Supplementary Warp - tying on

Tying on

During this whole warping process I have made great use of  PeggyOsterkamp's weaving tips and Pattern Techniques for Handweavers by Doramay Keasbey.

This picture shows the two sleyed warps ready for tying onto the front apron rod. Although it is not immediately apparent from the picture the ground and pattern warps are tied up with slip knots into separate bouts.

The two pictures above show the pattern warp lifted up out of the way and kept up by weighted cords hung over the top of the beater.  Some literature suggested tying on the warps together, some said to separate them; I decided on the latter approach. Lifting the pattern warp out of the way made it easier to tie on the ground warp

I laced on the ground warp. I use a constrictor Knot to attach the cord to the apron rod and a netting shuttle to hold the cord whilst I am putting the lacing in place. I am using 2mm nylon Venetian Blind Cord.

The lacing on is complete. It is my preferred method for getting an even tension. (http://peggyosterkamp.com/peggys-weaving-tips-tips-lacing-warp/)

With ground warp in place and the pattern warp out of the way I wove a few picks of header.

Here the pattern warps have been tied onto the apron rod. I used a length of cord (green) to tie on each bout.  I have advanced the warp so that he apron rod is just clearing the breast beam

This is the initial weaving. It is all a bit sloppy at this stage before I have properly adjusted the warp tension and got the correct tension on my shuttle.

There is an errant tan thread right in the middle of the weaving which I had to correct. Fortunately it was a just a case of colour transposition and heddles out of order rather than a missing heddle.

 A bit more weaving after the mistake has been corrected. The tension is about right. I am only getting 18 ppi rather than the target 24 so I will need to weave another 6" to get the feel for that before I start weaving proper. This is the exciting bit!

Tapestry on a horizontal loom

I have nearly completed the "Sun" tapestry but I have put it to one side whilst I worked on how I could improve the mechanics of what I was doing. I had found that after a while working at an upright frame became uncomfortable. Working on my lap solved this but in this position I found that I had difficulty in keeping the frame still whilst I opened a shed with my fingertips and controlling it whilst laying in the weft. Because I felt that the whole setup was unstable I was unable to focus on getting a consistency of texture across the piece. I had also being having problems with getting an even warp tension on the loom and keeping it nice and tight.

Pondering on all of this I remembered and re-read an article by called "Weaving a tapestry on a horizontal loom" by Jay Wilson in the May/June 1995 edition of Handwoven. What he had to say made eminent sense to me so I dug out a 2 shaft loom that I had sitting on a shelf  and put on a 2 yard warp of 12/9 seine twine.

I have started weaving on this warp and my main problems seem to be resolved;

• No more tension problems. I laced on the warp at both ends and gradually increased the tension whilst "twanging" the warp to spread the tension. Using this table loom I can get the warp much tighter than I could on a frame and this helps with packing in the weft.
• I find the working position very comfortable and I can see exactly what I am doing. 
• Making the shed is easy and I no longer have to struggle

I have started using netting needles as well as bobbins and I find the needles easier to use in certain circumstances.

I have been working on a piece using slits and wrapping technique and trying (not always successfully) to get even selvedges and uniform coverage. Three strands of Appleton's crewel wool seems to be doing the trick for the weft. Early days but I am much more comfortable about it all.