Hello all
I have just warped my Louet Jane table loom, front to back, with three sets of warp threads of 132 each, made using warping frame. Total ends 396. Length 3.5 yards approx. In order to wind the warp onto the loom, I spread the warp threads across the raddle (20epi) and I allowed each warp chain to hang over the front beam and then used some S-hooks and large metal washers to weight each chain, so that I could then go to the back beam and wind on the warp, inserting sections of brown paper as necessary. My problem is that this system really does not create a reliably even and consistent tension across all warp threads, even when I try to select a weighting point on the warp chain that seems reasonably ordered/ intact as per what Jane demonstrated when warping the first loom in Season 1 with the help of Charlotte. Techniques such as strumming the warp threads cannot be used either in this single - handed scenario.
I am considering next time maybe dividing the warp into much smaller parts and e.g making up to ten separate warp chains of 40 or less threads. This would allow me to get a more even effect across the warp when attaching weights I hope. It seems like quite a bit of extra work, but when you consider all the effort to use even, consistent tension when using the warping frame, it seems a bit of a waste of time when this is partly lost during the warping process. I wonder is single handed warping really best avoided if at all possible? If anyone has cracked this particular problem I would be happy to hear how you did it! Photos would be a great help, if available. Thanks very much.
Warping single handed- tension issues
https://ibb.co/rcYfMt9
This is a photo of how someone used the weighting system on a rigid heddle loom, but it hasn’t really worked satisfactorily on my Jane loom with 8/2 cotolin at 20epi using 3 warp chains. One difference is that in this photo there is no warp chain, and each section of warp seems to be fully extended. In my case, with a warp length of 3.5 yards or so and finer threads, I think that opening up each warp chain like this would risk creating a bit of a tangled mess!
Katherine, That is a really short warp. Can you lay the whole thing out on the floor (fully extended) and weight the entire warp with some heavy books?
Then, there's always the tried and true "yank and crank"...I do this all the time with my table looms.
Thanks Cheryl. I wonder if I may be too concerned about keeping constant tension on the warp as it is wound on. Presumably when you are using the “ yank and crank” method, the tension on the warp is relaxed when you are actually at the back of the loom winding it on….or maybe not, because it is weighted under the books…..and at least the tension is more likely to be even across the warp threads? As a beginner weaver, the warp actually seems very long to me!! When I was using the rigid heddle loom, the longest warp I used was even less:-) The heavy book method might work alright, although the room the loom is in is not very big, but eventually the warp would not be long enough to reach the floor with the extra length to go under the books. Anyway- since the method you describe works for you, then it is definitely worth a try on my next weaving project. Little by little I will find what works best in my particular set up. Thanks again.
When I do the yank and crank, I wind a couple of revolutions, tuck in a warping stick, go to the front and pull hard on a couple of inches at a time all across the warp, go back to the back of the loom and repeat as many times as I need to.