- faster by the week?

I often do "runs" of shawls - 5 to 10 on the same warp.

I used to weave all of them, cut off, cut apart, look at the heap of un-fringed shawls and sigh.

Then I dared to warp several message shawls on one warp. Due to the fact that they are double, with the layers offset, they have to be cut off after each one is woven. And I found that it was a lot less... difficult to make fringes on one shawl at a time. I do them in the evenings, while watching TV or just socializing. This means that when I cut iff the last of the (say) 10 shawls, there is only one left to make fringes on, before the whole load can go into the washing machine.

So I started to do the same on every shawl warp. While it may take a bit longer to re-tie every time, the fringes are done before  have woven the last on the warp. I think it is faster "by the week"...

Kerstin in Sweden

http://bergdalaspinnhus.com

http://oddweavings.blogspot.com

 

Comments

crosstownshuttler (not verified)

Great idea Kirsten! I also find a stack of items waiting to have the same thing done, fringes, hemming, etc., more than a little daunting. Cycling through the tasks - weaving, checking for mistakes, weaving, hemming, etc. not only helps me get through it, but is kinder to my body than doing the same job too long at a time.

Have you tried this? Finish weaving the shawl, leave room for fringe, then weave an inch or two of plain weave in a non-slippery yarn, put in a sturdy stick, and weave another inch of plain weave. Now cut of the shawl and tie the woven in stick to the apron rod, tighten the warp and weave. You don't have to tie on again and you may save a little warp length. Of course, this method only works if your warp yarns will stay woven in the plain weave area, i.e. are not too slippery, but it might be worth a try.

lkautio (not verified)

It's also possible to do plied fringe twisting on the loom between pairs of pieces.  It's been a while since I've done it, but basically you twist one side, which causes the next piece to have the opposite twist.  A dowel through the middle holds the twist.  The idea is something like sprang or leno. Slower to twist on the loom, but you get two for the price of one.  With wool you can wash (finish) the pieces, remove the dowel and be done.  With other fibers you need to knot or wrap the ends in the usual way after finishing.

Laurie

Ellen (not verified)

Perhaps you know, but you can buy a little fringe-twister, that should make the work faster. I have only seen them, never thought of buying one, though. You see, I rather enjoy making fringes, while I think about new ideas for my next projects :-)

kerstinfroberg

Comments to Laurie: the fact that the two fringes get opposite twist is why I don't like that method - unless I am sending the whole "run" to a commercial finishing place.

I tried to post some pictures illustrating what I mean, but could not make it work - so I posted to my blog instead: http://oddweavings.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-on-fringe-twisting.html

As for "little fringe-twisters" - I could not live without mine! I like it so much that I have even begun making them for sale - the first batch of 15 all sold in the first month, even without marketing... Sooner or later, they will show up on my website...

Kerstin in Sweden

suzyhok (not verified)

 What a wonderful job you have done explaining twisted fringes.  I love doing them by hand and find them very soothing -- kind of like handspinning on a wheel.  BUT, I must admit I haven't had to do 20 shawls at a time -- that might be a different story!

I love your blog!  It is full of great tips and information.  I have a small suggestion:  Can you put a link back to your website on it?  Viewers may want to see it after reading your blog... and may want to click back and forth.

I'll be looking for your fringe-twisters...

Suzy

Little Meadows (not verified)

Just a note about saving warp length - it's my experience that if I tie my warp in 1/2-1" bundles with an overhand knot and then lace on those bundles with shoe strings I "waste" the least amount.  The other aspect I like about this method is that by having several sections laced on any adjustments are made to one or 2 smaller groups rather than the entire width.

Liese

lkautio (not verified)

Kerstin, The person who taught us the on-the-loom method was doing production wool shawls, which seemed to turn out very nicely after wet-finishing. We also tried some samples of other fibers.  Good (vigorous) wet-finishing seemed to be the key. I didn't see any as obviously different as your examples, but can see how that look could happen. 

I don't do production so beyond having tried it on the loom, I stick to my little fringe twisters (one manual with sheep, the other the electric hair type).

Laurie

laurafry

My current warp is a slower by the hour, faster by the project effort.  :)  I'm having to use a temple to prevent excessive draw in.  I'd rather go slower and not have to deal with broken selvege threads....

Cheers,

Laura

debmcclintock

 I love this thread, don't know what forum it is in but the drift is great.....I will post a link to this thread in the scarf finishes forum so that folks can see other points of view...by the way I am definitely trying this with the last two scarves on the loom to see how twisting the fringe on loom works!

francorios (not verified)

Hey Deb,

It's the Efficient Weaver Group

Have a good day!

debmcclintock

 thanks!  now I can give proper credit to the right group!

Su Butler

Twisting wool fringes on the loom is a really efficient way to make fringes.......to do so, I use a tapestry needle.    Before twisting the fringes, I advance the warp and weave at least 1-2" of the next item. I mark the center spot on the fringe  I use a sharpee marker or some other permanant marker, as this part will be cut off after finishing.  Then, Insert the needle under the number of threads to be used in one fringe bout (I never make a fringe wider than 1/4").   I angle the needle a bit so I won't catch adjoining threads and twist the number of times required to make a good fringe. (# of times depends on how long the fringes are).  Then I run another tapestry needle, threaded with a stout wool thread through the center to hold the twist in the fringe.  I fix the second tapestry needle into the woven body of the cloth and move to the next fringe.  When it is all done, the stout wool from the second needle is threaded through the center of all the fringes.  I tie a firm knot at each end.  When the piece comes off the loom, it is fulled to the point that the fringes will not come unplied and they can simply be cut apart.  It is really faster, for me, than plying after the fact and has the added bonus of leaving no knots at the ends of the fringes.  I would not do this method with anything but wool for the reasons Kirsten has already mentioned, but for a wool warp that is going to be fulled/felted, it works great!

jemwork (not verified)

Fringe twisters are worth the price of admission! I have two - a 2-clip and a 3-clip. You can count how many twists you use so all the fringes are much the same. The 3-clip gives a lovely look to a scarf - I use two ends in each clip.

