I am new to weaving. Everything I've read recommends weaving a sample of the intended project.  Do I warp my loom for the project and weave a sample, make any changes then unweave the sample?  How do  I weave samples without using up my limited yarn supply?

Comments

Sun, 01/20/2013 - 21:47

Joanne Hall

are a good way to start.  They are already planned so that you don't need to weave a sample.  You can also follow projects in books and magazines which are already planned.  Doing this will give you the experience to know when you need to weave a sample and when you may be able to skip the sample.

When you put a warp on which you have some questions about, it is nice to put on a little extra length in the warp.  That will give you the opportunity to weave a sample, try different wefts, different colors, variations of treadling and other experiments you want to make.  Then, cut it off, finish it and the sample will answer the questions you have.

Joanne

 

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 04:01

sally orgren

I run some warp around a small piece of cardboard, then use a tapestry needle to weave the weft. This gives me an idea of color interaction and general idea of sett. Take a photo, then unweave your sample to preserve your materials if they are that tight.

I use my software to work out structure details and make sure I understand how I will be setting up the loom. Next, I try and set up an actual sample on a table loom (using a table loom so there is less loom waste.) And that is a way to make sure my draft will weave up as expected. (And a chance to try alternate treadlings to improve upon my original idea.)

When I am ready to bring the project to the final loom, I usually allow a bit to sample at the beginning, full width. The benefit is that at each stage of sampling, I may land upon a idea that is better than what I visualized in the beginning. 

I plan my projects with a sample in mind. So even if the materials are in limited supply, I may make the scarf 1/2" narrower, so I have that extra material to sample at the beginning of the project.

I save my samples/documentation for future projects. Sampling helps you grow your skills more quickly and leave bread crumbs from yourself when you go down that same or a similar path in the future. I know most weavers don't think it is a valuable way to spend their time, but I find the weavers I admire tend to be great samplers. I was glad I was encouraged to build this habit by my guildmates when I was a newbie!

Sally

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 21:28

Liese (not verified)

While I will commend Sally for all her prep work, personally what she describes would drive me from the loom not to it!  Joanna Hall gave great advice about using magazine projects as you're learning. When you get a new yarn, look for projects using that material and study the setts used for what structures. I'm a learn by doing person but curling up with a book or old mag & tea is my idea of fun; so reading, reading & then weaving, weaving will help with most things. If you don't have books yet buy or borrow Mastering Weaving Structures by Alderman, older '80's & "90's Handwovens, and English editions of Vav are very nice too and study them. Maybe some would prefer to  do lots  of samples but I would prefer to sample by making useful things...Elizabeth Zimmerman ( a well known knitter) said why make a swatch when you can make a hat? If you're paying attention very few projects will come out unuseable.

So go have fun!

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 22:09

Grethe

I will recomend Laila Lundell, "Big book of Weaving". It's a great book for beginners. It's a good idea to allow enough warp, so you can weave a little sample, to try out the set, how hard do you have to beat? do the colors work well? that kind of questions are worth the effort of a few inch/cm too weave, before you start the projekt. Welcome to the weaving world, I do hope you will enjoy

Wed, 01/23/2013 - 01:01

Artistry

I'm with Sally, call me crazy, but I sample happily! Many a time it's been the third or fourth sample that's been the winner. That's because new ideas pop up along the way! as been pointed out already the practical knowledge one gets from sampling really aids in a successful piece. What's not been mentioned i don't think is , Wet Finishing your sample is a must, I think. Shrinkage and general appearance needs to be noted. Even if one likes to follow the magazine articles ,which are great, sometimes you can't get the exact materials listed in the project. That's a good time to sample too!
Fri, 01/25/2013 - 18:21

ReedGuy

I'm not in the same league as many on the forum, in fact probably not much league at all, so take this for what it is. I do like to sample. That's because unless it's a project that is pretty plain, you can find that a lot of patterning (business) will affect take up. You might have several areas that the interlacement is different and not as simple as plain weave interlacement throughout the whole cloth. Float lengths and so on will have an impact.

Fri, 01/25/2013 - 16:15

Liese (not verified)

Been thinking about this thread whilst warping up & test driving loom modifications for the first monotype sample set.  So you can see I'm not against sampling per se, as my first post might lead you to believe. However I'd like to stress that for beginner weavers who aren't certain that they've found a passion in weaving, stressing a lot of sampling first could possibly be a brake to the enthusiasm and I wanted the OP to know that reading, then weaving already vetted projects was a very acceptable way to learn (I think that was Joanne Hall's point too). In other online forums many weavers have admitted to spending their first months working on just those types of projects and other weavers even going as far as to identify themselves as "recipe weavers" so they probably don't sample much unless as Cathie points out yarns/types are being changed. All is good, time & temperment probably play their roles as well.

Weaving can be done from many POV - hobbyist, advocation, professional production, artist.  My answer as applies to the OP is to a hobbyist.

