Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Weaving

2 Tips for Rigid Heddle Warping

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Warping a rigid heddle loom can be quite daunting when you’re just starting out, but with a little bit of practice and some simple tips to follow, it doesn’t need to be a headache!

I actually love direct warping my rigid heddle loom, I find it so quick and easy compared with indirect warping.

*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

What is direct warping?

When you purchase a rigid heddle loom, it should come with a warping peg and clamp. This peg will allow you to start making your warp directly on your RH loom, rather than having to make the warp on a warping board or mill first and then transferring to the loom.

You use the peg to measure out and hold your warp, while the other end is tied on or looped to the back apron rod of the loom. The added bonus here is that you save time by doing part, or all (depending on your yarn and project) of your threading at the same time as the warping. Efficiency at it’s best!

While warping a rigid heddle loom is fairly straightforward, like anything new, it will take some getting used to. Today I have 2 tips to share that are easy to learn but will help you to have a more positive warping experience.

Tip 1 : Use more than one peg

Although your loom will only come with one peg and clamp, you can purchase more separately.

Doing this has a couple of benefits.

  • Waste efficiency – If all of your warp threads are travelling to just one central point, some threads will travel further than others. You will find that, when you take all your warp threads off the peg, ready to thread, you will need to cut them all to an equal length for ease of threading and tying on, which creates more waste.
  • Overloaded peg – If your entire warp is on one peg, the peg can get overloaded. This does depend on the width of your warp (number of warp threads) and the thickness of your yarn.

If you don’t want to purchase an additional peg, there are other options. Coat racks can be a perfect solution, and some weavers prefer to use more than 2 pegs, which also works great. If you opt for a coat rack, just ensure that it has straight, smooth pegs, like this one does – otherwise it could be hard to remove your warp from it.

Tip 2 : Be gentle!

This stage of the warping process is not the time to tensioning your warp, ready for weaving. Yes, you want to maintain a consistent tension whilst warping, so that your threads stay fairly even and everything is nice and neat, but the proper warp tensioning will occur in the winding on of the warp.

Winding your warp around the peg/s too tightly can actually be detrimental to the process. This is because the pegs are holding a lot of tension. If the tension increases too much, that carefully clamped peg can come loose, and if you have any experience with this, you know what happens next! šŸ˜†

The peg can come loose with a “ping” and make spaghetti out of your carefully wound warp in a second flat!

Even if your peg manages to stay in place with your warp threads too tightly wound around it, once you are ready to take the warp off to start threading, you may find it difficult to remove from the peg.

Ideally, you should be able to get a couple of fingers inside the warp at all times, this ensures that you’re not winding too tightly around the peg.

An easy way to ensure that you’re warping around the peg with a loose enough tension is to have your yarn feeding off the cone or ball adequately. A cone/warping stand is ideal for cones of yarn, as it allows the yarn to wind off freely.

I also like to use 2 fingers inserted into the loop after pulling it through the slot with the reed hook. Then I simply walk towards the peg, keeping my fingers in the same place. I don’t pull on the warp, but just walk with it, then drop the loop gently over the peg.

I hope these tips make a difference to your warping experience! If you would like to see this post in video format, please view that here-

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Why weaving is more important than ever!

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I made a video on this topic during the height of the 2020/21 pandemic, and although it was very relevant to the time period and experience we were all undergoing, it is still very relevant today.

I was inspired to talk about this by watercolour artist, Angela Fehr – a fellow Teachable creator. Although I spend very little time doing watercolour painting these days (thanks to weaving kind of taking over my life!) I am still very inspired by her emails and encouragement.

When certain world events come to the forefront (and we have certainly seen a variety of world events in the past 2 years!) it would be easy to say that something like weaving – a hobby for many of us, a career for some, is not all that important in the grand scheme of things.

I have to disagree by saying that it’s more important than ever. I’m going to talk about the reasons why.

  1. Weaving is a skill

In difficult times, I think it’s those of us who are skilled with our hands and knowledgeable about our craft who will find it easier to be useful. Currently, those of us who sell our woven pieces do so at a luxury level. Our items are priced high, they are unique and special. But, in a time of shortages, recession, or actual depression, the ability to make cloth from yarn could become a valuable and tradable commodity.

In the event of a depression, where no one really has any money, trading or bartering handwoven items could really help your situation.

