Fun with indirect warp

Most of my rigid heddle warping has been done with the direct method, which involves a warping peg set at a distance from the loom (and a lot of steps back and forth between loom and peg). Here is an example of direct warping:

The other way to warp is called "indirect" (or at least, it has been since direct warping was invented - before that it was just called "warping"). It involves a warping board, which is a frame with pegs. You play around until you find a length around pegs that is the length you want, and you wind the yarn around the pegs. There are some advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Since Liz Gipson released a Patreon seminar on indirect warping, I decided to try the project. This method shines when you use multiple colors on the warp, perhaps infrequently, and don't want the threads to cross behind the heddle.

The indirect warping project is a scarf made from DK wool on an 8-dent heddle. The colors were wound one at a time. Here is how my warping board looked with the white yarn wound:

The warps are chained before putting them on the loom - here are two of my chains (the third one, using the pink accent yarn, was hardly worth chaining since I only had 4 pink warp threads).

And here is how the loom looked after I was done threading the heddle. I didn't love this mess or having to skip holes/slots to save room for the other colors in the pattern. There's another way to wind a warp that winds it in thread order, and I'll definitely try that next time.

After I got everything situated, though, I must admit that it was really nice to have every single thread in order both behind and in front of the heddle.

I didn't manage to take a single photo of this scarf while I was weaving it - and that's partly because it went pretty fast! Here is the finished object:

The very beginning is "tromp as writ," which means the weft follows the exact same color order as the warp. This creates a pleasing grid (maybe even a gamp? not sure):

Then half the scarf is woven with white, and the rest with the dark gray. I ran out of white a few inches before I should have changed colors, but it won't be that noticeable when it's on. I really love this warp thread order and the pattern it creates with a simple, solid weft color (which weaves quickly) - the first photo has the white weft and the second one has the gray:

Both are handsome!

As is my clothesline holder, who cheerfully agreed to model the finished scarf on a warm summer day:

Here are some notes I made during the project... things I want to remember for the future:

• My "cross" seems small and I would like to have more length between the cross and the cut ends. Maybe wind the cross over 3 pegs (not 2) next time?
• Tie the choke further away from the cross ends - like 20" not 15". I had hardly any length to tie onto the back apron rod.
• I find it awkward to tie onto the back apron rod. The space between the heddle in neutral position and the rod is quite small.
• Next time try winding in thread order.
• A big plus: I like being able to warp the loom without taking it off the stand. It's a pain for me to find a table to which I can clamp my loom for warping - leaving it on the stand is preferable.

Towels! Good ones!

Spoiler alert - here are my finished towels and I love them!

Now, the backstory... After buying a 25" Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom at MDSW last month, I was anxious to warp up a towel project and put the loom through its paces. And so I did. It was slow going at first (May is an overscheduled month in our family calendar), but gradually I figured it out.

The first bit of work was mental. I didn't have a pattern to follow and I wanted to use stash yarn, so I worked out warp and weft calculations from scratch. I wanted to make towels that measured 17.5 x 25" finished, as those are the size of the kitchen towels we love and use all the time. I added 10% for shrinkage and another 10% for take-up, an inch at each end for a turned hem, and extra length for loom waste. I knew exactly how much yarn I needed for one towel. The main thing I didn't know was how much yarn I had and whether it was enough.

I know how to figure out how much knitting yarn is in a partial ball, but I let the cardboard cone on weaving yarn scare me away from my usual math. The weavers in my knitting group say the cone weight is negligible and I could have proceeded as usual. I have yarn left over, so I could have made more than two towels... but when I was warping, I wasn't sure, so I only put on enough warp for two towels.

I used the direct warping method with the peg. This is 8/2 cotton, double-stranded on a 10-dent heddle. The warp length is 2.3 yards, and the width in the reed is 21". It took me a while to thread all those slots and holes! One advantage of working double strands is that you don't have to re-thread some of the slot threads into holds later - you just do it right on the first pass.

You can see that I went to some effort to make wide stripes in the warp. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to handle the weft, though, besides working the 1" hem ends in a single strand (for less bulk when folding under and stitching down). I made a guide out of a strip of paper. This was wound onto the fabric beam along with the fabric (with occasional pins) and let me know when to pay attention and do something different.

