Time...

So I have only woven about four inches into the third yard. The last couple days have been pretty busy and since we leave for an event near Atlanta tomorrow...I'm guessing not much more will happen between now and Monday...I still think that I can get this piece off the loom by the end of September, I just need to focus next week ;) I like deadlines...

Cool pic of pin beater in action...

I found this pic on the website http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/index.php?id=1313&L=1 I really like this picture for two reasons:
1 - It shows the pin-beater in action (BTW - I totally copied her pin-beater on a string...makes it easier). She is "scalloping" the weft thread into place.
2- If you look at the fabric right below header beam, you can see that it is kind of wavy. This has been happening on my piece as well. As far as I can tell - it's from the weight bundles. It makes sense and it makes me feel better to see it on someone else's work also.

Something else I noticed...it seems that I get a line in the weaving every time I release the weights and roll-up. It annoys me, but I think that it will work itself out "in the wash" when I wet finish the fabric...

Hmmm...

After releasing the weights and rolling up some of that 2nd yard up onto the beam I am now 99% certain that I'm going to get a third yard out of this warp. Not, too much past that, but then again I could be wrong - I could maybe get another 1/3 to 1/2 a yard - we'll see. I am curious to see what will happen - as I weave closer to the weights I can feel the tension change. There is a sweet spot where the weaving is smooth and the tension wonderful, but when I get too close to the weights I can feel things start to go kind of wonky and I know it's time to roll up again...I'm just curious to see what happens when I keep going as far as I can...

Two Yards, HA-ha-ha!!

Now I have two yards completed...I'm still pretty sure that I can get at least a third yard out of this warp...I'll know in a few days :)

One yard on the beam - on hanging down...You can see the thin piece of wood that was nailed to the header beam to compensate for not drilling the holes and sewing the warp to the beam...

Rolled it up more...

I now have a full yard rolled onto the top beam and another 16 inches below. I'd like to knock out that 2nd yard today! However - I know it won't happen since we are headed to a friend's house this evening...I did make it to almost 2/3 of a yard...pics at the next yard :)

Another person used the loom!

I had a friend visit and he wove a few passes on the loom while he was here! Yeah! While I like making a fabric, I like other people learning how it works just as much!

7 inches into the next yard...some observations...

Well, I re-did all the weights and started weaving again. I have got to come up with a better system for that - it takes too long to release new warp. But, I started weaving noticed a couple of things...
I decided that I would chain up the extra warp before I added the weights...I was trying new things...I don't like it because it puts strain on some warp threads and not on others. Not enough for me to undo it now, but when it's time to roll up again in a couple of days I'll try something different again.
The weave is also getting a bit more even as I get the hang of it! Yeah!!
I'll post pics again when I hit the two yard mark...

1 yard down...2 to go?

I have woven 1 yard of fabric...ha ha ha! When I hit the one yard point it seemed like a good time to roll it up and release more warp from the weights below. It looks like there will be as much as three yards when I'm finished! Considering, this was a test warp - I'm pretty pleased with the amount of yardage. I will have plenty of fabric to make things with...

This is a close up...not perfect, but I'll take it as a start!

A little further away...
A picture of the whole yard...

Once the these pictures were taken, I undid the weights and rolled up some of the fabric onto the top beam. I got around the fact that I didn't sew the warp to the beam by nailing a thing piece of wood onto the top beam so that the warp couldn't slip around the bar anymore...easy solution to the problem for now....On to the next yard!

Almost 1 yard!

As of last night I had 32 inches...when I get to a full yard I will take a picture a post it....I think I'm going to be able to get almost three yards from this warp! As I weave, all I can think about are things that I want to make :)

Learning as you go somtimes makes you feel d-u-m-b!

So...the weaving is progressing along nicely. Last night I decided to see what would happen if I rolled some up...(this is where the dumb part comes in)...I start to try and roll it up and...nothing happens. Why? Well...in my infinite wisdom, I decided that I didn't need to drill the whole in the top beam to sew the warp to the beam. This turns out to be crucial as all the warp does right now is spin around the beam since it is tied to it. Lucky for me, my husband is going to make a slight addition to the beam to make it turn. This warp is the first and last time I will use this beam anyway because it is too small and bows with the weight of the warp. The hubby says that he will use his shaving horse and draw knife and make me a new one in time for me to warp the loom again in October - I'm pretty certain that I will be done with the first piece sometime in the next two weeks. The next top beam will be much thicker and have the wholes drilled.