Fri, 01/25/2013 - 18:28

ReedGuy

No need to defend your post Liese. There are many opinions on about every topic. As I have said before, it's just like buying a chainsaw and asking what brand to buy. Some will use other's drafts and some will want to do their own thing fairly early on. I have used a few existing drafts myself, but just the plain weaves like tabby and more basic twills. Anything else I have drawn up myself. And yes, I'm just an overly ambitious hobby type. :) Your point of view is perfectly valid and probably fits with a lot of other people's thoughts.

Funny though how stuff walks out of here, be nice to get some coin. :)

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 16:21

sally orgren

I too, started with the draft recipes in magazines and books making slight modifications — like changing colors, widths, lengths, etc. My plan was to sample IF there was warp left at the end of the project and save that for my files.

My neighbor started weaving, and right out of the box, she called the first part of her warp her "What If" warp. Gasp...she sampled FIRST. She was just a beginner, and was getting great results. (That was a big Ah Ha for me, and changed my sampling outlook.) 

As a beginner, it was frustrating to spend all that time warping, and not have a project turn out as expected, or worse, have a significant problem. (I had one warp sit on the loom for over 3 years until I figured it out.) Not good.

Sampling (even just a warp wrap with needle weaving) removed a lot of the uncertainty for me, so I could really enjoy weaving and know with a good deal of confidence I was headed down the right path in return for all that warping work.

Now when I teach someone to weave, I have a favored warp that is actually a sampler (but I don't tell them that.) As you might guess, it can be a runner or a scarf, designed to look cohesive, but gives them the experience and data that they can then pursue their own projects going forward. I guess I could call it a "recipe with a purpose" ;-). 

Sally

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 21:03

Kade1301

I'm not sure whether I've ever followed a recipe to the letter in cooking or knitting, so I won't start doing so in weaving. Besides, I mostly use handspun.

For scarves I use the first part of the project warp for a sample.

But for wider projects I put on a extra sample warp beforehand. Just something between 10 and 20 cm and 1 to 2 m, depending on what I want to try out. Doing this is fun for me as it goes rather quickly and yarn and weave structure are new and interesting. And I then can be reasonably sure that the full-width poncho, or rug, or towel turns out as I want it to. With several samples I can also try out different finishing techniques - samples are great opportunities...

I've actually woven samples for projects which I have then not done at all (mainly because something else, even more interesting, has occurred to me) but I don't regret doing the samples. I just hope I'll find them again when I go back to the project (at the moment fabric, notes and yarn samples get put into a clear plastic bag and the bag into a box. As I've only been weaving for a year it's not a problem - but does anybody have any long-term "filing" ideas?)

 

 

 

 

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 21:42

ReedGuy

Filing of notes and samples is a task that gets discussed occassionally here. Myself, I'm behind. But, I'm also new to weaving and I don't have years of stuff piling up. However, what there is,is laying about unorganized. Gotta fix that. :)

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 22:47

sally orgren

Believe it or not, there are tons of fun little crafty projects you can turn those samples into, if you no longer want to save them. One of my guilds regularly makes goodie bag items for our regional conference from our stash of samples and scraps. I am known to make small items to sell at our guild sale, items that fall in the $5-25 category. (So by upcycling them, does that mean they really aren't samples after all?)

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 22:57

ReedGuy

I'll know where to send my overstock. :D

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 23:50

Leslie M (not verified)

Well I have to chime in here because I recently appalled a guildmate by tell ing her I had sold my samples! They were from work I had done using Bonnie Inouye's multishaft workbook. Probably 3 yds of samples that I cut apart and sewed into a vest. I kind of choked when someone wanted to buy it, but $$ worth of new yarn were dancing in my head. I do have everything recorded and can reproduce any or all and have small samples of most. So do sample! With a good weaving program it's easy to keep good records and I do return to them periodically for ideas or setts or color combinations. I would recommend Mary Blacks "New Key to Weaving" for a good solid weaving background. Save your good project yarn and use something similar if you can or use the beginning of your warp as a sample. Sometimes you can use this section for fringe by unweaving as Sally recommended.
Wed, 01/30/2013 - 00:12

ReedGuy

I understand the original question is for a new weaver learning things, like sett and takeup of the weaving and how the yarn behaves. Aside from that, people, some not being weavers, like to see samples of your work. A draft looks interesting to a weaver, but not neccessarily to a non weaver. They want to handle the piece, not just imagine it from piece of paper and ink.

Sat, 02/02/2013 - 14:47

Joyce (not verified)

Thanks to all of you for your great suggestions.  I recently purchased "A Weaver's Companion" and it has quickly become my best resource for answering questions.  The chapter on Yarns has made it very clear how important sampling is for a new weaver as well as for determining how a project will turn out.  It even answered my questions about finishing fabric.  Now back to my loom!

Sun, 02/03/2013 - 18:54

Susanneroonie

As a super newbie, I can't recommend Peggy Osterkamp's Weaving for Beginners enough. I was actually able to flawlessly warp back to front by following her directions. To me, this book is much more helpful than Debra Chandler's and there are tons of helpful illustrations. It's definitely worth checking out.