Warping Back To Front

There is more than one way to skin a cat!  For all you animal lovers out there - no cruelty intended in that pun - but yes there are a number of ways to get that looooong warp onto your loom ready to weave.  As time goes on and you encounter various types of looms and learn their idiosyncrasies you will also discover that what works well for one loom/yarn may be different for another type of loom/yarn.

The whole idea is to get the warp, under tension and neatly in order onto your back warp beam.  Now if you find yourself considering some of the following things ie: the warp width, do I have three people to help me beam?, am I beaming alone?, I don't have a raddle (a what?), I have shaft support wires that run in the middle of my loom, do what the Swedish way?........ slow down and take it one method at a time!

If there is one method that works for almost all situations it is beaming back to front using a raddle (a device with pins or posts that lays across the back beam and spaces out the warp to the width you will be weaving).  It can be a nice store bought one with a nice cap, or a simple DIY with nails or dowels using rubber bands to keep your sections of yarn in place.

Place the warp apron rod in the end of the warp, and insert lease sticks in your cross.  

The apron rod will hang behind the raddle as you are facing the back of the loom (secure it with some string if necessary).  Your warp will be draped in front of you.  The next step is to  center your warp using the guide string or to measure to one end of the raddle.  For example; my warp  is 24 ends per inch, I would find the center of the raddle and measure 12 inches out (half of 24).  My raddle has pins spaced every half inch.  So 24 div by 2 = 12 ends per space. 

Use a folded piece of paper over the raddle pins to rest the warp on to prevent it getting caught in the pins while you are spacing the warp.  Choose your groups of threads using the cross at your lease sticks.  Use a rubber band over the top of the pins to prevent your raddled threads from coming out until you have finished the whole warp.

When the warp is spread you can interlace a lashing thread to attach the apron rod to the rod that is through the end loop of the warp.  That way when you start to beam the rods tied securely together.

Once you have spread the warp and secured the rods together, replace the raddle cap onto the raddle.  This secures the threads.  The warp is now ready to be beamed.  Keeping the warp under tension, start to wind onto the warp beam placing warp sticks - two to each revolution.  The wider your warp you will need someone to assist you in holding the tension.   Remove the raddle and position your warp ready for threading.

 NEXT: For wider warps when you have no help!    If your loom has no obstructions through the shafts or over      the shafts you can still beam back to front but feed the warp from the front - use weights to tension - and beam back to front.  Simply bring the warp from the front (if you are at the front of the loom your warp will be hanging on the floor).  Take the ends with lease sticks and the beam rod through the loom to the back and hang the beam rod over the front of the raddle (you are now looking at the back of the loom).  The lease sticks will be behind the raddle and the apron rod in front of the raddle.   Same process as before, place your threads in groups throughout the raddle using the cross to make your selections.  Then Secure the warp apron rod to the warp beam rod by lashing.  Temporarily secure your lease sticks and then go to the front of the loom.  

Divide the warp into sections make a choke tie around the warp group and hang a weight (I use S hooks and a weight).  Do this across the warp width until the warp is evenly tensioned.  Start to beam as usual, when the weights reach the front breast beam,  slide the ties down the warp with the weights and beam that length of warp until it is all finished.  See following photos: