Tartan Project

Day 193: Another of my "bucket list" weaving projects is in its initial phase. I have always wanted to weave my family tartan (McLeod of Lewis), and although I made a shawl using commercial knitting worsted, it was far from the vision in my mind. A friend gifted me with enough 16/2 (fine) Scottish wool thread for a shawl last Christmas, and after making a small test piece, I determined that it would have to be sett at 36 ends per inch to achieve a balanced weave. For the width I wanted, that meant 1024 ends in total. Obviously, winding it on the warping board was going to take a while, but even more critical to the project was tying an additional 600 string heddles. I figured I had plenty of time to do both because I had just loaded Max (my Bergman floor loom) with an overshot project which I wasn't likely to finish for at least two months. Well, I've made progress. The overshot is nearing completion, and I only have 50 heddles left to tie. It was time to start winding the warp. Merry has been a bit too helpful at times, but I think we have at last come to an understanding regarding teeth, toenails and tempting strings, although I have to hide the warping board between sessions. I'm halfway there.

Tools Of The Trade

Day 34: Every discipline has its jargon. If you were unfamiliar with spinning and weaving, you might be able to infer which of these three objects is a warping board because the green thread is an obvious clue. However, could you say which of the other two is a niddy-noddy and which is a lazy kate? Perhaps not, although you'd stand a 50% chance of getting it right with a guess. The warping board is used to measure out the warp for a weaving project. Threads are wound over a sequence of pegs until the desired length is reached, and then the path is reversed (well, not quite exactly reversed, but we'll save that explanation for another time). A niddy-noddy (here shown in dark wood) is used in spinning to wind finished yarn off the bobbin. Niddy-noddies are usually constructed to measure a specific length per pass, i.e., a yard, a meter, etc. The ends of the device are T-shaped, and one can be turned at 90 degrees when in use. The yarn is wrapped over each end, and if you like, you can sing a little ditty to keep track of where you are: "Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy, Two heads, one body. Here's one, t'aint one, 'Twill be one by and by" (or any of several regional variations). A lazy kate (here shown in a tensionable version, left) is also a spinner's implement, and is used to hold bobbins of single-ply yarn so that they can be plied together. The tensioning spring keeps the bobbins from running away with themselves as they build up speed. Due to a significant lack of space in my Loom Room, these three tools have to share the same hanger until called into service. The warp currently on the warping board is waiting patiently for me to empty the floor loom. It's a good idea to measure it and leave it stretched for a few days before mounting, but I always like to have a "warp in waiting" all prepped and ready to go.

Engineering The Walls Of Troy - Gradient

Day 144: Behind any engineering project, there are plans and blueprints, and in this instance, a full two miles of 8/2 cotton have been laid out on an 8-fold gradient to be employed in construction of the Walls of Troy. That's the name of the draft I'll be using for this piece. It will be Max's next job, building a 24-foot Wall with a mortar (weft) of natural, weaving a tortuous path through the coloured warp. It's a simple repeat and doesn't require the strict attention to measurement like the designs with distinct motifs I've been working lately. It'll be a nice break from that keen focus on detail which has governed my most recent weavings. There are 482 threads in the pattern, 60 of each colour plus a natural floating selvedge thread on each side and, in the name of science, I'll be using a closer sett this time around at 20 ends per inch to see if that's Max's "sweet spot" for a balanced weave with this particular fiber. I have one towel left to go, but I always like to have a "warp in waiting."

A Mile And A Half

Day 351: I have a substantial stash of 8/2 cotton, my favourite weaving fiber, so I seldom think about the actual yardage required to finish mid-sized projects. Even when I have something large in mind (e.g., a coverlet), I can usually open the cupboard doors to do a visual assessment: "Yep, I have enough on that cone." I keep extras of the colours I use most frequently, particularly the off-white sold as "natural." This time, I had something a little different in mind: a holiday tablecloth, overshot on a green ground. As I was working out the length of the warp and the number of threads, a small doubt crept into the back of my mind, suggesting that perhaps a single cone of green wouldn't be sufficient, especially since I'd already taken some off it. It was time for higher math. Out came the pencil and the notepad, and sharply on their heels came the scale. No, there was not enough green left on the cone and, as luck would have it, I had just sent in an order and couldn't add another item to it. Cross with myself for not having made the calculations timely, I closed the book and began re-thinking my design to use what I had on hand while still keeping with the holiday theme. In the end, I decided to warp with natural, using red and green for the overshot against ice-blue (or possibly with the blue dividing pattern repeats). I spent most of yesterday on my knees, winding a mile and a half of warp onto the warping board. A mile and a half...7992 feet, 2664 yards! The weft never uses quite as much, but I think we can fudge a little to call this project the "Three-Mile Holiday Tablecloth."

