One thing learnt very quickly is there should be no such thing as Warp SPEED when preparing a weaving project. When I was learning huck weave I decided to do 5 tea towels at once, so I had a 5 metre warp of 470 individual cotton threads, and I tangled it, badly. So, over a week I untangled EACH THREAD one by one, stretched out along my studio floor and secured with all sorts of spreaders, bricks etc, and there was a sign on the door – DO NOT ENTER – for fear of re-tangling and incurring my wrath. I did salvage the warp and I did make the tea towels, they are a constant reminder to me about Warp Speed.
So now I take my time. I enjoy the rhythmic warping, the chaining, the dressing of the loom.
For my summer fun I have wound a 4 metre (175 threads) white Bendigo wool warp, dyed it in the chain on my outdoor sink, solar dyeing it under cling film over 2 days of hot sun. Rinsed and staying wet in the chain I was worried it would mould before it dried as the humidity hung around, so I slowly unchained it and put it back on the warping board. To my immense relief it all went very smoothly.
Now I had a plan for this warp, it was going to be multi-coloured and the weft would be plain, handspun, black suri alpaca, and I would point twill it. And it would make 2 scarves. As with many of my projects I now feel it would be more fun to weft a handspun, white alpaca/silk combo in a running twill. And perhaps one long piece of about 3.5 metres instead of 2 pieces about 1.7m each. Or perhaps one black, one white. Or perhaps one long one with a clasped weft of white/black.
Finally I wefted the entire length in black suri alpaca, cut it in half and joined with black suri alpaca, fringed the cut ends and now we have a very useful, very warm house throw.
- The Chained Warp just rinsed out. It began as white Bendigo wool, about 20 wpi.
- The wet warp back on the board but needing TLC.
- The warp dried and organised, ready to re-chain before dressing the loom.
- Twill showing reverse and face in progress.
- My house warmie – birdseye twill; black alpaca handspun weft on Bendigo wool warp home-dyed in the warp chain.