I'm new to weaving and for my first project on my new-to-me 4 shaft loom I'm making placemats. I washed and dried the first placemat and there were tons of wrinkles in it which would not come out with spritzing with water and ironing with a steam iron.
So I completely dunked the placemat in cool water and laid it flat to dry on thick chamois-type cloths, pressing the water out of it. When still moderately wet, I ironed it repeatedly with a hot iron. The wrinkles are less noticeable but still persist. Is this common for carpet warp projects? This is the first time I have used carpet warp.
Thanks in advance--I hope I'm posting this in the correct forum.
Kathryn
Hi kathryn,
You can probably use your placemats the first time without washing them. I know that others might disagree, as washing is recommended for just about everything these days, but in the case of a placemat of 8/4 cotton, it will most likely look the best when it is new. It may get a little dull after many washings.
Then when you need to wash them, try soaking them in cold water for a while before washing. And, I usually just take a brush and brush off what I can see and then I set them out to dry without putting them in the machine. That is usually easier than getting it wrinkled with a spin cycle and then dealing with the wrinkes. I have ruined commercially made placemats with the spin cycle so I don't use if for my handwoven placemats. And, sometime the dryer will also cause a crease in a thick placemat.
Joanne
I think what you are experiencing is "tracking," caused by the combination of yarn and the sett of your project. Unmercerized cotton (such as Homestead cotton) will also do this.
Some folks are disturbed by this effect, others like it because although it looks vaguely wrinkled, it has a regularity to the wrinkles, almost like a twill effect. You can find this evident in historic fabrics as well!
I was thinking "tracking" also. I think it adds a nice effect.
If the problem is tracking there isn't much you can do as the phenomenom is caused by the energy in the twist of the yarns torquing. You can minimize tracking by using a higher density (more epi/ppi). Or use a weave structure other than plain weave.
If it is actual creases, you can wet the cloth out again, using much hotter water, and then before they dry give them a hard press. But 8/4 cotton is quite thick - you might find you have better results with a somewhat thinner yarn.
cheers,
Laura
In any case, the first wash of any warp should be done carefully - any hanging should be done with smoothing, possibly avoid the dryer until it has dried to a damp state and is then steam pressed.
Wrinkles that set into newly woven fabric during the first wash cycle are always hard to get out. If this is tracking, it is now a "feature".
In my message I suggested soaking in cold water. That is a recommendation from Sharon Alderman, who experimented with this. She found the cold water soaking eliminated some of the tracking effect.
Joanne
I have never heard of the phenomenon called tracking. Indeed, the wrinkles are not random, but all have the same diagonal angle with respect to the direction of the warp and weft. Does that sound like tracking?
Joanne, if I do a cold water soak as Sharon Alderman recommends, should I just press it flat on a towel to dry as I did before, and then iron it dry it when it is still very damp?
I am using a 12 epi sett and have beamed 6 1/2 yards of the cotton warp for this project. I wanted 8 identical placemats in addition this first test (read: error-riddled) placemat. I am using a color and weave pattern; the placemat therefore is all plain weave. I cut the first placemat off so I could study the effects of washing it before I proceeded with weaving the remainder of the warp.
I lashed that warp remainder to my cloth beam's apron rod using an additional apron rod inserted after weaving an insert for it. I'm not certain what the term is for that procedure, but it appears to be working fine and I've started weaving my first "good" placemat.
Perhaps there is a way to go about a new design using the threading pattern and sett that I already have? I have not yet learned how to do a twill weave but can go to that chapter in Deborah Chandler's book and learn it, since I am teaching myself at this point. That means I may not be as dexterous switching horses in midstream, as the old saying goes, but I'm willing to try any possible solution.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and recommendations. I am grateful for the help.
Kathryn
Unfortunately, first projects do not always lend themselves to successful completion of 8 identical objects. Those first few warps you weave will be as much for exploration as for finished goods. We've all been there and worked our way through.
Maybe this warp should be finished using the technique you planned and using each mat as a test of your progress. There will be plenty of time and opportunity to do it over of make something similar.
After many years of weaving I still put at least half a yard on each warp for whatever - and if I don't need it for the project, use it for testing variations. Weaving is a wonderful pastime, but takes more than a first warp to feel confident about it.
Thank you, Sarah. I guess it's true that each successive placemat would be another set of coordinates of my learning curve. :) With your wise words in mind, I think I'll persevere on my original course. Onward and upward, hopefully.
Kathryn
can be reduced at least a little by a tight weave. So, if you have been beating lightly, perhaps a faster beat will give you a tigher weave. And yes, Sharon feels that an overnight soaking decreases the amount of tracking that appears.
But, as I said, you can always use them first before you soak them. It does not take long for placemats to need washing. Just give them an overnight soaking first. Then just enjoy your placemats.
Joanne
Those diagonal lines in the "wrinkles" are the big clue that this is, indeed, tracking. It's caused by yarns that have extra twist in them -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing -- and it shows itself clearly in plainweave but not in other structures. It usually isn't visible immediately when the cloth comes off the loom, but it shows up when the cloth is washed (the water lets the yarns torque themselves into more comfortable positions).
Did you thread your loom in a "straight draw" threading (i.e., 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 -- or 4,3,2,1,4,3,2,1)? If you did, you can start treadling for twill without rethreading -- and the tracking will disappear.
To weave a balanced 2/2 twill (which means the weft goes over two threads, then under two, then over two, then under two), you treadle a progression that lifts the shafts in pairs, like this: lift 1-2, then 2-3, then 3-4, then 4-1. ...It's shown in diagrams right at the start of the chapter on Twills in Deborah Chandler's book -- which helps to really "see" how it works. ;-)
The colour-and-weave effect will be different if you switch from plainweave to twill, but it can still look quite nice. If you've threaded your warp in the "log cabin" sequence of colours, for example, a weft sequence that alternates the two colours (light-dark-light-dark) will give you a zig-zag pattern with a regular "accent" (a little block of colour where the pattern shifts in the warp).
The set of 12 ends per inch will be a bit loose for twill, so you may want to beat a little more firmly than you've been doing.
It's a nice learning project -- it's already taught you some great things, and it will teach you even more as you go along (and also give you perfectly good placemats at the end of it all).
Ruth
Ruth, you were the first person on this site to help me when I got into weaving last July with a rigid heddle loom as a total noobee, and once again you've come up with some excellent and interesting suggestions. Thank you!
It might be fun to try the twill pattern that you suggest, maybe on alternate placemats as I work through my beamed warp, as I did indeed thread the loom in a straight draw except for two threads in the center. I changed up the color sequence, alternating the two colors singly (log cabin) for a couple of inches in from the edge, then two by two for another section, then four by four for the third section, then two of the same color in the in the middle heddles, and then mirroring the sequence (by 4s, 2s and 1s) over to the other edge. I'm curious and eager to see what results from a 2/2 twill over this threading sequence.
Joann, I'm going to try the soaking that you suggest on that trial placemat. The method and results will become part of my learning process.
Thank you both so much for your help.
Kathryn
I have tested other applications of cotton to find it shrinks 3" per yard when I dry it with high heat (dryer or iron). Haven't tested rug warp shrinkage yet, but why would it be any different from other cotton?
I think it would be an interesting exercise to weave a sample from carpet warp (8/4) and 5/2 pearl cotton, at exactly the same size, sett, and structure, and measure the results off-loom (for take-up), and again after washing (for shrinkage). Those two yarns are similar in ypp and many weavers use them interchangeably.