I’m not saying that I think we’re headed for global financial collapse, but I’m realistic to know that things can change very quickly, and it’s interesting to at least consider ideas for preparedness.

2. Weaving is beautiful

The first thing that attracted me to weaving was the possibility of creating such beautiful items with my hands and some tools. To use beautiful, natural and often locally produced yarns to make unique pieces. To me, weaving is like a beautiful piece of art, it adds something to the world that wasn’t there before, and that has an impact.

In a world that is, on many fronts, increasingly ugly and hostile (been on Facebook lately?) I feel wonderful about quietly sitting at my looms, lovingly preparing warps and projects, and then sharing them with the world.

We can help to bring happiness to others through gifting, selling or otherwise sharing our work and we have the additional joy of being able to help others look through a window into the weaving world. Some of those will be so enamoured by what they see that they too will want to be a part of it. What a privilege to be in a position to share such a gift!

For many of us, the lockdowns allowed us to get to work, weaving beautiful things for others. I wonder if you’ve seen my free projects I put out during that time, in hopes that weavers would bless others by weaving for them?

Wash Your Hands Towels Free Project

The Heart Scarf Free Project

3. The world can be crazy

Am I right?! Things have been noisy and unstable for some time, and there always seems to be something new happening. Amidst all this, many are searching for more peace, less stress. How can weaving help bring peace to our lives?

  • Purpose

I have been in touch with a great deal of new weavers in the past couple of years. Many of them had been wanting to explore weaving for years (some for most of their lives!) but never had the opportunity. Weaving requires focus, patience, often research for a new project or technique. It can take us away from what is happening externally, at least to some degree, and shift from things we can’t control to something we can. It makes us feel like we are doing something positive and useful.

The research, planning, calculations and sourcing of materials that occurs with every new project is very directed and purposeful. All of these processes can be so calming in turbulent times, and that brings me to my next point.

4. Weaving contributes to our own wellbeing

Weaving is an avenue to express our creativity. I firmly believe that everyone is, and in some respects, needs to be creative. This makes complete sense to me, as we are created in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27), and God is VERY creative!

It also contributes to our wellbeing through a sense of accomplishment. How rewarding, and amazing it is to take yarn and turn it into something wonderful. It can take a lot of practice, learning and hard work to accomplish weaving goals, but every time we complete a project successfully, we prove to ourselves that we are capable.

Weaving can be very relaxing. The methodical and repetitive actions allow us to get into a “zone” and just enjoy what we’re doing.

5. You are in control

I touched on this a little back at point 3, but now I will expand further. How many things that happen in our lives do we have control over? We can’t prevent war, certain sicknesses, hard times, beyond hoping and praying. But in weaving, we get to make decisions, plan colours and patterns, and predict the outcome.

The project is yours, and that can be quite empowering!

6. Inspiring others

Inspiration is contagious, and although we might not always feel positive and happy, when we share our passions and interests with others, we ignite something that can take off and have a huge impact. When you inspire another person or people, that will often come back to you in waves.

You never really know the impact you could have on a fellow human by inspiring them. It’s not just about inspiring to take up weaving, it’s so much more than that. For someone who has lost hope and feels like giving up on life, to see somebody else living life with joy and passion and being more than willing to pass that on to others, could make all the difference and shift their focus completely.

One of the reasons I think suicide is so tragic is that I can’t help but wonder whether one more day, or a chance encounter, or a new interest could have changed that person’s mind. I’m not trying to oversimplify the tragedy of suicide, I’m well aware of the very complex factors involved – but I know for certain, that one more day can make all the difference.

7. Connection

Even the most introverted of us (šŸ‘‹) can benefit from connection with others. The easiest way to do this is by sharing a common interest. It can be so much fun to share your projects, have discussions and just chat to other like minded folks and be part of a community.

Thanks to the internet, we can connect to others without having to leave home if we don’t want to, or if it’s not possible. Facebook groups are a great way to interact, or if you want more involvement you may want to join private communities. When you purchase a membership to my Online Weaving School, you also gain access to the private member’s group, which is not just a great learning tool, but also a fantastic support network.

If you would like to watch the original video, here it is:

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Rigid Heddle Weaving books I love

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In a previous post I detailed some of my favourite books for 4 shaft or more weaving, but today Iā€™d like to talk about some great rigid heddle books.

If you have a really good local library, you may be able to borrow some of these books. This is a great way to check out a book first and decide whether you want to also add it to your home library. If you belong to a weaving guild, they will often have a healthy library for your education.