Joan in Jamestown

crosstownshuttler (not verified)

Great idea Kirsten! I also find a stack of items waiting to have the same thing done, fringes, hemming, etc., more than a little daunting. Cycling through the tasks - weaving, checking for mistakes, weaving, hemming, etc. not only helps me get through it, but is kinder to my body than doing the same job too long at a time.

Have you tried this? Finish weaving the shawl, leave room for fringe, then weave an inch or two of plain weave in a non-slippery yarn, put in a sturdy stick, and weave another inch of plain weave. Now cut of the shawl and tie the woven in stick to the apron rod, tighten the warp and weave. You don't have to tie on again and you may save a little warp length. Of course, this method only works if your warp yarns will stay woven in the plain weave area, i.e. are not too slippery, but it might be worth a try.

lkautio (not verified)

It's also possible to do plied fringe twisting on the loom between pairs of pieces.  It's been a while since I've done it, but basically you twist one side, which causes the next piece to have the opposite twist.  A dowel through the middle holds the twist.  The idea is something like sprang or leno. Slower to twist on the loom, but you get two for the price of one.  With wool you can wash (finish) the pieces, remove the dowel and be done.  With other fibers you need to knot or wrap the ends in the usual way after finishing.

Laurie

Ellen (not verified)

Perhaps you know, but you can buy a little fringe-twister, that should make the work faster. I have only seen them, never thought of buying one, though. You see, I rather enjoy making fringes, while I think about new ideas for my next projects :-)

kerstinfroberg

Comments to Laurie: the fact that the two fringes get opposite twist is why I don't like that method - unless I am sending the whole "run" to a commercial finishing place.

I tried to post some pictures illustrating what I mean, but could not make it work - so I posted to my blog instead: http://oddweavings.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-on-fringe-twisting.html

As for "little fringe-twisters" - I could not live without mine! I like it so much that I have even begun making them for sale - the first batch of 15 all sold in the first month, even without marketing... Sooner or later, they will show up on my website...

Kerstin in Sweden

suzyhok (not verified)

 What a wonderful job you have done explaining twisted fringes.  I love doing them by hand and find them very soothing -- kind of like handspinning on a wheel.  BUT, I must admit I haven't had to do 20 shawls at a time -- that might be a different story!

I love your blog!  It is full of great tips and information.  I have a small suggestion:  Can you put a link back to your website on it?  Viewers may want to see it after reading your blog... and may want to click back and forth.

I'll be looking for your fringe-twisters...

Suzy

Little Meadows (not verified)

Just a note about saving warp length - it's my experience that if I tie my warp in 1/2-1" bundles with an overhand knot and then lace on those bundles with shoe strings I "waste" the least amount.  The other aspect I like about this method is that by having several sections laced on any adjustments are made to one or 2 smaller groups rather than the entire width.

Liese

lkautio (not verified)

Kerstin, The person who taught us the on-the-loom method was doing production wool shawls, which seemed to turn out very nicely after wet-finishing. We also tried some samples of other fibers.  Good (vigorous) wet-finishing seemed to be the key. I didn't see any as obviously different as your examples, but can see how that look could happen. 

I don't do production so beyond having tried it on the loom, I stick to my little fringe twisters (one manual with sheep, the other the electric hair type).

Laurie

laurafry

My current warp is a slower by the hour, faster by the project effort.  :)  I'm having to use a temple to prevent excessive draw in.  I'd rather go slower and not have to deal with broken selvege threads....

Cheers,

Laura

debmcclintock

 I love this thread, don't know what forum it is in but the drift is great.....I will post a link to this thread in the scarf finishes forum so that folks can see other points of view...by the way I am definitely trying this with the last two scarves on the loom to see how twisting the fringe on loom works!

francorios (not verified)

Hey Deb,

It's the Efficient Weaver Group

Have a good day!

debmcclintock

 thanks!  now I can give proper credit to the right group!

Su Butler

Twisting wool fringes on the loom is a really efficient way to make fringes.......to do so, I use a tapestry needle.    Before twisting the fringes, I advance the warp and weave at least 1-2" of the next item. I mark the center spot on the fringe  I use a sharpee marker or some other permanant marker, as this part will be cut off after finishing.  Then, Insert the needle under the number of threads to be used in one fringe bout (I never make a fringe wider than 1/4").   I angle the needle a bit so I won't catch adjoining threads and twist the number of times required to make a good fringe. (# of times depends on how long the fringes are).  Then I run another tapestry needle, threaded with a stout wool thread through the center to hold the twist in the fringe.  I fix the second tapestry needle into the woven body of the cloth and move to the next fringe.  When it is all done, the stout wool from the second needle is threaded through the center of all the fringes.  I tie a firm knot at each end.  When the piece comes off the loom, it is fulled to the point that the fringes will not come unplied and they can simply be cut apart.  It is really faster, for me, than plying after the fact and has the added bonus of leaving no knots at the ends of the fringes.  I would not do this method with anything but wool for the reasons Kirsten has already mentioned, but for a wool warp that is going to be fulled/felted, it works great!

jemwork (not verified)

Fringe twisters are worth the price of admission! I have two - a 2-clip and a 3-clip. You can count how many twists you use so all the fringes are much the same. The 3-clip gives a lovely look to a scarf - I use two ends in each clip.

Joan in Jamestown