I have wound the warp for the Season 5 Turned Twill project but having a heck of a time trying to balance the loom for weaving. I can't get it into perfect balance. The best I can do is to get the bottom of the shed level across the color sections but the sections to the right side of the loom (the colored stripes) the first, second and third shed top layers of the shed rises higher than the top layer of the tan shed. The bottom layer is level with the rest of the shed.
The first 4 shafts literally crash down to the left unless I support/balance them with empty heddles for shafts 1-4. It seems as though the draft has too much weight on 5,6.7 and 8 and needs balancing with 1, 2, 3 and 4. If I look at my tie up and the draft and visually draw a 4 square tie up grid, I have no heddles in the left bottom quadrant to balance the heddles in the other 3 quadrants.
Help- I'm stuck and can't move forward with this 12 yard warp.
Thank you.
Renee Laffey
Hi Renee, What type of loom are you using? We’ve had so much positive response to this project so I’m stumped with your problem. It has been woven successfully on Jack and Counter-marche looms and sinking shed David looms.
Jane, thank you! I figured out my problem!
I have an Oxabeck Lilla Swedish countermarche. It requires balancing - like a teeter totter. The weight from the threads on 5-7 are much heavier than those on 1-4. I spoke to Joann Hall the former owner of Glimakra USA as she is familiar with these looms. I used an extra 9th treadle to weight down shafts 1-4 and it did the trick. For anyone else with this problem they should know not to tie on the extra treadle until the pin to the countermarche unit is released- the Lamms needing extra weight will drop. In my case 1-4 kept dropping off to the left snd my heddles slid off. Anyway- I’m weaving! Whooo hoo!!!
Hi Renee, I’m so glad you were able to figure it out. I have no experience with that style of counter-marche loom. Mine are parallel counter-marche looms and work quite differently, they never have to be balanced. Anywhoo......thanks for reaching out to Joann and finding a solution, and thanks for posting here for others to see. I’m sure someone will need this information in the future. Enjoy those towels, they are so much fun and enjoy Turned Twill. It is such a wonderful structure. Happy Weaving
Jane, Joann mentioned it’s only some of the smaller Swedish looms that might have this problem with a draft like this something to do with the length of the upper and lower lams . The Julia was designed with this issue in mind. It’s all solvable- I’ve decided to set my treadles 9&10 up for plain weave and they will act as anchors . It’s poring rain here in Roseville and I’m going to weave away my day . Thanks!!
Thanks Renee, I hope you have a wonderful day at your loom :)
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