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Knitting yarns gone woven.

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Designed by Jane Patrick

Creative Director for Schacht Spindle Company, Inc.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
5 ½” wide by 72” long, including 4” fringe at either end.

MATERIALS

Warp: BERROCO PURE™ MERINO NUANCE #8643, 1 ball (60 yards needed); BERROCO TRILOGY� #7633, 1 skein (30 yards needed); BERROCO GEODE� #3644, 1 ball  (40 yards needed).

Weft: BERROCO ULTRA™ ALPACA, #6244, 1 skein (90 yards needed). Accents stripes of the same BERROCO TRILOGY™ yarn used in the warp, 5 yards needed.

EQUIPMENT

Flip folding rigid heddle loom from Schacht Spindle Co., Inc., 8-dent reed, warping peg, threading hook, stick shuttle, scissors, heavy paper, ruler.

Warp length: 2 ½ yards

Width in reed: 6 ½”

Ends per inch: 8

Picks per inch: 7

FINISHING

Secure the ends with a knotted fringe and trim fringe to 4”. Hand wash in warm water. Lay flat to dry. Steam press using a press cloth.

Warp Color Threading Guide:

Unlike knitting or crochet where fabric is made with a series of loops, weaving is the process of crossing two sets of yarns to create cloth. Weaving is done on a loom. I’ve used Schacht’s Flip Loom which is easy for new weavers to use. To learn more about the Flip Loom and weaving visit the Schacht Spindle website at: www.schachtspindle.com

A Mini Weaving Lesson

The vertical threads that are held by the loom are called the warp threads. To put the threads on the loom is called warping. The horizontal threads that cross the warp from side to side are called weft threads. The tool that carries the weft back and forth is called the shuttle. The opening through which the shuttle passes is called the shed. The shed is made by the rigid heddle reed (or just heddle) which is also used to beat or pack the weft threads into place. (fig. 1)

The first step in weaving is to put the warp on the loom. This is called “warping the loom”. The method below is known as the direct warping method because the warp is measured and threaded on the loom at the same time. I call this the lickety-split warping method because it is very fast and easy to do.

Before you begin, you’ll need a pair of scissors, a ruler, and heavy paper about 10” wide and 60” long (paper grocery bag strips work well).

Step 1: Place the back of the loom (the end with the legs) at the edge of the table with the legs hanging off the edge of the table. (Use the supplied clamps if needed.)

Step 2: Place the warping peg 65” away from the front of the loom (from the back apron rod the distance will measure 90”).

Step 3: Place the Trilogy ball of yarn on the floor below the back beam of your loom. Insert the heddle in the neutral position.

Step 4: Bring the apron rod up over the back beam toward the heddle. Beginning with Trilogy, tie the end of the yarn to the apron bar approximately 4 1/4” from the end of the bar (work right to left of the apron bar or left to right, whichever is most comfortable for you).

Step 5: Using the heddle hook, pull a loop of yarn through a slot in the heddle beginning 4 1/4” from the edge of the heddle. (fig. 2) Place the loop of yarn around the warping peg (note: there are two threads in the slot). (fig. 3) Cut off the yarn and tie the end to the apron rod. You have just measured two warp ends. (fig. 4)

Step 6: Referring to the threading guide, tie on the Nuance (fig. 5 ) and measure 8 ends (2 ends in 4 slots). Place the loops over the warping peg and around the apron bar. You'll notice that you alternately pull the loop above and below the apron rod. This is as it should be and happens automatically. After 8 ends of Nuance are measured, tie off the yarn at the apron bar and measure 2 ends of Trilogy, 8 ends of Geode, 2 ends of Trilogy, and so on, until 52 ends have been measured. Your warp should be 6 ½” wide. (fig. 6)

Step 7: Remove the yarn from the warping peg. (fig. 7) Hold it tightly in your hand and with a pair of scissors cut the end of the loop. (fig. 8) Tie the bundle into an overhand knot. (fig. 9)

Step 8: Wind the warp onto the warp beam by turning the warp beam crank handle clockwise. (fig. 10 ) After the warp has been rolled around the beam once, insert heavy paper between the layers to separate them.

