Fixing a Broken Warp Thread – 12 Shaft Advancing Twill

I put on enough charcoal grey 2/8 Tencel warp to make two scarves.  I finished weaving the 12 shaft advancing twill scarf in scarlet and now I needed to audition some wefts for the second scarf.  The choices are a bright blue, red violet, straw, gold and taupe.

I went with the gold, in the picture it is the second one from the bottom.  I honestly don’t know why I thought the taupe would go with the grey.  I guess that day I saw more yellow in it and thought that it could be a substitute for gold.  I don’t know what I was thinking or seeing!

I changed the treadling for this scarf.  I lengthened the vertical lozenge of the cross for a better balance between the arms of the cross.  I also like the large table that is created under the arms.

There was some excitement while weaving this scarf.  When I was about 10 inches from finishing the scarf I heard a snap – I had broken a warp thread.  I don’t think that I have ever broken a warp thread before.  It was on the left side and the third thread in from the edge.  You can see the shredded thread in the picture.

To fix the broken warp thread I pulled the broken thread out of the reed and heddle.  I then placed a weighted film canister on the end to approximate the tension of the warp for the other half of the warp thread.  I pulled replacement charcoal thread and put it through the heddle and reed.  I pinned the replacement to the woven scarf with lots of extra thread.  The extra thread will then be needle woven in after the scarf is off the loom.

Dangling from the back of my loom were three film canisters – one a floating selvedge and the other two from the broken warp and they were going to twist.

So I made a quick separator.  I used a piece of card stock and cut a rectangle with three slots in it.

It keeps the threads separate and under control.  Sorry for the poor picture quality.

Here is the only photo I’ve got with the two scarves side by side.  I had to do some needle weaving on both of them before they could be wet finished.  I think that they are looking good!

Here are some photos of the finished project.  The gold scarf has a luscious gleam to it.  For Sale.

Final photograph was taken during a morning walk last week.  It is Steller’s Jay, which has a black head and upper body but the rest of the body is bright blue.  It is the provincial bird for British Columbia.  There was actually four in the tree!