It All Looks Rather Confusing?

The problem with this style of drawloom set up is - 2 warps initially and two sets of harnesses to be threaded!  I chose gold and brown carpet warp (strong and inexpensive) and the warp is in blocks of 10 threads per color alternating for 360 ends.  Now it has to be beamed and I need an apron for the overhead drawcord beam.

As I am studying for a fitness certification - it may be another week before I get to it.

I'm Beaming!

Warp ready to be spread in raddle

Using paper to support the warp chain whilst selecting bouts to be placed in raddle

Spreading the warp - each space = 1/2 inch, 16 epi = 8 ends per space

Warp spread, the lease sticks were removed due to yarn furring together when winding on, I used the portee cross to spread the warp on the raddle, I will beam without sticks until I reach the porrey cross at the opposite end of the warp chain and replace the lease sticks

beaming using sticks and paper (note the snazzy new beam made by moi!)

Once I arrive at the porrey cross I re-insert the lease sticks

BEAMED! (less than 10 mins for a 7 yard warp)

After yesterdays (I'd like to pretend I didn't even do that) experiment, I decided some nice fulled merino scarves might allow me to redeem myself!  I prepared a warp for 2/18 Merino at 16 EPI on the new live weight tension beam.

Damask - Setting Up The Loom

I am preparing a warp for the 10 shaft damask attachment on the Glimåkra loom.  Below you can see the warp beamed and ready to be threaded through the back set of pattern harnesses.

The set up for damask is a 6 shaft 6 unit threading.  That is a 6 shaft ground damask with a 6 thread unit on the pattern heddles.


Here is a view of the pattern heddles being threaded.  The warp was prepared with 3 threads in the cross.  Therefore one complete "there and back" of the threads results in 6 threads (2 sets of 3).

Above - the pattern heddles being threaded. The pattern heddles are grouped into units (4-8 depending on ground weave) and joined at the bottom by a lingo weight.  

once all the pattern heddles are threaded, the beater, knee beam and breast beam are removed and the ends are selected from one of the pattern heddles (also using the lease stick threading sequence as a guide) and then the same end goes through one ground heddle on shafts 1-6.  Each end is threaded two times - once through the pattern heddle and once through the ground heddle

The ground threading goes rather quickly as the heddles have long eyes and can be threaded by hand without a hook.  The threads are then dented in the reed and attached to the cloth beam.

The shafts (both sets) are then adjusted in height.

Here it is in a little more detail:

More detail: Double harness & Damask weaving - loom has two sets of shafts: In the back of the loom are the pattern shafts (10-100) which hold the pattern threads, and the regular shafts on the countermarch using long eye heddles (2/3 inch eye)  in the regular shaft location.  


The pattern heddles are grouped into 6 per unit (or unit determined by weave) and are weighted by a lingo (long heavy looped hook to weigh down pattern shaft unit). The entire warp is threaded, 1 thread thru 1 pattern heddle grouped into 6 - joined by a weight whilst being held on a temporary holding shaft. 


The units once threaded are dispersed onto the pattern shafts according to the pattern drawdown (can be anywhere from 10 to 100 shafts - the more shafts the more of an extension the loom requires).  Even once the weaving has begun, the pattern units can be re-distributed to create a different pattern sequence such as straight draw, pointed repeat or single large point.

Then the regular ground shafts are put back in place (these use long eye heddles but regular length of 11.5 inches long.  The warp which is already threaded thru the pattern heddles on separate shafts from the regular ground shaft, is then threaded in a straight draw as with normal weaving (ground weave is a 6 shaft satin)  Denting and tying onto the apron is done in the usual way. Therefore; each thread is threaded through two sets of heddles - one pattern and one ground.

The long eye heddles allow the back group of pattern shafts to manipulate the threads whilst allowing the ground weave front shafts to move.  The blog was a very brief synopsis of the type of weave.  I have a few resources on damask if you would like to know more.

Tying One On (A new warp that is)

I usually beam my new warp and tie the new to the old at both sets of lease sticks while sitting inside the back of the loom.  This method is preferable for the larger AVL and Toika.  However, late last night I had an epiphany!  My Toika has a warp crank at the front of the loom which can release or tighten warp!  As I am making narrow scarves so I can now knot the new warp to the existing at the reed and wind the warp under tension while sitting at the front of the loom.

 

This is a view of the back side of the warp advance on the Toika loom.