If, like me, your library is rather lacking in the weaving book department, I hope that this list provides you with some more direction for the type of book you may be looking to purchase.

I already have a video on this topic, but I know some people prefer to read rather than watch, plus Iā€™ve added some extra books to the original list, so here we go!

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

Iā€™ll start with my favourite and most used book. In fact, this is the first rigid heddle weaving book I bought and I believe it has taught me more than any other weaving book I own.

The Weaverā€™s Idea Book by Jane Patrick This book has so much content and is great for beginners. It allows you to start with the basics and build as you go. Just about everything you need to know initially is contained within these pages and I think of it a little like a training ground for new weavers. Although it’s great for beginners, it has plenty of information for weavers who want to learn more and level up. It is also hardcover with spiral binding, making it easy to lay flat and view while youā€™re weaving. Highly recommended!

Weaving made Easy by Liz Gipson. A lovely little book that includes information on loom set up. The projects are simple enough for beginners and interesting enough for all weavers.


Woven to Wear by Marilyn Murphy. I also read this book as a newer weaver and loved how it stirred my imagination. It contains simple garments with lots of plain weave, making it great for beginners, particularly those wanting to get a taste for sewing with your handwoven. The sewing projects are simple rather than finicky, with the use of large shapes instead of small pieces.

Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom by Syne Mitchell This book is awesome value for beginners to intermediate with lots of ideas. For the newer weaver, there is practical information and plenty of inspiration for once you have the basics down. I think of this book as one that you may not fully appreciate until you have some more weaving experience, perhaps a book that will grow with you through your weaving journey. Towards the middle and later part of the book are projects and ideas that may be too challenging for a new weaver, but that an enthusiastic and curious weaver will definitely want to make use of later on. There is a lot of information, it is attractively set out and a joy to flip through.

Weave, Knit, Wear by Judith ShangoldĀ Ā This book is responsible for opening my eyes and quickening my heart over the range of possibilities with a rigid heddle loom andĀ garment making. Judith uses mostly plain weave, colour and design to make fabric look special. She includes design layouts and illustrations to help you wrap your head around how garments can be constructed. What I really love about this book is the fusion of weaving, knitting and crochet added in. It really has encouraged me to think outside the square and maximise my rigid heddle loom.

Thanks to Allison for pointing out that, as this book is now out of print, you can obtain a PDF copy for a very modest price by emailing Judith, as detailed on her website.

Simple Woven Garments by Sara Goldberg Another really great book on making simple garments with simple, colourful, hand woven cloth. There are more than 20 projects and they are all wearable! There are also details on adjusting garments to your own specifications.

Debby Greenlawā€™s book Krokbragd: How to Design and Weave. is a wonderful addition to any weaving library, especially if you are a lover of krokbragd. I actually like this book so much that I wrote a review for it here, so pop over and read if you want to find out more about it. Since the release of this book, Debby has written Krokbragd Patterns as well, great for those who want to delve in even further with patterning possibilities.

If you’re after some slow weaving with big impact, you can’t go past Myra Wood’s Crazyshot – Creative Weaving for the Rigid Heddle Loom. This book takes the simple techniques you may have seen in my Branoe/Overshot videos on Youtube and takes them to the next level. The projects in this book are absolutely gorgeous. Myra has followed up with another book, Crazyshot Companion.

To see all my book recommendations is one easy to access place, visit my Amazon Shop.

You may be interested in checking out this video I made several years ago. Although it’s missing some of the books that are on this page, there is more in depth discussion of each book:

I hope this booklist is helpful to you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Tips for Weaving with Finer Yarns

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Working with finer threads on a rigid heddle loom can be quite challenging when it comes to adequate tensioning.

Why is this?

A rigid heddle loom does not hold the same amount of tension that a table or floor loom will. Particularly when weaving with thinner and rigid weaving yarns like 8/2 cotton you may encounter some frustrations like the following:

  • Tension too loose, especially in the down shed
  • Sections of warp that are more loosely tensioned than others
  • Single warp thread/s that are more loosely tensioned than others

Now let’s go over some tips that are going to make a big difference when you experience these issues.

Avoid snagging threads with your stick shuttle by using correct technique.

Due to the shape of a stick shuttle (usually with “prongs” on each end) you can accidentally snag a thread or threads when weaving a pick. Snagging will usually result in a saggy thread, as it is stretched and pulled tighter than the other warp threads.

