner's band, given the direction of twist for singles and plied yarn, because that is how the figures appear on the face. However, the reverse side (shown where it is wound onto the cloth reel) is equally attractive. In the course of weaving the first foot or so, I've made some discoveries regarding how the warp should be wrapped around the terminal posts (pattern threads lowest to maximize the "up" shed), and also for the rhythm of the treadle action to eliminate redundant footwork. I nearly have the pattern memorized, and only have to refer to my cheat-sheet for the two throws in each figure which are opposite to one another to make the S or Z. Committing a pattern to memory is crucial to building up speed, and it keeps my old brain flexible.

Meet Jutta, My Leksand Loom

Day 179: Meet Jutta, my Leksand loom. None of my other looms are named, unless you count the Bonker, but this distinguished lady deserves more than to be called simply "the Leksand loom." I spent several years of my youth living in Ballard, Seattle's Scandinavian district, and I think that must be where I first heard the name. I loved the sound of it as it flowed from a Norwegian or Swedish mouth: "Iyuuutt-ta," a distinct pause separating the two t's, and a U formed deep in the back of the throat and so round you could roll it across a pool table. It stuck so firmly in my mind that I gave the name to a character in a fictional piece about park rangers, Jutta Arnestad coming into being in the storyline long before there was an Arnie in my life. In any event, before I retired last night, Jutta had been given her name, but we were still struggling a bit with her job performance. Like so many things I've learned over the years, I had to sleep on it to let everything Ed had taught me soak in. This morning's session produced a much better band. Jutta produces many of the same type of bands I weave on the bonker (not sure about krokbragd yet), but she arrives at the destination via a different route in the same way that weaving with two heddles and two pickup sticks on a rigid heddle loom can give you the same four sheds you'd open on a standard loom by operating treadles. The end result is the same, but the process is different. You'll be seeing more of Jutta as we become better acquainted, each of us learning the other's foibles.

Leksand Loom

Day 178: I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Ed Stevens for offering me his original prototype Leksand loom. I have been waiting for him to finish refurbishing it for some time now, and today, he delivered it to my doorstep. He spent eight hours here, showing me how to warp it (rather differently from the bonker loom which it somewhat resembles) and then coaching me in the hand motions peculiar to its breed. There was more to learn than I had expected, and undoubtedly I'll need further instruction as there was simply too much to take in through a single session. I will add more details in future posts, but for now, I just want to perfect the basic technique. And to take a nap, a nice nap with Tippy who spent the entire day under the bed.