In an attempt to save the warp without re-sleying, I tried hairspray (didn’t work), dryer sheets (didn’t work), and spray-in hair conditioner. The spray-in conditioner seems to have done the trick, at least partially – it’s unstuck the warp to the point where I can work with it, albeit cautiously and with stuck threads every 6-7 picks. it’s slow but at least it’s weavable. I think that if I can crank the tension up, it will be manageable.
Which gets to the difficult part. I can’t seem to get the tension high enough. AVL thinks my tension spring may have “sprung”, and is sending me another one. However, they won’t be able to ship until Monday. Which leaves me stuck in the interim.
I’ve tried converting to a live-weight tensioning system, but have discovered there isn’t enough friction around the brake drum using the cord that came with the loom to support enough weight to tension the loom properly. I may try again using a different (thinner) cord that will wrap more times around the brake drum. I bought some Mason line so i can do that relatively easily. But after spending two hours fiddling with it yesterday, I’m not inclined to fiddle more for awhile.
So, I may wind up waiting until AVL sends me that new spring.
Meanwhile, however, I have not been idle; I’ve been limping along with a mildly-stuck warp and somewhat soggy tension. I have woven these two samples:
The photo really doesn’t do the light-colored warp justice, though: it shimmers with iridescence, perhaps a combination of the weave structure and the pearl colors. I like it a lot, though it mostly shows off the weft color and the warp color is more of a background. Not a loss; the weft colors are also beautiful. I do think I will try this for one of the shawls.
The beauty of the light-colored warp is perhaps more visible in this close-up, which shows off the blue/green/white colors:
Please ignore the long and unsightly skips; they resulted during the worst of my sticky-warp problems. I was mostly sampling for color at that point, so the skips didn’t bother me (much). It’s much better in the black-weft section, as you can see.
For network drafted rosepath, I suggest using a tie-up that lifts fewer than half of your shafts. This should make it easier to separate that part of the warp. You will see more weft on the top face and more warp on the other side when the piece is turned over.
Woven iridescence is great fun. Loosen tension and play with the fabric a bit to see the colors change.
You could take sandpaper (not fine) to the drum to make the cord grip more.
Bonnie Inouye
Ooh Wow! Beautiful color interplay. I can’t decide if the black or the lighter colors better, as you said, do them both. So pretty. I love that first moment when you sit down to weave the first few ‘real’ picks and the manifestation of what you imagined in your head comes to life in the actual cloth. It’s so beautiful, I can’t wait to see it when it’s off the loom!
I had trouble at one point a year ago with the tension not holding. The problem turned out to be the spring. I don’t remember anymore whether I bought a new one from the hardware store or go one from Leclerc. But it fixed the problem.