I took some time to really think about and analyze this project – a new loom has many foibles and if I note them now, it will save time and warp in the future.
I was able to weave right up to 4 inches from the beater, but to do this I had to change from my Schacht end feed shuttle to a lower profile Leclerc boat shuttle.
I found that I could weave right up until the warp bar was almost touching the heddles on shaft 12.
One of the things I did learn about my Louet Spring was that with 2/8 cottolin – 10 yards of fabric brings me to within 2 inches of the bottom of the beater bar, so no long warps of 2/8 are in my future, it will be a 12 yard maximum. I think that I could get 15 yards of 2/10 or 2/16 warp yarn though; this is something that I'll have to bear in mind when planning my projects. The strings hanging out are my measurement markers - I put a tied piece of string every 5 inches to help me keep track.
I cut off and measured the unwoven warp that went through the heddles and got 12 inches of loom waste at the end of the project.
I also measured what was unwoven due to the front tie up and spreading of the yarn prior to weaving and found another 12 inches of waste. Not bad compared to my previous Scandinavian Countermarche loom. I had put on a slightly longer than 10 yard warp and off loom, unwashed I got 9 x 33 - 36 inch tea towels and 1 bread cloth about 22 inches long. So overall I had very little loom waste.
I also took a photo of the back of the warp as it shows a tendency for the thin metal rod supplied to bow. I will change it over to a 3/8 inch steel rod before I beam again.
3 comments:
You must have done a good job putting on your warp. When I have done a good job, that is what I can II on my Nilus II by Leclerc. But sometimes I have tension problems when the warp rod leaves the back beam and begins to approach the heddles. So I never trust that I am going to get that much and if I do I use it for sampling.
Congratulations on your first warp!
I am amazed at how close to the back of the warp and heddles you got.
I'll be happy to record my loom waste and we'll compare notes.
I'm going to have to find a machine shop and get some new apron rods as the supplied ones are too thin.
The towels look great and I'm looking forward to seeing the pattern up close once they are finished. Great job!
What's next? :)
Susan
Very interesting to see these photos and thoughts about how your loom works. I'm impressed by how little loom waste there is.
Coincidently, the 12 yard warp length max. is similar to the max. warp length for my warp board and some of the smaller warp winding wheels offered (such as the Louet). My Ashford warp board's max. is 11 yards.
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