Just checking in to find out what everyone is working on.  I have napkins on my loom in black and white and will post pictures soon.

Claudia

Comments

Mon, 11/15/2010 - 17:43

Deloominknitiot (not verified)

I have a 32" Kromski and have been making scarves for holiday gifts.  They are quick, fun and all different.  I even added some bouquets and did a little leno on a couple....this is so much fun I don't know why more people don't try it!!

Mon, 11/15/2010 - 17:51

CraftinSusan

I warped my 20 inch Flip full width using two 10 dent heddles with 8/2 cotton. My original plan was to make napkins out of the yardage but this would be good fabric for a baby drass. I decide after I finish weaving it off.
Mon, 11/15/2010 - 21:32

Claudia Segal (not verified)

I have done tons of scarves and have now moved on to trying napkins with 8/2 cotton.  I looked at your projects and your scarves are lovely.  Keep entering them and I'll work on getting the manufacturers entered so you can add the yarns.  Looks like you're having fun!  How do you like the 32" loom?  Sounds wide but I would love to do doubleweave on one that is wider than my 24" Harp.

Claudia

Fri, 11/19/2010 - 17:16

mmorse (not verified)

I warped to do a little more krokbragd, because I'm thinking of making an I-pad case for a friend (nice sturdy fabric), but some cotton/llama and cotton/viscose (shiny stuff that produces thin, contrasting, random stripes) demanded to become a scarf before anything else happens, so I rethreaded for tabby and am close to the end. Krokbragd pictures sometime soon. I need to pay better attention to my mistakes so I can develop some patterns beyond the flame. Thanks for getting us started on that!

--mm

Tue, 11/23/2010 - 12:04

Thumper70 (not verified)

I'm still weaving my silk/linen "white" experiment. I'm guessing it should be off the loom by the end of this week - middle of next. Quite excited to see the end result.

Tue, 11/23/2010 - 13:08

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Hi Thumper,

Have you posted pics as you weave in your projects section?  It sounds lovely.

Claudia

Tue, 11/23/2010 - 14:30

whiteoakgrandmother (not verified)

I warped my rigid heddle to make 6 log cabin kitchen towels. Four of them are done, the fifth is about 1/3 done, but I began getting bored with them and took a side excursion into loom building and also made a white oak basket. I saw Jeannine's post to Saori weavers and have decided that today I will finish the fifth towel as log cabin, but will do the final one as a totally freestyle Saori towel. Why not? It will suit my kitchen style!
Tue, 12/21/2010 - 16:04

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

At the moment, I'm working on my first twill-project ever. It'll be a scarf, but nothing works out the way I expected.

The problems started with not having the needed heddle twice. For that I decided to use two different heddles and now I know a lot about tension problems. :-( Furthermore it is very awkward to open a shed, because only one of them opens clearly. And moreover, I'm doing a kind of zick-zack by changing the direction every 9 weaves but the pattern looks terrible because I've chosen a variegating yarn. And additionaly the selvedges are ugly.

One could say it's a wonderful opportunity to learn, but at the moment, I'm only sad because it should have been a present for christmas. :-(

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 16:39

Claudia Segal (not verified)

I'm sorry to hear your first foray into twill has been so challenging.  

A couple of things you posted have jumped out at me and, being devoted to rigid heddle weaving, I'd like to share my experience.  I have found, through trial and frequent error, that if the yarn is variegated or in any way "special" I use a simple weave structure that allows the yarn itself to be the focus of attention.  I did use a lightly variegated yarn in a pinwheel twill pattern scarf that I made and it came out okay but I feel the yarn is competing with the twill pattern for your attention.  That project is HERE on my project page.  

The other issue you raise is the challenge of opening the sheds cleanly for each pick when doing a twill on the rh loom.  I find the pick-up stick that came with my loom very helpful for this.  It adds to the time and fuzziness of weaving twill on the rh but works well.  I insert the pick-up stick into the proper shed behind the heddles and turn it on it's side which opens the correct shed more fully.  Then, it's easier to get the shuttle in the right place.

I also found the most challenging shed in a 3/1 twill was the shed that corresponded to shaft 1 and 3 being lifted together.  That's when the pick-up stick came in handy.

It's okay to give up on this project and call it a learning experience.  If there is a lot of warp left, why not put your cross back in the warp, cut off what you have already woven and use it for fabric to make a purse or a cell phone holder or something small.  Then, you can take the second heddle off and work in plain weave with your variegated yarn.  

