Detangled!

The yarn is all untangled, the warp is neatly chained and ready to travel! The blue threads are the string heddles.

OKAY!

I am so happy this is done. I still have to put the heddles onto a rod, make spacer chains for front and back threads, and hang the weights.

Most instructions have you weight the warp after you've sewn the warp to the beam. This is followed by making a spacer chain. The final step in the instructions is attaching heddles to a bar.

This is fine if you don't have to schlep the loom anywhere. I, unfortunately, DO. For this project, 44 weights at 10-ish ounces each, makes the beam come in at about 30-ish pounds. The beam itself is about 6 feet long.   When I'm carrying it (without weights), I have to be careful not to hit anything or anyone in a "Three Stooges" type maneuver. When fully weighted, it is difficult for me to carry for a long distance (like half a block). Yeah, I'm wimpy. So what?

If you've made a mistake in your threading, or missed a thread and already put the spacer and the weights on, then you have to untie the weight or weights affected, and unchain the spacer...essentially re-do the whole sett, which is a total, complete royal PAIN in the behind. If you put the heddles on first, the problem is easier to correct.

These are my steps to warping and setting the Warp Weighted Loom:

1. Measure the header band warp. I made this project 4 feet long, with 20 threads, because that's how many slots there are in my warping paddle. I measured the yarn by placing two of my dining chairs back to back with about 4 feet of space in between them and winding the yarn on them.

2. Measure the warp pairs. Again with the kitchen chairs, only this time I placed the chairs 10 feet apart. See post from 10/22/11 if you want to know about warp pairs. *Chain the threads until you are ready to use them. I chained them in groups of 10.
*When I say that you chain the warp, you chain stitch a bunch of threads using your fingers, instead of a hook. If you don't know how to crochet, learn the chain stitch. There are lots of free videos and instruction books on this.

3. Thread the rigid heddle (or warping paddle) and weave the band. I tied each end of the warp to a kitchen chair, stretching it taut. I then unchained a braid of warp threads and wove the band. The warp threads are very long, so when I finish 10, I chain them to keep them tidy.

You can make a band using an inkle loom or using cards/tablets. Look up Inkle weaving, and Tablet or Card Weaving, if you are interested in these methods. It is possible to make a band with a nifty pattern this way.

When you have the length you want, untie the end where the warp paddle is, first.
Next, slip the warp paddle off the threads.
Make an overhand knot to keep the band from unravelling. Untie the other end of the band and do the same. You can hemstitch the band if you want to, or wait until the project is finished to deal with it.

4. Sew or attach the warp band to the beam. I sewed the band directly to the beam. You could also whipstitch it to a dowel rod and suspend that from the beam, Navajo weaving style, if you aren't concerned about doing it "period".

5. Make string heddles for the back threads. For a first time project, keep it simple. Simply divide the number of total warp ends in half and you will have the number of string heddles you will have to make. It might be a good idea to make a few more than you need in case one breaks while you're weaving.

It is possible to do more than 2 "shafts" on a warp weighted loom, but it's a lot of work. If you are going to attempt a 4 (or more) heddle pattern, use a different color for each of the 3 (5, 7, etc.) heddles, or alternate colors (i.e. blue for B, red for C and white for D, etc.). I made my string heddles using a wooden dish rack I got at the 99 cent store and a ball of size 3 crochet cotton. (See the 9/29/12 post).

I used cotton for the string heddles. I wanted something that would stand out from the feel of the wool warp. I also wanted something that would not stretch and would not abrade or stick to the other warp threads.

6. Attach the string heddles to the warp. I made a lark's head knot around a warp thread. I attach the other end of the string loop to the bar in the same way. You don't have to hang up the beam for this step.

7. Hang up the beam, and divide the warp into front (A) and back (B) threads.

8. Crochet a spacer chain for the front and back sets of threads. Tie each spacer to the uprights on either side. I use a yarn or thread with a similar gauge to the warp yarns. I use cotton or linen instead of wool for the same reasons I explained in point 5. I use a crochet hook in the size that is recommended on the label of the yarn, or the same size that is recommended for the warp yarn.

9. Hang or tie the loom weights. As I mentioned in a previous post, if you are using a medium to heavy "worsted weight" yarn, use between 8 and 12 ounces per weight.on each group of 10 threads. The weights should not touch the ground. If the warp is too long, chain it up and then tie the loom weight to it.

10. Weave. If you are outside, and it starts to rain, snow, or if there is a lot of wind, move the project inside. Detach the loom weights (if you are storing the beam), untie the spacers from the uprights. Put a tarp on the ground and carefully roll the tarp and the project up together, jelly roll style. Tie up the rolled warp in a few places so it won't come undone. Bring the beam inside. The loom will act as a sail if there are high winds. This can be dangerous. Plus, if it gets wet, it will take a couple of days to dry completely.