I used pre-washed fabrics strips sewn together and ironed before putting on the shuttle. I found both poke shuttles and ski shuttles worked best. The sett turned out a little closer than I wanted but the rug turned out very nice. This is the first time I have woven 2 rugs this size and I was concerned they would lay flat and the selvedges would be even for the length of the rug. I used a metal temple for the entire weaving and the selvedges are very even and the rug lays beautifully flat. The client who placed the order for these 2 rugs seemed pleased with the result.
My only criticism is that I found it very stressful working with a deadline. I spent all day every day either sewing strips together, ironing or weaving. I purchased the 20 yards of fabric I determined I would need for this project. I washed and ironed all the fabric when I brought it home. I used a rotary cutter and a mat to cut 18" strips from every fabric purchased. Once all the strips were cut and piled individually on a table, I chose, at random, 10-12 strips to sew together. I sewed the strips right side together at right angles, cut the selvedge and continued sewing. After I completed sewing 9-10 lengths of strips, I ironed them and wound them onto the shuttles for weaving. I used 9-10 strips/foot of weaving. It was a very time consuming process and the result was worth it.
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