Tips for Winding a Multicolor Warp

 

Random winter color theme warp

While struggling to figure this out on my own, it occurred to me to search 'how do I wind a random color warp?' Some of the advice is for multicolor warps rather than specifically random color warps, but the ideas sort of belong together, so I've made notes of the suggestions I learned.

• Some people cut each color when it's wound and tie on the next one to the cut end. Since I'm changing colors for every warp end, that did not appeal to me. At. All. 
• Madelyn van der Hoogt, on the other hand, doesn't cut. In her article, Ask Madelyn: Winding Multicolored Warps she states, "I never cut and tie as I change colors. Just wind the ending thread 4 or 5 times around the peg where it ends to secure it (either the start peg or the end peg). When you need to use that color again, simply pick it up and continue, leaving the windings on the peg." That's close what I've been doing, except at the raddle end, where I need everything to be the same length for the end stick.
• Ideas suited for warping front to back:
• Wind each color separately in its own bout and either sley each color separately, or select colors while threading the reed. I'm thinking this would work best for a planned color order.
• Wind all colors together as a group, then select colors while threading the reed. I'm thinking this one would work for my next seasonal color warp because I plan to tie it on. 
• Then there was this idea from Rock Lake Weaving's video, Changing colours while measuring a warp. The picture below is a screenshot from the video.

She threads the yarn ends through a reed to keep them from tangling. See the video for details.

I thought this a very clever idea and tried it when I started bout #2. But because I'm not cutting each color when it's wound and tying on a new one, I still had tangling. This time it was all above the reed, so that I couldn't rearrange the cones to sort it out. I'll abandon it when I get to bout #3, unless it becomes too tangled to proceed as is. 

So that's the notes from my research so far. If you have suggestions for preparing a multicolor warp (especially a random one) I'd love to hear them. 

Tips for Winding a Multicolor Warp

© 2026 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Begun! Leaf Motif Random Warp: Winter Colors

 I've started measuring my warp! The last of the construction details are done in my weaving room, so I can finally start on this project. I figured out a way to hang my warping board on my Glimakra and have made a start on my random winter color warp. This post is to document my start date, observations, and notes for next time. 

first 30 warp ends in 8/2 cotton

I'm following the checklist I created last month with a random color generator. 

My checklist. Working with groups of five helps
 me keep count of raddle groups and threading cross.

Things that help:

• Deciding beforehand that it would be a slow process. 
• In other words, be patient.
• Accept that the yarns will tangle and take the time to sort them out frequently.
• Know that I'll figure it out as I go along. 
• Label my colors with the color names on my check-off list
• Good lighting. The colors are close in value, so the browns especially are harder to tell apart.
• Check off each color on my checklist as I go along. 
• Don't worry if I think I'm making a mistake. It's random color order anyway, so, so what?

scraps of paper with the color names have been helpful

I don't have as much time for weaving as I used to, but making progress makes me feel good. 

Begun! Leaf Motif Random Warp: Winter Colors

© 2026 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Progress

While no actual movement, measurement, or manipulation of yarn has taken place, I'm still calling it progress because, at last, all the dusty, sloppy, messy jobs are done in our front room remodeling project, and the dust covers are off the loom.

sneak peek

There is still dusting, rearranging, and organizing to do in the room, but I can now actually see myself getting started on this warp. What a blessing.

Progress © 2026 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Decision About the Random Stripes

I laid out my thought process in my last post, which was helpful as it gave me a chance to organize my thoughts and look at my options for comparison. I decided to go with using a random stripe generator and warping back to front. 

The generator gave me both a visual chart of what the stripes will look like, plus a list of the color order by color names. Since my yarns don't have color labels, I'm going to have to assign them names in order to know which ones to wind as I follow the list.

My actual yarns I would call brown, beige, gray, and khaki. The closest picks I got from the generator were called Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, and Meadow. Gotta love those descriptive color names. They look good on labels but are pretty meaningless when trying to find substitutes or describe something to someone else. 

As an aside, I just finished reading a book entitled Where We Meet the World: The Story of the Senses by Ashley Ward. It will likely come as no surprise that scientific researchers have determined that people don't all perceive color the same way. We don't see the same color when we look at them. We may identify something as green, but how that green appears to us may be different than the person standing next to us. Makes me wonder if my fussiness about color only matters to me. 

Once I chose the colors, stripe width, and number of stripes, I could keep hitting the "generate stripes" button to get different groups of 50 stripes each. 

The visual they gave me looks like this

First 50 random stripes

The colors aren't a good match to my yarns, but it gives an idea of the randomness. For winding the warp I think I'll do best to follow the list and check them off as I go. I'm including the list here in it's entirety, so I don't lose it. 

 Camel, Mocha, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow

Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom

Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom

Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Meadow, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Meadow, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Camel

Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom

Mushroom, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Meadow, Mocha, Camel, Mushroom, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Camel, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Mocha, Meadow, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Mushroom, Mocha, Camel, Mocha, Mushroom, Meadow, Camel, Mocha, Camel

Decision About the Random Stripes

© 2026 by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal

Designing Random Stripes

 Something I seem to recall, is other fiber artists mentioning that their attempts at random usually end up looking like a pattern. It's an interesting phenomenon, interesting enough that I did an internet search on how to create random stripes. Almost every web article recommended a random stripe generator, of which there are quite a few out there (very popular with the crochet crowd). For example:

• Stripe Pattern Generator
• Striped Pattern Generator
• Crochet Stripe Generator
• Best Stripe Pattern Generator
• Stripe It
• Etc.
• Etc.

A generator is easy to use, but my hesitation is having to somehow keep track of the colors as I wind my warp. I've done this before with a checklist. It's a little slow, but as long as I take care to not tangle the treads coming off the cones, it goes well. (For me, however, tangling seems inevitable.)

Advantages:

• Probably the best guarantee of randomness
• I could dress the loom back to front, which I prefer with my Glimakra
• I wouldn't have to figure it out myself

Disadvantages:

• I don't have a printer to print off the list, so I'd have to go to the library for that
• Or copy it off by hand
• I'd have to remember which color name went with which cone
• Slower (keeping track of which color is next)
• Thread tangling as I wind the warp. 

The other option would be designing as I go. To do this, I could wind on multiple threads together and then pick them off the cross in a random manner as I thread the reed. 

Advantages:

• faster

Disadvantages:

• I'd have to warp front to back
• Would still likely get tangling
• Possibility I'd not be successful in a truly random pattern

Obviously none of these is seriously monumental. And yes, I'm probably over-thinking it (but then, it's my nature to over-think everything). It probably even seems like I'm procrastinating (which I am to a degree as I finish painting the room my Glimakra is in). But I have to make a decision somehow. 

Designing Random Stripes © 2026

by Leigh at Leigh's Fiber Journal