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information please see my disclosure policy.

This can be avoided with correct technique. When entering the shed, I have the stick shuttle on a slight angle upwards initially, and ensure the end of the stick shuttle is touching the plastic part of the heddle.

Entering the shed in this way means that you are utilising the widest part of the shed, giving plenty of space for the stick shuttle. Roughly half way across, I then flatten the shuttle out.

At this point, if the tension is good you can “shoot” the shuttle across the rest of the way and it will slide beautifully on the bottom of the shed to the other side.

What if I have already snagged a thread? šŸ™

Don’t panic, we can fix this! This is where you will need to make friends with an “S” hook or similar weight. I love “S” hooks because they can be hung over a thread and are an ideal weight. You can pick them up from a hardware store or online.

Locate and isolate the slack thread at the back of the loom.

Loop one end of your “S” hook over the slack thread so that it hangs off the back of your loom.

Yes, it’s really that simple.

Weighting general threads.

The weighting of a single thread can be used not just for snagged threads, but in the event that you have one or several threads that are looser than others.

Usually you will only need to take action on a looser thread if it is actually impacting on the quality of your weaving. The 2 main ways this problem will present are:

  • Bunching of the loose thread as you beat your weft. It will show as little vertical lumps as the slack of the warp thread is caught between weft picks. How noticeable this is depends on how loose the warp thread/s are.
  • The thread/s sag out of the shed they should be in, resulting in floats in your weaving.

Dealing with loose sheds.

This is one of the biggest issues that the rigid heddle weaver will run into when using finer threads. One shed will always be looser than the other, commonly this happens when you put your heddle in up and find that all your down shed threads (the slot threads) are lacking good tension.

The first step to improving this situation begins in the warping process, make sure that you are using adequate warp separation as you roll it into the back beam. You can use cardboard separators, but my preference is thick brown craft paper on a roll for continuous separation.

To address the problem on the loom though, we can use various forms of tensioning. Here is one that works really well:

Open a shed by placing your heddle up or down. Insert a pick up stick or spare stick shuttle into the opened up space behind the heddle. Turn the stick on edge to prop the threads up, then insert a cardboard separator or similar into the space behind the pick up stick.

Push the separator right to the back of the loom so that it’s firmly in place, then continue weaving. This separator will need to be repositioned as you advance your warp forward.

Here is another form of wedging to try that helps in a similar way:

Place your heddle in the neutral position. Use a cardboard separator or similar and take it underneath the whole warp. Wedge it under the threads at the back beam and continue weaving. This will also need to be repositioned as you advance the warp.

What about loose sections?

Sometimes while you are weaving you will be presented with loose sections in the warp. This commonly occurs at the middle of the warp, where it is trickiest to maintain tension while winding on.

If it happens that you have a section of warp that is looser than the rest, then you can employ targeted wedging.

This is just what it sounds like – wedging, but targeting a specific area that really needs it. I have a full video tutorial on Youtube that goes over the technique if you need to see how it works.

Basically, you want to take smaller sections of whatever you’re using for wedging material and place it in the specific areas that need help. I find paper folded up is great because you can really customise the width and thickness according to your needs. Smaller cardboard stick separators or pieces of large ones (I sometimes cut up old ones when they’re not in great condition anymore) can be used for this too.

I hope these ideas are helpful to you and that you give them a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Supplementary Weft Tutorial

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What is a supplementary weft?

It is simply a weft that is introduced to your weaving, in addition to your regular weft yarn, usually on a plain weave background.

This supplementary weft is often known as a “pattern weft”, which makes sense because it often creates a pattern (think overshot).

A supplementary weft will usually be thicker yarn than the plain weave or tabby yarn, which is normally the same thickness as the warp yarn.

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

This technique is a great way to use a handspun or novelty yarn to really highlight the beauty of the yarn and is also an excellent way to use up leftovers.

A pick up stick is usually used with a supplementary weft – this helps to make a pattern through the use of weft floats.

Using supplementary wefts is a really versatile way to showcase pretty yarn and weave a truly unique piece. I love to design on the loom, trying out different pick ups and different yarns, it’s so much fun and it suits my creative preferences to not have to plan ahead too much.

