Hi,
I have a Baby Wolf that was given to me with 20+ years ago with 8 treadles set up for a twill with a 12-dent reed. The center treadles are set up for plain weave. I wove that warp in shetland linen twill that someone warped for me, and then halted. Now it's 20+ years later.

I used the math for the # of ends in 8/2 cotton for Jane's favorite tea towels, but since I've used up the original colors learning how to correctly wind a warp, now I have just done a 5 color vertical striped warp, which, on my third try, seems to set up correctly except for two skipped dents. I can fix those.

As I have begun to weave, I've noticed that the fabric looks better in twill than it does in plainweave.
I've also noticed that treadling in twill is really making the fabric draw in. It's set up for 18 threads per inch, but I suspect that 8/2 cotton in twill would be more dense. And when I look in the Shop pages, the middle ground for twill is 22 epi, not 18. And little things tend to end up being a bigger deal in weaving than they are in, say, knitting or spinning, which I've done more often.

I've also noticed that I really have to BEAT to get the threads in, and I have to push the treadles quite firmly. I'm guessing that's normal. But I wonder if it's because the threads are being pulled into a firmer fabric than they were sleyed for, if that's a grammatically correct way of putting it.

Please advise:

If I have only woven an inch or two of this new warp, assuming I fix the skipped dents, do I

1. change the treadle tie ups now to facilitate plain weave,
2. weave the twill and not worry about the pull in
3. Watch season 4 to learn more about twill and tie-ups,
4. resley the whole thing for twill
5. Make a stiff drink and some back in the morning?

Thanks, ;-)
Julia. sometimes in Montana

Julia, What items are you weaving? That might make your decision easier.

Plain weave is not as dense as twill because you're interlacing every warp thread with every weft pick alternating which one is up and which one is down...hence your ppi is fewer.

Twill packs in more closely because you are NOT interlacing every singe warp thread but they are in groups...2/2 twill, 3/1 twill etc. The fabric is denser and the draw in is more.

I don't use a temple, I just plan my project for the width I'll get while weaving. If you're going to do a plain weave hem and a twill body (eg in a towel) the plain weave section will weave up wider and you compensate for that by using a finer thread for the weft in the plain weave portion.

You only need 2 treadles for plain weave.

Hi Cheryl,
Thank you.
I'm just trying to make dishtowels. They are coming out at 18.5" in twill instead of 20" and I am fine with that! I will do twill hems, too, so they don't ripple out.
The plainweave just looks too loose for some reason.
I will post pictures when they come of the loom.
Cheers,
Julia

https://ibb.co/p3zyfHN
https://ibb.co/NSMjxXk
Here are images of my first successful warp for tea towels.
I'm still tightening a few threads and working out a shed issue, but it's a start. I'm intentionally using a weft color that's not in the warp to help me scout for errors.
Julia

Hey Julia, It looks like you need to make sure your bouts are tied under the same tension onto your front cloth beam rod.

There is so much to learn and get comfortable with when starting weaving. I always recommend that new weavers put on short warps so that they will warp more often and get proficient at it.

Repetition makes everything easier.

Thank you, Cheryl. My next warps will be short. I've learned a LOT about what not to do, and I've been taking notes.
Julia