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Notes for Happy Warping (I love being warped)

When you have finished warping your loom and have tied the warp at the peg end, DO NOT CUT the warp loops at the peg. Just slip the warp off the peg and proceed to winding the warp on the loom using your preferred separation materials. Once you have your warp wound on and you begin to thread your holes cut only one loop at a time before threading. This may take a few more minutes but the rewards will be well worth doing it this way! So, you are wondering why, as you have noticed the yarn is made up of four individual threads not plied together. While this is one of the things that makes this yarn so great for weaving, it can also cause a bit of a problem with your warping. If you cut all the warp ends at one time you run the risk of not pulling the correct threads together when you thread the holes resulting in a not well-behaved warp (yes, I have had this experience).

When you have finished threading the heddle, its time to tie onto the front with your preferred method. You will be using the tie on ends for your fringe, so if you are tying the ends directly to the front apron bar make sure you have about 5” in the tie on. Spread your warp with waste yarn, this is my preferred method as it makes it easier to control the threads when I am knotting for fringe especially if I am not doing a hemstitch.

However, for this project I did hemstitch and then created the twisted fringe. I liked how the mohair looked in the basic hemstitch design.

But first, we need to weave our wrap! This is a lightly beaten weft, so when you beat your weft pick you are doing it gently. It is more of a placing of the weft at the fell line.

When you begin your weaving I highly recommend that you create a string measuring tool for your work. You can also clip a measuring tape to the warp, but I find that this works better for me. I use a contrast, cut to the length I need, piece of crochet cotton. To measure for this project: leave a 4” tail and tie a knot, then measure 90” from the knot and cut. The knot and tail will be threaded in the first row of weaving, using a tapestry needle thread the tail into the waste yarn for a few inches to secure.

This little string will answer the question “How far have I woven and how far do I have to go?” Make sure that you have recorded the length of the string on your Project Page along with all the other information you will need in the future. Such as, your materials, your heddle dent and width of project.

When you have woven far enough that you have the apron bar wound forward so you can see how much warp you have left, leave enough for fringe and put in a few picks of waste yarn to secure the warp. If you hemstitched at the beginning you can do that now before you remove the warp, if you decide after removing your warp from the loom that you want to hemstitch you certainly can!

Remember to measure your woven fabric after removing from the loom, and record on your project page. I like to twist the fringe before the wet finishing. Once you have finished the fringe, and woven in any ends, you are ready to wet finish. For this wrap I did a tub soak using Eucalan, while it is in the water I give it a few squishes to help encourage the fibers to work together and then let it soak for about 30 minutes. Then I squeeze it and then roll it up flat in a towel or two and hang to dry, I usually put it over the shower curtain rod. Yes, you can dry it flat, but here in the Pacific Northwest it dries better hanging. I do move it around a few times to keep it from getting kinked. And, I get to interact with the fabric and smile.

The information in this post is a guideline for your wrap. Weaving is a personal and individual process. You can make it wider narrower, longer or shorter! Remember you will have to adjust the amount of yarn you have for the weft. If your warp is wider or longer you will need to purchase an additional ball of weft yarn.

This picture highlights the airy and light nature of the fabric created by using the Lola and mohair together.

I hope you enjoy working with this amazing yarn, and remember this is only the first stop on our Lola Bobbel Box journey.

Weave on,                          

Cynthia          

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