Believe it or not, I got my summer/winter runner designed and woven!
I'm not sure how much I like the end product...right now it is hanging to dry, and I've already noticed one or two errors, not to mention design elements that are not as nice as I thought they might be. --This is called gaining experience, right?!
One special challenge from this piece has to do with my method of retying the warp to the loom after cutting off a piece. I like Peggy Osterkamp's method of weaving an inch of plainweave, inserting a stick into shed A, a stick into shed B, and another inch of plainweave. After the sticks have been woven into the piece, the finished portion of the weaving can be cut off the loom, and the weaving reattached to the front apron via the two sticks. You don't have to worry about tying lots of knots and getting the tension right again. It's simple, and it works.
Except this time, the warp started to pull out of the weaving and the sticks. I had one side of the piece with almost no tension at all and the other at normal weaving tension. Gulp. It took some time staring at the piece to figure out possible solutions! Interestingly, just as I was about to try one method, I realized I could try something new, and changed plans!
Syne Mitchell of Weave Cast mentioned lashing on with shoelaces in one of her episodes. I was able to tie the warp in 1" bundles with an overhand knot and lash these knots to the front apron bar, and viola! I was back in business! Hooray for Syne, and for all my other on-line weaving connections! You guys saved the day!
1 comment:
Beautiful piece!
I also like the weave/insert stick/weave method for tying on again. But to keep the warp from pulling out, I put glue on the plain weave. You can put it on the front or both. Simple Elmers works well enough and it washes out when you're done - not that that section is going to be kept anyway. It's a trick I learned from a very wise, well-seasoned weaver. :-)
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