Yeah for my Hubby!

He says that he is going to make me a travel loom to take to events!!
It will be smaller and free standing...
I should have it at our Yule event this year :)

Making progress...things learned.

Now I have about 18 inches woven. I'm finding this:
1-It's hard to make sure your edges are even when you are looking up.
You can see where I spent a lot of time on the ladder = even selvege edge
You can see where I was able to easily the edges = even selvege edge
However, there is a section between these two that is not 100% perfect. I got it a little too tight on the left side. It bugs me, but not enough to un-weave it. I just need to remember it for next time. I refuse to stress about this piece because it's a learning piece. If I was entering this weaving in a competition that would be a different story. However, I already have a whole list of things that I want to make from it, so I'm not that worried. Can you tell?
Who will see the uneven edges when it's been cut up and made into things? :)
2-Don't strum the loom too hard...the warp threads don't like it...

I'm starting to get it...

So now I have almost five inches woven. The first couple inches were a learning curve. I was up and down the step ladder a lot because I hadn't learned what it looked like when I missed a pick (the threads had stuck together and had not be woven in correctly). Once I learned what it looked like to miss a pick - and what it was suppose to look like when I hadn't - things moved along much better. Although I will say "un-weaving" to back and get the missed picks wasn't hard, it just took time :)
I re-did the front warp chain with a single thread vs. the first time where I used double and this seems to have helped with not missing picks since the threads are more evenly spaced...or this could all be in my head...
The "struming" of the loom is very important. I used the sword beater, or my hand, and strum the warp threads like playing a stringed instrument. This makes all the threads that have stuck to their neighbor let go and greatly reduces the amount of picks missed.
Having a toddler running around and asking questions makes it even more challenging. I can't help but wonder what they did for this...
I'll post pictures of progress in the next couple days...

Teaching others...

So now that I have a basic understanding of how this works...I want others to try it! The only other person that has been near the loom since it has been up and running is my husband...so he was the first victim :)
The conversation worked like this...
Me - "Honey I want you to try weaving on the loom..."
Him - "What? Why? I don't want to mess it up!"
Me - "You won't mess it up - I'll be standing right here..."
Him - "Why do you want me to do this?"
Me - "Because I want everyone to have a better understanding and appreciation for how much work went into making cloth..."
Him - "Ok"

He tried it :)
His words were "This takes a lot more work and time than I thought..."

Yep. And that Ladies and Gentlemen is why I want anyone who would like to - to be able to give it a try....

So now I am really hoping that I can finish weaving the piece on the loom by the end of the month.

Eureka!!!!!!

It works!! I made fairly even tabby!!!
It took some messing around with the tension still and I learned a number of things....

1-The headerband is much more important that I previously thought...I could have saved myself a lot of work had just done one :O)
2-The heddles I knitted got progressively smaller as I worked (they looked the same when looking down them, but when I stood on a step ladder and looked down I could see what happened. I'm thinking about doing individual ones next time. I think because the heddles get progressively smaller it makes the top of the weaving uneven. I will have to see as I continue whether this problem rights itself or I need to adjust the heddles.

See how close the threads had to be moved to get an even tabby.

I think it's about 30inches across now.

I am using a light taupe colored weft so I can clearly see what is happening :)

From this distance it looks light blue.

A mini-tunic...

We are attending Crown Lyst this weekend (labor day) with our two year old and he has out grown all his garb. He has been going and spending time with his Grandparents instead of going to events so I have not made him anything recently...
Since he is still in diapers I elected to make him one long tunic that I will belt. He can wear some light-weight shorts underneath over his diaper and will still look period in that his age group wouldn't be wearing pants anyway :)

It's made of a linen/cotton blend stripe fabric and is natural colored. It is hand sewn with white linen thread and then felled with a blue silk blend.

Making progress...

So, after weaving those 5 passes and realizing that something was not quite right - it was time to ask some questions and tinker with the loom a bit.

