The Gator-Ade Method

Day 29: This stage of weaving (winding the warp onto the beam) is really a two-person job, but not entirely impossible to do without a second pair of hands. After many years of rigging soup cans in a variety of unsatisfactory slings, I devised the "Gator-Ade Method" which provides even tension on the warp bundles. Any 16-24 ounce bottles (filled) would do as long as they have a neck around which yarn or cord can be tied securely. After wrapping the neck twice, tie a tight knot to prevent the cord from slipping over the top of the bottle. Leave the ends about six inches long and tie a second knot to make a loop big enough to accommodate two fingers and thumb. Draw a loop of all the warp threads of any given bundle through the yarn loop and clip a clothespin to it to keep it from sliding back through the yarn. When properly adjusted, the bottles should hang slightly above floor level, creating tension on the warp threads. Repeat the process all the way across the warp and then wind the available length onto the beam. Rehang the bottles and wind again, repeating until all the warp has been wound onto the beam. Necessity is the mother of invention, or as I put it, "Find a way or make one."