In A Weaver’s Guide to Yarn I start with sett. Understanding warp density’s effect on cloth is where the rubber meets the road, or in our case, the yarn meets the loom. Sett is the number of warp ends within an inch of the rigid heddle reed. Because rigid-heddle weavers often double up our ends in …
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 …
I met Sarah Anderson a few years ago at a National NeedleArts trade show, where she as promoting her book The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs. As a spinner, I have long admired Sarah’s work in making sculptural, highly functional yarns. She introduced me to the wonders of xanthan gum as a sizing material—a coating …
On January 1st of this year, I woke up and decided I was going to weave an item for every room in my house. I mean this quite literally—I sat bolt upright in bed with total conviction that I was going to do this. The idea quickly turned into a book proposal that my publisher snapped …
In weaving we talk about “beating your yarn” a lot. I try to avoid using this phrase as it send the wrong message. It refers to what most of us think of as “weaving”, using the rigid-heddle to press the weft into place. Perhaps a more accurate instruction is to “place the weft”. Beating too hard means you end …
Recently a colleague, who works on the knitting side of the craft, asked me what is up with Wraps Per Inch? There appears to be so much misinformation about how to use this measurement. I had such fun answering this question that I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you. In my …
