I like dressing my looms. I know a lot of people find the warping part of weaving to be tedious and time consuming, but so far, I'm finding it to be something I enjoy. Really, when you are a weaving newbie in the process of warping a loom, you have to devote your full focus to the process. Hands and brain have to move together to keep track of how many ends and how the heddles need to be threaded and the reed needs to be sleyed. It is a very nice way to push other issues aside. To me, it feels meditative.
My rigid heddle loom does not require quite the focus that the 8 harness table loom I am using in my class takes to warp, but it still requires some attention. Some time ago I bought some "self striping" cotton "Sugar 'n Cream" with the intention of using it as warp and weft in some project to see how the warp and weft stripes would interact. If you want to have a striped warp but are feeling kind of lazy and don't need complete control over where the stripes go, this yarn is something you'll enjoy.
I'm all about waffle weave these days, so I was pretty excited when I found that I could do a 5/2 waffle weave usng my rigid heddle loom and just one pick up stick. This pattern is very similar to the one that I am doing on my classroom loom. One nice thing about working in thicker yarn is that it is easier to see the details of the weave structure without getting out a magnifying glass.
In the warp, given the end length I chose (which I did not measure out, other than to set my warping peg such that I got three-four ends per each color) I have 3 to four threads of each color. In the weft, I am getting about 2 waffle intervals per color. My warp is sett at 8 ends per inch.
This is a very simple pattern to execute on a rigid heddle*. The pickup stick is easy to set up and the pattern is done in 10 pick intervals, and the order of moving the heddle is easy to remember, so it's very easy to get a nice rhythm going.
I am not 100% sure what this project will end up being. Depending on what happens to the fabric after I wash it, it could either end up as another dishtowel or perhaps some kind of runner somwhere (it's a bit too wide and rustic for a scarf). It could also probably be folded over on itself and become a pillow covering if I wanted it to. One of the things I love about weaving is that you don't have to be absolutely sure what you want to do with a piece of cloth to enjoy making it!
* if you want more information on how to do this pattern, please refer to Betty Davenport's Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom which has a wealth of pattern and texture information for the rigid heddle loom.
My rigid heddle loom does not require quite the focus that the 8 harness table loom I am using in my class takes to warp, but it still requires some attention. Some time ago I bought some "self striping" cotton "Sugar 'n Cream" with the intention of using it as warp and weft in some project to see how the warp and weft stripes would interact. If you want to have a striped warp but are feeling kind of lazy and don't need complete control over where the stripes go, this yarn is something you'll enjoy. I'm all about waffle weave these days, so I was pretty excited when I found that I could do a 5/2 waffle weave usng my rigid heddle loom and just one pick up stick. This pattern is very similar to the one that I am doing on my classroom loom. One nice thing about working in thicker yarn is that it is easier to see the details of the weave structure without getting out a magnifying glass.In the warp, given the end length I chose (which I did not measure out, other than to set my warping peg such that I got three-four ends per each color) I have 3 to four threads of each color. In the weft, I am getting about 2 waffle intervals per color. My warp is sett at 8 ends per inch. This is a very simple pattern to execute on a rigid heddle*. The pickup stick is easy to set up and the pattern is done in 10 pick intervals, and the order of moving the heddle is easy to remember, so it's very easy to get a nice rhythm going.
I am not 100% sure what this project will end up being. Depending on what happens to the fabric after I wash it, it could either end up as another dishtowel or perhaps some kind of runner somwhere (it's a bit too wide and rustic for a scarf). It could also probably be folded over on itself and become a pillow covering if I wanted it to. One of the things I love about weaving is that you don't have to be absolutely sure what you want to do with a piece of cloth to enjoy making it!
* if you want more information on how to do this pattern, please refer to Betty Davenport's Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom which has a wealth of pattern and texture information for the rigid heddle loom.
Love the texture in your waffle, I can see why you enjoy it so much! It would make beautiful tea/handtowels.
Beautiful. The striping yarn looks ideal for your waffle weave.
I really need to get another weaving book. I just have Creative Weaving, which was an OK starter book more on the ideas department with basic techniques than a lot of information on the different patterning that can be done.
I'm another crazy person who really likes warping a loom. It's my favorite part of weaving, and I get bored doing the actual weaving part because my brain is already jumping ahead to how I'm gonna do the next warp :)
Although I have a general idea of how weaving works, I didn't understand much of what you were saying. I DID however admire your fabric. I love how the colors striped and look almost shadowed in places. Beautiful work.