I ended up making the first towel with all white weft. It was nice to do something simple on the first piece, and really get the hang of weaving at this wider width. A 25" long stick shuttle is a big piece of wood to wave about.

For the second towel, I planned a striping pattern that sort of mimics what's happening in the warp. I used my guide to measure out distances and mark where to use which color. I am completely sold on using a guide like this. Another genius tip from Liz Gipson.

I also ordered a couple more 25" shuttles so that I could have one for each color. I used a hemstitch at both ends (a stitch that is done on the loom) so I could cut the warp threads pretty close in after wet finishing and before hemming by hand.

Did things go as planned? Mostly. My finished towels are not quite the same size. They are both 18 1/8" wide (I was aiming for 17.5"). One is 25 3/8" long, and the other is 25 7/8" long (I was aiming for 25"). I'm not sure how that 1/2" different crept in there because I used the guide, but it did. I might adjust my plans for next time.

My warp was ALMOST too short. In retrospect, I think the Flip needs a bit more loom waste than the Cricket does, because of the distance between the back apron rod in extended position and the down shed (this distance is 8-9" and it can be almost nothing on the Cricket). I only planned for 18" loom waste but I'll increase that next time.

I think my edges look mighty nice, if I do say so myself. 

I found one float on my finished towel that I didn't notice earlier, It's hardly noticeable and I certainly don't mind. Can you even see it? The float is light green:

Overall, I am thrilled with these towels. This is exactly what I envisioned making when I got the Cricket a few years ago. Finally my knowledge and skills have advanced enough to make what my mind's eye saw. I can't wait to plan the next set... which will be FOUR towels, not two!

Trying new things

I've been trying some new things lately, in hopes of tickling my brain and expanding my skills. One BIG thing I've been doing is weaving on my new loom! I'm almost done with a project and that will be my next post.

But for now, my Bedraggoned Hat is finished:

I made a size too big, so that's a little disappointing. I didn't check gauge, so bad on me. The hat isn't unwearable, but the brim isn't tight. It slides right down over my ears. I prefer a slouch hat that doesn't actually touch my hair on top, and this one just lays on my head. Oh, well. maybe I will find someone with a slightly bigger head that can wear it.

I loved working with this yarn, though. I'd kind of moved away from handpainted skeins, but this one was a beauty and perfectly suited for this project. Here is a photo of the fiddly brim as it is being worked. I am picking up purl bumps on the wrong side of the fabric with a spare dpn, and then k2tog-ing those picked up stitches with the live ones on the circular needle. That's what creates the "tucks" on the brim. It worked best to pick up 10-20 stitches at a time with the dpn, work them off, and then pick up more. I also found that using a smaller dpn than the project needle helped.

I have another Woolly Wormhead hat project in my queue, but I haven't started it yet.

Instead, I decided to try a crochet project. I know! Surprising! But truthfully, I've been crochet-curious for a little while now. When I saw the Grassmarket Shawl pattern featured in the Edinburgh Yarn Festival program (free!), I was attracted - both by the look of the finished shawl, and by the simplicity of the project (skill level is beginner). When I realized that my friend who crochets was going to be laid up recovering from surgery this summer, we both knew it was time for me to visit her AND get a crochet tutorial at the same time. I had some questions about the pattern.

You can see here that I've started the project twice. I got the green yarn (Fibre Co. Road to China Lace) at EYF and intended to use it for this. But it was hard for me to control the yarn. I used the specified hook (4.0mm, US G) and perhaps I should have gone smaller. A few nights ago, I decided to try using some leftover gray yarn (Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Lace). It was SO much easier and the crocheting was pleasurable, so I'm going to continue with that.

I suspect that I might enjoy the green yarn more if I went down a hook size or two. Even though both yarns are classified as "laceweight," the gray yarn is clearly much thicker. At least a light fingering, in my opinion. Also, the shade of green isn't really a color I would wear. (If it is your dream color, you should let me know!)

I am not typically prone to startitis, but I find I have a case of it now. I have two knit sock projects on the needles, this crochet shawl, some handwoven towels, my green-to-blue spinning project, and I've begun swatching for a knitted sweater, too. Yikes! If only I didn't have to go to work...