The first thing that I did was add more weight...a lot more weight. I added 12oz to each thread bundle and...Viola! The sheds open much better :) If only everything was that simple...

The next thing I did was to ask some questions on the wwloom list and see what others had to say about it. The response I got was very helpful. The first thing address was about even tabby...My loom should be doing an even tabby - I was just expecting a warp-faced weave and so was making it happen. It was recommended that I use a space chain (similar to the warp chaining) at the top since I didn't do a header band. I put one of these in place - which was no small task since I had already added all that weight I couldn't just take down the header beam anymore. Instead I spend a couple of hours staning on top of a step ladder. As soon as I started I could tell that it was going to help a lot.

The next thing was the heddles moving...it was suggested that the next time I use hair bands every couple of inches to keep the heddles from moving. But, since I had already knit the heddles, it was suggested I tie a heavier weight thread every couple inches to keep them from migrating. I haven't done this yet, but I may if they start to migrate too much.

Lastly I asked about shuttles...I was planning on using a ball of thread simply because I did have a big shuttle...and was told that was absolutely fine - shuttles tend to get stuck in the warp threads :)

So - now I am to the stage that I can actually weave. I may get some done in the next few day, but we are going out of town this weekend so time is at a premium...and I may have to wait until Sunday or Monday.

The extra weight added. I added soda cans in brown paper bags because I haven't made anymore clay weights yet.
Perhaps I need to barter with a person that likes working with clay more than I.

The spacer chain that I added to help it stop being so warp faced.

I added more weight...

So after trying 5 passes...I learned some things...and then cut out the weft :)
First - I knew that the fabric was going to be warp faced....It's tabby on a warp weighted loom - I don't know how to warp it to be anything but warp faced right now. I need to ask some people a lot of questions...
Second - Since it is warp faced it is going to be much narrower than it looks as a warp...
third - I needed more weight because the sheds were not working well and they were taking forever to separate out...

Some things that I am now mulling over:
When I warped the loom, I decided to just do a simple tabby. In my mind the tabby would be warp faced (that was how the mechanics worked in my mind anyway). This of course makes a smaller piece of fabric. The questions I have are:
1. How do I weave even tabby? Is it possible on a warp weighted loom?
I have also seem pics online of weft faced tabby weaving on a warp weighted loom and I can't seem to wrap my head around how that happens...
2. Heddles seem to move around a lot - need to try somethings to fix this...
3. Right now I am using a ball for the weft, but I am wondering if there were any preferred shuttles...

So I had to try it...

So far, about 600+ threads seems to make something a little over a foot wide. I need to adjust the tension a little and that may help with the width, but I was guessing it was going to be this way. The threads are pretty light weight. I also think I want to toy with adding a bit more weight. Lastly I need a step stool so that I can see better to mess with the threads at the top.
I will post pics soon...it isn't pretty, but it's weaving...

I'm going to be less vague about Heddle knitting :)

So...I decided that after reading my last post that I should explain how to knit a heddle. I think that chaining the warp is pretty easy to explain (just like crochet chaining - but pick up one of the warp threads inside each stitch), but knitting the heddles is a little more complicated....
Step one - Fill a small shuttle with thread that you want to use to make heddles. I used a contrasting thread to make it easier to see. Starting on the left side of the loom, tie the end to the heddle rod.
Step two - To make it easier, you or a helper should bring the back threads between the front threads so that they are easier to reach. We used a glave to hold them forward.
Step three - Pass the shuttle under the heddle rod, around the thread (left to right), over the top of the heddle rod.

At this point it gets a little more complicated.

Step four - While holding the shuttle in you right hand, grab the loop that has formed around the heddle rod with your left. Twist the loop towards you so that the loop is made into a figure eight shape. Then pass the shuttle through the part of the eight that is closest to you (again from left to right). This will tie a kind of slip knot.
Step five - Adjust the tension and the heddle (loop) size.

Congrats - you have knitted one heddle...

The hardest part is keeping all the heddles relatively the same size. I have a few ideas on how I will do this in the future...but I need to test them out.

The next time I have someone around that can take pictures of my hands I will take a picture of each step...