To weave a sample like I have in the tutorial, you will need the following materials:

  • A 7.5 dent heddle (of course, you can adapt this by using a different sized heddle with a different yarn weight)
  • A stick shuttle or several (use one that is the right size for your loom)
  • A pick up stick (again, use the size that is suitable for your loom or the width of warp you have on)
  • Scissors

Yarn Requirements:

I’m not giving exact yarn amounts, obviously you need more yarn for your warp and tabby (plain weave) than you do for the supplementary weft, but just experiment with what you have.

For my warp I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8ply (this is a dk weight wool) in Navy. I used this same yarn for the majority of my tabby.

For supplementary wefts I used Noro, handspun and some of my hand dyed wool and cotton – most of these were around a dk to aran weight.

Sampler size suggestion:

When I warp for a sampler like this one, I like to warp around 8-10 inches in width and at least 30″ in length (total length of warp). For my 7.5 dent heddle this was 47 ends.

Weaving and Pick Up Sequences:

You will find all the information you need to follow the video sampler in this downloadable, printable PDF.

Supplementary-weft-youtube-tutorialDownload

There are three ways to use this tutorial. You can either:

  1. Warp your loom and then follow my examples exactly according to the video and PDF.
  2. Warp your loom and follow some of my examples to gain confidence, then try some of your own designs.
  3. Use my designs as inspiration but go your own way by using the techniques and ideas to create your own unique fabric.

Whatever you decide to do with this tutorial, don’t forget to relax and have fun – that’s what it’s all about!

The 45 minute video tutorial is available here-

As always, comments and questions are very welcome in the section below.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to organise string heddle bundles

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String heddles are commonly made of texsolv nowadays, making them very strong and simple to use.

String heddles will generally arrive tied in neat bundles when you purchase them brand new. These bundles are very orderly and can just be slipped right on to your shafts. They can then be cut apart and ready for use

But there are times when your string heddles may be less than organised. I call this “string heddle spaghetti!” Having your string heddles in a pile and out of order is not ideal (not to mention a bit of a time waster) but there is a simple way to get them organised into lovely neat bundles once more.

*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Once you know how to make these bundles, you can continue to use the technique to ensure that your string heddles are always in order and ready to use.

I recently purchased some used string heddles, and many of them arrived packed into a bag singly and without order. Time to make some bundles!

I use my warping stand (if you’re interested in making your own, check out this tutorial). A raddle also works really well if you have one. Two warping pegs, clamped to a table would also work. Even a box with 2 chopsticks is a suitable alternative!

You also need some twisty ties. If they are a different colour to your string heddles, that improves visibility, but if they are the same colour, don’t worry, you can still use them.

If your string heddles are already separated, grab one and have a look at it. There should be 2 large loops on either side that you can hold on to. There should be the eye of the heddle in the middle of these loops. When you hold the loops, you want the whole string heddle to lay flat – no twists!

Keeping the string heddle flat, place one of the looped ends over the left peg (or raddle nail or chopstick).

Place the loop at the other end over the right hand peg. If you have a central peg like I do, it doesn’t matter which side of it the eye of the heddle rests against. It is best however, to have it rest on the same side of the central peg for each heddle, to keep the laid out order the same.

Drop the loops so that the string heddle rests on the base of your pegs.

Grab your next string heddle and repeat the same action of holding the loops and placing them on the pegs. Pretty simple? šŸ‘ I like to keep going until I’ve laid out around 100 heddles.

When you have enough to make a bundle, take a twisty tie and take one side of the larger loops on one end of the bundle. Because of the way the heddles are laid out, you will easily be able to see the separated sections.

Take the tie and twist it around this section, twisting the ends of the tie together to secure it.

Take another tie and do the opposite side of the same loop, securing it in the exact same way. Do the same for the loop at the other end of the bundle so that you have 4 ties total.

Slip your bundle off the pegs and it’s ready to use!

If you would like a video tutorial on how to make bundles, check out the one below:

I hope this tutorial was useful to you, please leave your questions or comments down below.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

5th Birthday Giveaway!

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This month the Online Weaving School turns 5! šŸ„³

It’s hard to believe that the years have passed so swiftly and that the weaving school has come so far since it’s humble beginnings in 2017.

If you want to find out more about how the weaving school began, you can check out this post or this Youtube video.

Please note, this post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

To celebrate 5 wonderful years of learning, sharing and community, I’m having a giveaway! Are you ready to have some fun? šŸ„³

I’ve teamed up with Nicky from Thread Collective for some awesome prizes.

