Hi there,

Just finished putting the warp on my new to me 45" LeClerc Nilart loom. Now I am ready to start threading the heddles. My question is what do you do with excess heddles? As I mentoined I have a 45" wide loom and warp is 39" wide which gives me approximately 3" per side. There are four shafts that I am not going to use (only using 8 out of 12). There are a lot of heddles on each shaft. Should I take the heddles off the shafts, or let the warp "bend" around them?

Look forward to hearing from you guys (gals?)

Malcolm

Comments

Thu, 05/29/2014 - 04:20

laurafry

Are the heddles going to take up more than 3" on either side? If not, just push them to the side. You can keep them at the side in a variety of ways. I have small clips that clip on to the heddle bars to prevent them from creeping into the warp. Cheers Laura
Thu, 05/29/2014 - 04:42

Guiding Myth (not verified)

Hi Malcolm,

The empty heddles should not be allowed to alter the straight path of the warp.  You will end up with broken threads on the edge because those threads will be traveling a longer distance than the threads in the center of the warp.

If it is just the heddles on the unused shafts  perhaps you can remove the unused shafts?  If the shafts are not easily removed, and assuming you have checked to see if the heddles really will interfere (you are pushing 1/2 to the right side and 1/2 to the left?), then as I see it you have two likely options.  1.  remove just enough of the heddles so the warp can travel freely or 2.  have the warp travel past the unused heddles - so that on the shafts you are not using pull the warp between the unused heddles...So for example: take the first warp thread and thread it. Assuming you are threading from right to left, put  some heddles on shafts 9, 10, 11, & 12 to the left of that first thread,  Next take the second warp thread and thread it and put some heddles on shafts 9, 10, 11, and 12 to the left of the second thread an so on.  So you are putting the warp thread next to the unused heddles.  

Hope I'm being clear.  It would be easier to show you than explain it!

Good luck.  You are starting with an ambitious project  on your new loom!

Stephanie S. 

Fri, 05/30/2014 - 14:37

Airstream28

Laura & Stephanie,

Thanks for your replies. I have decided to take the extra heddles off the shafts. The lady I bought the loom from used to weave very fine fabrics (upwards of 75-100 epi) and each frame has 200-300 heddles on them. Way too many and makes treadling heavy.

Thanks again,

Malcolm