There has been some chat in the Yarnworker Patreon community about how to visualize what happens when you lift or lower heddles or engage pick-up stick and heddle rods when using multiple heddles. Because of the all-in-one nature of the magical rigid-heddle that determines sett as well as the order of the ends, the yarns …
The fell is formed where the last laid weft pick is pressed into place. The fell line advances as the weaving advances. Crooked fell lines are the bane of rigid-heddle weavers. The rigid-heddle reed isn’t fixed in a straight line as the reed is on other loom types. Because of this, we rely on our …
I’m often asked about the best ways to measure your work as you weave. Although I’ve covered various methods in my books, patterns and classes, I have yet to write about this subject on the Yarnworker blog. Here is a round-up of my favorite ways to keep track of where I am. Markers When I first …
The more I teach, the more I learn. A few years ago, I wrote a post about how to create more space on your cloth beam. Since that time, I’d thought more about the issue and have a much simpler way to work this maneuver to create space on your cloth beam. This method is …
As I enter my fifth year of hosting weave-alongs, I’ve been musing on how we spend our time. Besides generally geeking out on all the things weaving entails, we seem to spend the most time talking about the endlessly fascinating topic of yarn selection, sett, and beat, or what I like to call, the weaver’s …
It doesn’t happen as often as you might think, but it does happen. Fixing a broken warp end is a relatively easy fix. To do this you will need to incorporate a supplemental warp yarn. Over the years my thinking has evolved on how to do this. The fundamentals haven’t changed, but how I manage …
You have been weaving along with nary a care in the world, and then suddenly the slot layer of your shed goes slack. It happens for lots of reasons. Here are three fixes that will get you out of a jam. Add A Supplemental Stick Looms without front and back beams can sometimes lose even tension …
To get the cloth you want, the secret is in the sett. Sett is the spacing of the yarn in the rigid-heddle reed. To guesstimate a balanced sett, where you have the same number of warp ends as you will weft picks, conventional wisdom has the weaver wrapping yarn around a ruler for an inch, …
We just wrapped up—pun intended—another weave-along, tackling the Hudson Bay Inspired Throw from Handwoven Home. It was our second doubleweave weave-along, this time tackling a larger, wider, and bulkier piece. I often get asked, “How much warp can I pack on my beam?” I included my answer to this age-old question on page 149 of …
There is nothing like browsing through shelves of yarn at shop that speaks weaving, and in particular, rigid-heddle weaving. I live in a small town and the only local yarn available is at Walmart, the local Alpaca farm, and the occasional yarn swap at my local guild. I’m about an hour and a half drive …