I hope these ideas are helpful.  We've all been where you are and it's best to consider it a learning experience in many ways.  I'm not usually a good planner but my personal rule is to have all woven gifts completed before Thanksgiving (US, that is).  If it's not done, it becomes a birthday gift.  I was getting too stressed out before the holidays and so I created this rule for myself.

It would be great to see photos of what you are doing.  Others may have suggestions too and photos really help us understand better.

Claudia

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 18:11

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Pictures? That's hard to capture in pics but I'll try.

This is the source of my tension-problems:

One heddle is  7.5, the other 10epi.

The only shed that opens up easily is the first one (front-heddle up and back-heddle neutral):

The second shed (front-heddle neutral and back-heddle up) is more difficult to open. It is clean between the heddles

but not at the front

so I have to open it up with a stick between the heddles:

The third shed (both heddles down) is even more difficult. The tension is much more looser here so that the heddles are falling out of their brackets.

I inserted a stick behind the heddles and move it towards the heddles when opening this shed, but additionally I mostly have to use a stick between the heddles:

I tried to do the selvedges in doing the last and first thread always in the same manner, but they look strange:

 

And this is the pattern on both sides:

Thank you for your compassion. I hope I didn't kill you with all those pics.

 

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 19:20

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Your photos are very helpful.  I love the variegation and I think it looks very nice.  The selvedge on the right looks a bit ragged and the left one looks great.  Most of us have one selvedge that is better than the other and I wouldn't worry about that.  I can see that your third shed is the toughest.  It looks like you have it figured out by using the pick-up stick.  

Your twill pattern is exactly as I would expect and looks lovely.  It's very even and shows off the variegated yarn nicely.  

The only other thing I notice is that you appear to have a wool or wool/mohair warp which can be sticky.  I wove a shawl once that had such a sticky warp I needed a pick up stick for every plain weave pick.  

I think your project looks very good and, although it takes longer, using the pick up stick is the best idea.  I would add more weight to the heddle or at the back of the loom to deal with your tension issues and either keep weaving or use what is already woven for a smaller project than you originally planned.

When weaving a twill, I was taught to use a floating selvedge thread that does not go through a hole in the heddle but instead through the slot.  When entering the shed, go over the floating selvedge and come out under it on the other side (or vice versa). Just be consistent and go over one side and under the other.  I use a large, heavy "s" hook to weight it off the back of the loom so it's tension matches the warp threads.  This is one way to improve your selvedges.

Good luck.  I hope this is helpful.

Claudia

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 19:27

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Oh, one more idea.  On the third shed, try holding both sheds closely together and just let them hang down, don't actually put them in the lower slot.  See if you can then insert your pick up stick in the correct shed behind both heddles (you need to be part acrobat here) and turn the stick on it's side to open the shed.  

Play with holding the heddles together with one hand while you insert the pick up stick with the other for all the toughest sheds.  Turn the stick on it's side and then put the shuttle through.

Claudia

Sun, 12/26/2010 - 14:26

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Thank you for all the input! I finally did it, but I was terrible under stress. And I really learned a lot with this project. Next time doing a twill, I'll use ether two equal heddles or some string heddle bars with pickup-sticks. I'll mark the selvedge-threads and treat them all the same way from the very beginning in order to get a clean selvedge. An of course I'll allow more time for weaving.

Furthermore, I'll consider carefully, who will get a selfmade gift for christmas in the next year.

Sun, 12/26/2010 - 14:46

Claudia Segal (not verified)

Congrats!!  Is it on your project page?  We would all love to see the result and hear all about how the finishing went.

One other consideration for the future, sample first.  It's one of the most valuable things you can do.  Samples have saved many projects from the trash heap and from disappointing results.

It's nice to hear your excitement at having completed your project.  

Claudia

Sun, 12/26/2010 - 14:57

Fliegenpilz (not verified)

Hmpf, I must admit it: I did a sampler. But it was just a sampler for the sett - I afterwards decided to do the zigzag-weaving.

The projectpage is here: http://weavolution.com/project/fliegenpilz/blue-gray-sky

The finishing was fast: I did a normal hemstitch on both ends and I knotted the fringes.

Whatever, I'll surely do a twill again, but not in the very near future. ;-)