I know, I know, the best way to handle them is not to let them get there in the first place, but let's say they *DID* get there.

I wrote up a description of how I've handled a whole section going slack on a 187-yard beam. I couldn't have some fiddly thing that needed my attention all the time. I needed something that I could monitor from the bench and that would let me go 10 yards at a stretch before I had to do anything with it.

You can see some pictures and read a description over on my blog:

 http://blossommerz.com/blog/index.php?id=1827649855890886232

 

How do y'all handle things like this when they come up?

Blossom

Comments

Sat, 08/01/2009 - 00:24

Sara von Tresckow

 When handling slack warp threads, the first tendency of weavers is to hang something on those threads to immediately tighten them.

However, the opposite is more effective - as you have done here. Once a weight is hung from a warp thread, it begins to stretch more than its neighbors and causes trouble to the end of the warp. The late Al Fannin (textile prof. at Syracuse Univ.) once said, a loom is not a Christmas tree to hang baubles from.

The first course of action is to weave carefully if the slack is minor. Sometimes within inches the tension returns to an acceptable point and you can simply keep on weaving.

If the slack is great enough to form a loop as pictured above, pull the thread tight and pin to the web the same as with a mended warp break, fasten with a straight sewing pin. This slack can be worked in after wet finishing.

As you have done, waiting until a cutting break in the fabric will result in the least amount of visibility in the finished cloth.

Other than that, take note that while sectional warping is generally regarded as an excellent way to reduce warp tension issues, it is not failsafe.