Hi there! I'm a brand new weaver with a newbie question- in Intro to Sample One, Jane talks about playing with what she sees on the loom, and squaring up patterns as she weaves. This got me wondering, if the cloth is already partially out of sight (wound on the cloth beam) how would you keep a running measurement of what you've woven? How does she keep a visual of the work that is woven. I hope this makes sense!

I am so glad I found the School of Weaving! I feel like I've landed in just the spot to start out on the right foot. I love the new web site too! Thank you so much!

Personally, I pin a measuring tape at the point I want to start measuring with 2 pins spaced a bit apart and a bit away from the fell of my cloth. When I advance my warp, I move the bottom pin to the top spot. If you shop at IKEA they have paper measuring tapes available for use while you are shopping but any cloth measuring tape works as well.

Hi Jennifer - every weaver seems to adapt to what works best for them. I pin a measuring tape to my cloth at the cloth beam. Securing it with two pins over a couple inches, I move the bottom pin up as my cloth starts to move over the beam, while the other pin holds the tape in place..

Good ideas! I had been adding little threads after every 10 inches, BUT this time I am not sure if I counted them all as I went - will try the above next time. So, now that I am unsure about my total woven length, but I believe I am at the end of this project....can I unwind the woven section to check the measurement and then wind it back on, without causing chaos?? Thanks.

I'm a newbie also and have been wondering about this, too. Two things I came up with, but have not yet tried:
1. Create a modified quipu ten yards long with a small bead marking each yard, each marker bead a different color. It would have to be out to the side like a floating selvedge.
2. Get another clicker counter like the one I use for knitting and a piece of ribbon of a specific length, maybe 1 foot. The trick to this method is remembering to click the clicker.

Ordering adding machine tape seems like the least difficult of the options!

Hi friends,

I thought I'd share the method I just stumbled upon, and that seems to be working well for me so far.

These are called Bulb Pins, and are just a kind of little safety pin with a thin round loop and then a clasp. I've been putting them in a specific intervals when I need to measure a section that's longer that my weaving space. (Needing a 9" section, I put one in at exactly 3" and 6", you get the idea, I'm sure)

Found them at WalMart - Simple, precise, cheap and reuseable!

After trying several methods, I've discovered that twill tape marked into inch increments is less annoying and stiff than a tape measure, and it's infinitely reusable. Works well for me!

Sounds perfect! Wow. I think I even have some. Thank you!

On this topic of measuring, If you have allowed 36' per towel on the warp, what length you measure for each towel allowing for takeup? Should it be 36" on the loom under tension? or to you subtract some for takeup?
I hope my question makes sense!

Thanks Sandra!