AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Beading loom patterns9/6/2023 Actually, the same can be said of all the looms I own. If that is the case, try tip 3, but also know that when you have woven a little and can advance your warp for the first time, your tension will improve dramatically. It’s up to me to practice and find the right amount of draw in and tension to make a firm, consistent band.Īnd, by this stage I’m in my happy place with tension and the band remains a consistent width as long as I keep tensioning in the same way.Īt the very beginning of your band, you may find it hard to get as tight a tension as you would wish for. They are not pushed really close together or anything, so there is a little bit of natural spacing.Īs soon as I start to weave, the band begins to narrow and draw in. Here is my warp before I began weaving and the threads are all sitting in order. I have some measurements here to demonstrate just how much narrower. Tip 6- Your woven band will be much, much narrower than your warp Don’t worry about those first couple of inches, I generally cut that part off and don’t use it. It takes a little time for the warp to come together and for you to find the right amount of weft and warp tension, as well as a suitable beat. To be honest, your first 1.5 – 2″ is probably not going to be so pretty. Tip 5- Use the first 2 inches as practice This is something that each inkle weaver needs to find a sweet spot for, but a hint is that you need enough tension so that your weft thread is not looped, bubbled or otherwise really visible at the edges, but not so much that your edges end up bumpy, lumpy or wavy rather than nice and straight. You want to really pull each weft pick into place and feel it move to create a very firm band. If I’m asked how much tension to place on your edges with your weft thread, I would say probably more than you think. Your warp threads are under high tension and the weave is warp faced, not balanced. If you come from rigid heddle weaving, you will be used to fixing up your edges as the weft travels around the warp threads, especially if you use my neat edges technique. Tip 4- Weft tensioning is different to other weaving. You can also wedge an additional piece at the top back peg if needed. You should do your best to achieve really good tension using your tensioning peg, but if you feel you are lacking a little, you can take a small section of c ardboard separator and wedge that in at the starting peg, underneath your band. Once again, the front of the loom is pressed against my body for sturdiness and ease of beating. My favourite position is sitting in my recliner with my feet up. The loom rests on the edge of the table by placing the horizontal wooden bar against it, and the front of the loom rests at about the bottom of my bra level (sorry, couldn’t think of a better description!) Note the comfortable, high backed chair with additional cushion to keep my back comfy. If I’m using a table to rest the back of the loom on, that position would look something like this: I also like to rest the loom against my body to keep it sturdy, as I find that feels most natural to me. Some inkle weavers will clamp the loom to a table to keep it sturdy but I like to have it close to my body where I can comfortably reach to change sheds and beat. But it’s still important to think about your posture and find the most comfortable ways to weave, especially if you’re going to be at it for a while. One of the bonuses of an inkle loom is that you can take it anywhere. Tip 2- Find a comfortable position in which to weave If you’ve never seen an inkle loom in action, my Youtube series in which we weave a lovely floral band, from start to finish is an excellent place to start: When you are ready to weave, you an either push down on the warp threads to achieve a shed or lift them up to achieve the other shed. In the warping process, you alternate between heddled and unheddled warp threads. There are only two sheds on an inkle loom – up and down. The Woolery have put together a nifty starter’s kit that includes an Inklette, yarn to get you started, and Anne Dixon’s fabulous pattern book. Ashford makes two sizes, the Inkle Loom and the Inklette. If you’re an absolute beginner weaver, an inkle loom is the perfect way to test the waters without making a big investment. Inkle looms are simple devices that won’t take up much space and won’t break the bank either. If you’ve been thinking about starting to weave on an inkle loom, I strongly encourage you to have a go. Inkle loom weaving is so fun, easy to learn and affordable to begin. New to rigid heddle weaving? Start here!.Free Rigid Heddle Weaving Projects and Patterns.Easy, frugal, bread, onion and tomato bake.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |