October 14, 2013

Opalyn:


Inkle weaving progresses quickly and I want to share some details that I learned from reading about and weaving on my Inkle loom.

Progress

An Inkle loom is continuously warped which means that if the warp were a single color that there would be one thread wrapped around and around. As the band grows the weaving space decreases until you need to advance the warp.

Advancing the Warp

Start by loosening the tensioning peg then grasp the band that you just wove in your right hand and another section in you left and pull gently.

Advance the warp a bit more.

Grasp and pull again until you have moved most, but not all, of the weaving around the peg. Slide the string heddles up the warp threads.

Push the string heddles up.

Next, pull the tensioning peg forward and tighten the wingnut and you are ready to weave again.

Retighten the tensioning peg

As you weave, you will eventually run out of weft thread and have to start a new thread.

Ready to weave again.

Choose a place to change threads and put the weft thread through the shed but pull the thread out of the shed in the middle of the row. Then start the new weft thread in the same shed with at least a 1/4 inch overlap. This will allow for any shrinkage and prevent a gap in the weaving. Do not cut the threads unil after removing the project from the loom and washing it.

The woven fabric moves around the loom in the same path as the threading progressed.

Open the up shed with the right hand.

One suggestion that really helped was opening the up shed with my right hand and putting the shuttle through the shed with my left. Then using both hands to snug the thread into place and removing the shuttle with the right.

Opening the down shed with the left hand.

Then opening the down shed with my left hand and putting the shuttle through with my right. This pattern flowed well and increased my enjoyment as well as efficiency.

"Take-up" as demonstrated by the tensioning peg

When we started warping this loom we set the tensioning peg in the middle of the slot so that we could tightening the threads when we started weaving. Also as you weave, the warp threads travel around the weft threads therefore your finished project is shorter then the original threads and the warp threads shorten as the piece lengthens.

Cut the threads that go over the top peg and remove the string heddles.

I've finished weaving and woven my end weft thread in and am ready to remove my project from the loom. The easiest way is to cut only the threads that go over the top peg first then remove the string heddles from the warp threads and from their peg and put them away quick - before they get tangled.

Cut the rest of the thread and remove the band from the loom.

Next cut the rest of the threads and remove the fabric from the loom.

Weaving band is finished.

To finish the piece move over to your sewing machine and hem the ends.