Step 9: Continue rolling the warp and paper onto the warp beam. Stop every so often and pull firmly on the warp to tighten the paper and warp on the beam.

Step 10: Stop winding when the front end of the warp is about 8" from the heddle. (fig. 11)

Step 11: Turn your loom around to face you and work from the front. You have two warp ends in each slot. Beginning at the edge, take one end out of the slot and thread it through the next hole using the threading hook. (fig. 12) Work from one edge of the weaving to the other until all holes have been threaded.

Step 12: Bring the apron rod around and over the top of the front beam so that it is about 6" from the heddle. Select a 1" group of threads at the center of the warp and bring them over the top of the apron rod, dividing them in half. (fig. 13) Tie them together around the apron rod using a surgeon’s knot. It’s like the first step in tying your shoes, except you go around twice. (fig. 14) Complete tying 1” groups. You should have 6 groups.

Step 13: Work back and forth across the warp, tightening all the groups. Pat across the warp to make sure the tension is even. (fig. 15) Tie the ends of each group in a bow tie. (fig. 16)

You are now ready to weave.

Weaving
Wind a shuttle
Using Ultra® Alpaca, wind the weft yarn around the shuttle in a figure-eight pattern. You can wind along one edge or both edges of the shuttle. (fig. 17) and (fig. 18)

There are three ways to weave on your loom. You can clamp the front of the loom to the table top and weave standing up, you can weave sitting down by resting the back leg against the edge of a table, or you can put the loom on a floor stand.

Spreading the Warp and Weaving a Header

Before beginning to weave your project, it is a good idea to weave a "header". The purpose of the header is to spread the warp out evenly so that your weaving project can begin on an even, uniform warp. Weave about three rows without beating and then press these in place with the heddle. To weave, place the heddle in the up position and place the shuttle into the opening (shed) between the raised and lowered threads. (fig. 19) Take it out the other side and then place the heddle in the down position and send the shuttle back to the other side. (fig. 20) After three passes, press the weft down. Your warp should be evenly spread, if not, repeat. (fig. 21) Now you are ready to begin weaving your scarf.

Weaving
To weave, you will alternately place your heddle in the up and down positions. Weaving proceeds like this: place heddle in up position, insert shuttle from one side and take it out the other. Beat the weft down. Place the heddle in the down position, insert the shuttle into the shed and weave back to the other side. Beat. Repeat. That's all there is to it! Pretty soon you'll be doing all of the steps automatically.

Most of the scarf is woven with Ultra® Alpaca. Every so often I inserted a row (also called pick) of Trilogy as an accent. I secured the ends of this single row by weaving the ends back into the weaving for about a ¾”. To reduce bulk where the ends are woven in, I split off some of the yarn in the overlap area. (fig. 23)

Hint: when inserting the weft into the shed place it at about a 45 degree angle to prevent the weaving from drawing in. (fig. 22 )

Advancing the warp

After a few inches of weaving, you will need to advance your warp. To do this, release the tension on the warp by turning the front crank handle counterclockwise just enough so that you can release the ratchet dog with your finger. Then lift the rear ratchet dog and turn the crank handle clockwise, releasing a few inches of warp. Advance the warp by turning the front crank handle clockwise until the warp is taut. (fig. 24)

Adding new weft

When your shuttle runs out of weft, leave the yarn in the shed where it ends. Wind more yarn onto your shuttle, insert the shuttle into the same shed, overlapping the new end with the old end for about half an inch.  (fig. 25)

Remove your project from the loom.

When you can't weave any farther or have finished your project, cut the warp off from the back of the loom. Unwind the fabric from around the cloth beam and untie or cut off the warp from the front apron rod. To prevent the weft from raveling, tie groups of overhand knots along the edge.  (fig.26)

Finally, wash, dry and press your finished fabric!

More Reading

Davenport, Betty. Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving, Loveland, Colorado, Interweave Press, Inc., 1987.

--Davenport. Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom. Battle Ground, Washington, self-published. 2008.

Gipson, Liz. Weaving Made Easy, Loveland, Colorado, Interweave Press, Inc., 2008.