Something I've been working on is minimizing draw-in. The first pieces I wove on my table loom had more than I'd like, so I've been researching how to minimize it. After trying all the advice and tips to little effect, I stumbled upon Madelyn Van Der Hoogt's "Ask Madelyn: Avoiding Draw-in: All About Weft Angle."
According to Madelyn, the angle of the weft after shooting the pick and before beating is key. No matter how straight the thread looks, in the end, it must go over and under various warp threads. It needs some "give" room to accommodate that. Pull a weft pick too straight across, and the only give is at the selvedges. The result is the edges drawing in so that the woven piece is narrower than what's threaded on the loom. Madelyn's article states that the best weft angle to minimize draw-in is about 25°.
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| Weft yarn angled at 25°. |
That's what I've been experimenting with as I weave table runner 2, and I have to say it's helping! Draw-in for my dishtowels was over 2 inches. For my first table runner it was exactly 2 inches. For this one, it's about 7/8 inch.
Because my table loom is so compact, I do find it a bit challenging to achieve that 25° as the fell (woven edge) gets closer to the reed. I'm assuming this will be less of a problem when I can get back to weaving on my floor loom. For now, I'm throwing the shuttle and then adjusting the weft angle by hand, which slows things down a bit. But then, having to switch the levers by hand makes for slower weaving anyway. And that's okay because I'm not so much into speed as I am rhythm.
2 comments:
Definitely going in my mental "weaving tips" file! Maybe, just maybe, my friend will help me do the first warp today.
Michelle, that's exciting news! I'd have to say that one of the interesting things about weaving is that there is always something new to learn. I love that about it (plus producing lovely and useful things).
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