Rank And Order

Day 91: There are several different methods for measuring out warp, each with its own merits and drawbacks. I happen to prefer to wind my threads onto a warping board, although because I don't have a wall on which to hang it, I generally sit on the floor with the frame leaned up against something, although sometimes if I'm winding a particularly long warp, I'll set it on the piano bench and prop it up against the door. In either case, I like to keep the cones of thread more or less ordered by the colour in which they will be needed, removing them from service once they are no longer required. Sometimes it's helpful to leave a full cone in place to hold a nearly empty one upright, such as the yellow shown here which will only be used for two warp strands in the entire piece. I could just as easily have measured off those two threads first and laid them aside until they were called into use, but experience has taught me that no matter how carefully I lay them down, they will find some way to tangle themselves into "warp spaghetti" before I pick them up again. Having to stop mid-wrap to unsnarl a knot can be very annoying.

Warping

Day 172: Any weaving project begins with visualization. Then comes the actual planning, based on the width and length of fabric required to complete it. Many things must be taken into account when weaving turns to math: the weight of thread governs the number of threads per inch, as do repeats of a colour pattern and/or type of weave. Once these things have been determined, the weaver then sets to measuring the warp, winding it over a series of pegs set into a rectangular frame, i.e., the "warping board" to the length desired. Wastage must be allowed for in measuring the warp. In this case, the rainbow check tablecloth in my imagination requires two 36"-wide lengths of 72" since I cannot weave the full two-yard width in twill on a 48" loom. At least five more feet of warp will be considered waste (a figure I know from experience), so I have measured out 525 ends plus two selvedge threads at six yards each which gives me five repeats of 7 colours, 15 warp threads per colour for the half-width warp, to be put on the loom at 15 dents per inch and woven at 15 throws per inch ("balanced weave").  While I would have preferred a brighter orange than the rust which follows red in the repeat, desperate times call for desperate measures. It took a stay-at-home order to inspire me to warp the big loom for this project, so I think I can make a few minor allowances.

Spinning My Wheel

Day 9: When the weather's crummy, I may be just sitting here spinning my wheel. I needed a break from quilting, what with one project on the frame, one in construction and another awaiting a few lines of machine-stitching, but mainly because a friend has asked me to batt, back and hand-stitch an heirloom quilt top made by her paternal grandmother. It came in the mail yesterday, Dresden plate big enough to cover a king-sized bed, and dominated by pink prints. Yeah, pink. That little fact can work two ways. Either I will find it horribly difficult to devote myself to, or I'll work like fury at it to get it out of the house as quickly as possible. Since it's for a friend, I anticipate the latter. In any event, I wanted to have a breather from working over the frame, so I pulled out my spinning wheel and finished up a second skein of double-ply yak in about three days. I was sure I had more yak hair, but couldn't find it when I dug into my stash. That left me with three choices: creamy white Corriedale top, silky silver Gotland top, or grey fleece (a gift from a friend). The Corriedale won, if for no other reason than it's been a while since I made any white yarn. I'm finding the fiber an absolute delight to work with and had intended to fill the basket with it for this photo, but when I went to get it out, I pulled down a large bag I had assumed was fleece, but which in fact was the remaining yak. Well, nuts! Since I only have a pound of the Corriedale, I'll finish it up first. I'm betting you'd have another meaning in mind if you told someone you'd be yakking and spinning your wheel(s).

Warp Measure

Day 28: The first step in any weaving project (that is, after the pattern has been selected and warp length has been calculated) is to measure the warp threads. I use a warping board for this purpose, first marking off the length of thread with a piece of string wound over the appropriate pegs. Following the progression, the threads are kept in the order in which they will be strung on the loom. At various points during the winding process, I tie off the threads in bunches of 25 or 50, but always at the halfway point so that I can identify the center. When the warp is completely wound onto the board, I tie off the cross (the point at which the threads make an X) and then remove the warp from the board by chaining it, essentially crocheting the massed threads with my hand and arm serving as the "crochet hook." This prevents the threads from tangling when the warp is transferred to the loom.