I'm using this yarn as a warp for some mug rugs and am noticing that you really have to put the tension super tight with it. Anyone else ever notice this? You use this yarn sometimes, right Franco? It sort of makes me a little nervous, like I'm going to snap a warp end or something.

DJ

Comments

francorios (not verified)

I use that yarn all the time.

What do you mean by super tight? Compared to what other warp yarn? This yarn doesn't stretch much and I haven't popped a warp with it yet. But I don't have a loom that allows for "super tight" tension.

I weave with rigid heddle, frame, and backstrap.

The thing I have to make sure with this yarn is that I get the tension evenly applied across all the warps to be sure I avoid problems. Otherwise I get tight warps next to a loose warp that can create missed picks and warp floats.

Have a good day!

djfiberarts (not verified)

I weave on RH too. It just feels like I have to make the tension really tight, otherwise the weft starts to bow (selvedge sides weaving lower than the middle). I did finish the mug rugs and did not break any warps though, so I guess I'm not setting the tension too tight  :\

DJ

francorios (not verified)

When the side warps get loose on rigid heddle, some people will hang weights on the warps to tighten them up.

I usually push a sharpie marker, or a dowel, or even a rolled up piece of paper between the loose warps and the back beam to take up the slack. It means I have to do this every time I advance the warp, but that is not a big problem on rigid heddle usually.

I hope this helps!

Have a good day!

mischiefmanaged (not verified)

Great tip, Franco! I have had this problem also on my rigid heddle when weaving with cotton but I didn't really have anything handy to use as a weight. It was a small project so I just trudged on but now I know how to fix it. :)  Cindy

sandeleh (not verified)

Uneven warp tension is usually a factor of the shape of your warp on the beam.  Perfect warps have straight edges where the end warps don't "fall off" the cylinder making a "cigar" shape.  Using the correct packing material will help with this, as will careful beaming of the warp.

I used to try to use vinyl mini-blinds as warp packing, but they bend and are slippery to boot, so my end threads would always slide down them to the outside, ruining the shape of my warp cylinder.  Now I only use the mini-blind slats as spacing between items on a warp or as header material.

I use wooden dowels for packing material now - the dowels are stiff enough not to bend at the edges of the warp cylinder and you only need a dowel once every few turns of the beam.  It's easier to see thru the dowels to be sure the warp cylinder has straight sides, too.  :)

Sande in Fresno, CA, USA

francorios (not verified)

A neat trick I saw in use by Kurt/Pippin was to use wide/flat bamboo skewers (sticks) on his Cricket loom. I think he had to trim them to fit the width of the weaving area of the beam.

Maybe some bamboo slats from roll up blinds?

I read somewhere not to put a solid layer of sticks on the warp roller as this will increase the size of the warp roll. They said to space the sticks every 90 degrees or so.

If someone has more specific suggestion for the stick spacing that would be helpful.

Have a good day!

djfiberarts (not verified)

You know I had a feeling it was what I was using as packing material. Will try the sticks.

DJ

francorios (not verified)

This is a test reply to a message from 12/11/09 Have a good day!
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