Here are the prizes, in no particular order:

  • $100AUD Gift Voucher for the Thread Collective. The winner can choose what to spend the voucher on. You could spend just the voucher amount or you could use the voucher towards a larger purchase, the winner gets to choose.
  • This is a fun one šŸ˜‰ If you purchase a new membership during the month of May, 2022, you instantly go in the draw to win a membership refund. This applies to any membership (and yes, if you’ve already purchased in the month of May you are automatically entered). If the winner purchased a Premium or Basic membership, they would receive a full refund for their first year. A 6 monthly membership would receive a full refund for their first 6 months. And a monthly membership would receive a full refund for their first month.

If you purchase a membership this month, you are still free to enter the other prize draws!

How to enter:

Leave a comment underneath this post (comments posted elsewhere will not be accepted, sorry!) telling me how the Online Weaving School has impacted your life.

Two comments will be selected to win either the Ada Yarns or the Gift Voucher. One winner will be selected to receive the membership refund.

The giveaways will be drawn at the end of the month, May, 2022. Winners will be notified by email.

A big thank you to Nicky from Thread Collective for collaborating on this giveaway! And a massive thank you to all of you who support my work and make the Weaving School possible ā¤ļø

P.S. If your comment does not show up right away, don’t panic! I have comment approval turned on to keep the spammers at bay and sometimes it may take a while for your comment to show.

If you want to see the companion video for this post, please watch here:

*THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU TO ALL ENTRANTS.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOAN, HELEN AND LORI!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Herringbone on a Rigid Heddle Loom

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I am really excited to be offering the Herringbone on a Rigid Heddle Loom class!

Not just because herringbone is such an enchanting weave, but also because this class is very unique.

Usually when I release a new class, I focus on a particular technique or means to set up the rigid heddle loom. This presents a problem. I’m always asked how to set up in other ways.

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

For example, if I use a single heddle, heddle rod and pick up stick to weave a particular project, students will ask how to weave it with two heddles. And vice versa.

For this class, I decided to spoil students by providing not just one, but three options for setting up the loom to weave herringbone.

This helps to cater for different learning styles and also differing budgets.

Method one uses two heddles, a pick up stick and a heddle rod.

Method two uses one heddle, 2 heddle rods and a pick up stick.

Method three uses three heddles.

Each method provided has step by step video instructions, visual threading charts and written instructions.

Students will complete a classic herringbone scarf as the class project.

To complete this class you will need:

A rigid heddle loom, 10″ or wider

10 dent heddle (number of heddle required depends on your method choice)

Also, depending on your set up choice, you may need:

Pick up stick

Heddle rod/s

Elastic bands

Tapestry needle

Full yarn requirements will be available upon enrolment.

The class will be available for single purchase, or, if you are a member of the Online Weaving School, this class will be included in your membership. Premium members currently have early access.

Now, for a little fun! As a pre-release celebration, I’m offering two of you the chance to win this class. The winners will be given access to the class upon it’s release shortly.

Here are the entry requirements:

  • You will need to be registered with the Online Weaving School. That way, I can enrol the winners in the class.
  • In the comments section below, tell me whether you would be most interested in method one, two or three to complete the class.

The winners will be announced at the end of this week.

Please note – if you don’t see your comment posted right away, don’t panic, I have to approve all comments first.

*UPDATE – THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS – ERIN MCGANN AND LYETTE MONGEON

1/5 Warp Floats on a Rigid Heddle Loom

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A weaving float is not always viewed as something desirable. But that is usually when it’s unintended or unplanned. Floats can actually be utilised in many ways, particularly for texture and pattern weaving.

So, what is a float? Well, if you think about it, weaving is made up of floats. The plain weave structure or interlacement occurs when the threads go over/under/over/under each other. We wouldn’t generally think of this interlacement as being comprised of floats, but that’s what it is, just really short floats.

*This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

A float can be described as any thread travelling over another. Most of the time when we refer to floats, we are talking about a thread travelling over more than one other, often a group.

A float can occur either horizontally or vertically. A horizontal float is known as a weft float. A vertical float is known as a warp floats. Today’s tutorial is specifically for warp floats.

In case you need a visual reference on the difference between a warp and a weft float, The Heart Scarf Project uses weft floats (note that the grey weft floats are horizontal).

Weft floats

Today’s tutorial is specifically for rigid heddle weavers.

