my process

Learn about the weaving process.

WINDING THE WARP

Fibers are purchased either in the form of a skein, ball or cone.  The weaver must wind the threads onto a warping board in a color and design order to a specified length and number of warp ends per inch.  While winding the yarn onto the warping board, a cross is formed to separate threads by inches, in preparation to dress the loom.

LEASE STICKS AND forming a BRAID 

Lease sticks are inserted between the cross and the threads are tied with loops of yarn to hold the ends together while removing from the warping board.  The yarn is then removed from the bottom peg and wound into a braided unit to prepare for transferring the warp to the loom.  

spreading and winding the warp

A spreader is attached to the back of the loom in order to space the threads into inch units and the threads are looped onto the back rod for ease in winding the warp onto the loom.  The lease sticks remain in place at the cross of the warp in order to keep the threads separate as the warp is wound onto the back beam of the loom.  Rolled paper is inserted as the warp is wound in order to keep the threads from intertwining.  

Threading the heddles

Each thread is pulled through a heddle depending on whether it is a rigid heddle loom or a multi-harness floor loom.  

ready to weave 

Thread units are tied to the front beam of the loom and the weaving process is ready to begin! 

The rigid heddle loom allows for varied patterns dependent on weaver designs, but creates two sheds for plain weave.  Pick up sticks and manipulation of the weft create greater variation as well as size and density of the warp.

The Schact Baby Wolf 8 harness loom allows for more complex patterning as eight different sheds are available to the weaver, with each heddle being threaded according to a specific pattern.