Anybody out there these days? I'm hoping for advice from some experts on this structure. I'm weaving it for the first time on some towels based on an article in handwoven. It makes no mention of using a floating selvage. With this structure, half the wefts don't catch the outer warp threads and I'm not certain how sloppy the selvages will wind up being (beyond the sloppiness that comes from the fact that I'm only about a dozen finished objects into my weaving career Laughing ).

The towels are in 8/2 cotton sett at 20epi and 21ppi (if that makes a difference). Is this a thing I should be worrying about? I did find another draft for a silk wrap that DID call for floating selvages (though that was on 8 shafts...not sure if that changes anything). Should I add floating selvages or are there other tips for finessing my work as it goes that will help keep things tidy while weaving turned taquete?

 

Comments

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 08:17

BishopCreek

I have been just reading about turned Taquette and was planning a variation of Bonnie Inouye's Handwoven Jan 2008 p 64 article.  In her directions she calls for starting pick one from the left to right to get good selvages.  Perhaps you can switch the direction of your picks and see if that helps.  Otherwise, it is not too hard to start floating selvages mid-project.

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 10:28

ReedGuy

If you do decide on a FS I think they use the same color as the weft so it does not look spiralled like a barbor's post. ;) It is either beamed with the warp or weighted. A weight is a good idea so as not to worry about accidentally breaking it, which could hapen if tied. But the thing to watch out for is it can unply depending on how your shuttle passes over it, it may untwist.

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 12:04

BeadDog

Thanks! I did experiment with pick direction and one way did result in the outermost warp being caught more frequently. Perhaps "more frequently" is frequent enough. I'm making 4 towels with a different weft color for each...I will start with the one in the same color as the outer warp threads so if my first attempt is a bit tatty, it will be tatty in a more subtle way. I'll add the FS on the other towels if I'm unhappy.  

As for FS unplying...when I was looking through the interwebs for answers to my question, I found this from Beryl Moody blog post from 4/20/2016 (http://bannermountaintextiles.blogspot.com/) that summarizes an article (Schlein, Alice. "The Selvedge Dilemma: Dealing with Breakage" Complex Weavers Computer Aided Design Exchange. October, 2003) that suggests the following for avoiding under/over twisting of a FS. I will give this a whirl if I wind up adding an FS (I've always gone over on entering and under on exiting in the past):

Alice explains that when your shuttle goes over a plied thread, it either increases or decreases the twist.  If you decrease the twist enough, it eventually frays and breaks.  The solution Alice proposed  is to determine whether your selvedge thread has been plied S or Z.  Most commercial yarns are plied S and you can check yours with a hand magnifier if necessary.  If your yarn has been plied S, you will pass your shuttle over both floating selvedges when your shuttle travels from left to right and under both of them on the return trip from right to left.  If your floating selvedge yarn is plied Z, then you reverse these instructions by going under both floaters from left to right and over when you throw the shuttle right to left.  

Thanks for the advice!

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 16:20

sandra.eberhar…

I weave a lot of complex twills and always use a FS. The only time that I have had problems with the thread (plied or not) untwisting was when I forgot to add it to the warp and had to add it later in the form of spools hung off the back beam. As these spools hang, they tend to twirl against the twist of the thread, and eventually break.  I solve this by adding a cord from the spool to the side of the loom, or attaching a stick to both spools, both of which stop the spools from twisting.  Usually I beam the FS with the warp.  As the weaving progresses and the FS becomes too loose (the take up is different from the rest of the warp),  I add an s-hook to the FS and hang a weight from it.  If the FS thread is part of the warp, it is fixed at both ends (fell and warp beam).  I  don't see how a thread that is fixed at both ends will untwist by the passage of the shuttle.  I think you may find getting the shuttle OVER both FS on the same pick may be clumsy.

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 17:21

BeadDog

Thanks for the reply...I also usually tie my FSs along with the warp and weight as needed. However, since I've already dressed the loom it looks like I will be forced to experiment with the dangle method. That anti-twirling stick idea sounds like a good one. I will give it a try! Thanks for the input!

Sun, 01/08/2017 - 20:46

ReedGuy

I have had yarn unravel when the FS is beamed with the warp, only one side. It is going to depend on how the shuttle passes over or under the FS. This was 8/4 cotton. Others have solved this by figuring out which way to pass over the FS without unraveling the twist. The weft is being pulled across that strand in some instances when going over it. When the weft is beat in it holds the FS as it was, much like me holding it in my fingers. Weaving isn't doing that to the regular threaded warp.

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