What you will need:

  • Yarn that is appropriate for the project you’re weaving and the heddle size you’re using. In this tutorial, I am playing around with a sampler and used a dk weight rainbow dyed cotton in the warp and a dk weight navy wool weft. My heddle size was 7.5dpi.

We begin by placing the heddle in the DOWN position so that all slot threads are raised. It is the slot threads that we want to pick up, not the hole threads. You can consider the hole threads as already picked up, by being held in the holes.

If you have not used a pick up stick before, don’t worry, they are very easy to get started with by following some very basic rules. If you want to gain some familiarity with how you might use a pick up stick, check out this video before going through the rest of the tutorial:

If you specifically would like to see what a 1/1 pick up looks like (which is what I use for this tutorial), I demonstrate it in this video at around the 10 minute mark šŸ˜‰

Once your pick up stick is in place you are ready to start weaving the sequence. Your shuttle should be filled with your weft yarn. In my case, I’m using a solid, dark weft to contrast with the colourful warp.

Place the heddle in the DOWN position, throw your shuttle, then beat.

Change to the UP shed and slide your pick up stick forward to sit behind the heddle. There is no need to turn your pick up stick on edge, and in any case it would be very difficult to do so with the up shed being so firm. You can see the pick up stick right against the back of the heddle in the above picture.

Throw your shuttle and beat. Slide the pick up stick to the back of the loom.

Change to the DOWN shed. When you enter the shed with stick shuttle this time, you will need to manually go around the warp edge thread – it won’t catch on it’s own. This is really common when you move away from plain weave. If you need more information on the concept of manually going around the edges, I have a detailed article here.

Throw your shuttle and beat.

Change to the UP shed. Bring the pick up stick forward and lay it flat at the back of the heddle once more. Throw the shuttle and beat. Slide the pick up stick back.

Change to the DOWN shed. Again, you will need to catch the edge warp as you enter the shed. Throw shuttle and beat.

By now you will notice the vertical floats forming and getting longer. Really long floats are not practical, as they will catch on things, so it’s time to halt the float in it’s tracks with a tie down thread.

Change to the UP position. No pick up stick this time! Throw the shuttle and beat.

That is one complete weaving sequence. If you want to continue weaving the pattern, you go back to the beginning and work through the steps again.

If you would like the pick up and weaving sequence in a printable format, please click on the download button.

15-warp-floats-Download

If you would like to see this tutorial in video format, I have you covered!

If you want to explore floats further, I have a lot resources to help (too many to list here!) that you can find here on my blog or Youtube channel.

I also want to recommend Jane Patrick’s The Weaver’s Idea Book. It has a HUGE section on weaving warp and weft floats that you will find very instructive and inspiring.

I hope this was helpful to you, be sure to leave any questions or comments down below!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving

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What is art cloth?

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I think of art cloth as a happy meeting of art and weaving.

It doesn’t have to be anything set or particular, art is a difficult topic to distinguish as it can be so incredibly broad.

Usually, when we plan a new woven piece, we start with calculating, sourcing materials, deciding on pattern and colour, and visualising how the finished project might look. It is already an artistic process by default.

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But when I think of art cloth, I think of a piece that is truly my own. I think of multi media techniques and the introduction of tools and materials that I might not ordinarily use in my weaving. I think of creating a piece that will not look like any other, it will be completely unique and original.

What an exciting concept!

I have just completed filming my new class, Art Cloth Workshop.

I’ve been spent a lot of time sampling and exploring, carefully considering what techniques I might like to share with students, testing to ensure quality control and choosing what I think gives great results and is achievable for anyone.

The curriculum plan includes some of the following techniques:

  • Warp painting
  • Inlaid overshot
  • Clasped weft
  • Sun printing
  • and more!

This workshop is a little different to many of my classes in that it is not specifically project based. I do provide project ideas along the way, but the focus is more on sampling to explore the techniques. Once you have learned how to implement them, you can decide whether to go ahead and use them in a project.

The class is filmed on my 24″ Ashford rigid heddle loom. We use a wide variety of materials, and details of these are provided in the class.

The workshop is completely pre-recorded so that you can learn in your own time.

If you are a member of the Online Weaving School, you will have free access to the workshop.

The class is also be available for single purchase.

To view the introduction video to the workshop, click below.

If you are ready to access the workshop, click on this link to enrol.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!