So, I made a disastrous attempt at re-beaming the warp today. I had previously removed the lease sticks, out of frustration with having to disentangle the warp behind the lease sticks every inch and a half, figuring I could always put them back in later. Otherwise I would have had to advance in one-inch increments, which would have been a real pain.
In retrospect, of course, those lease sticks were in there for a very good reason: to keep the tangles from reaching the heddles.
So, of course, as soon as the tangles reached the heddles, warp threads started snapping.
I’m now in a difficult position. I can’t go forward, because of the tangling. But I also can’t go back, because of the tension problems. I think they would be less problematic than they were in the first half of the warp, but there’s no guarantee that the problem wouldn’t crop up again.
So I am leaning towards cutting off the remaining warp, and starting over.
Benefits of starting over:
- I could take a break from weaving this particular pattern. After a couple of months it’s starting to feel pretty stale.
- I could warp up for some quick samples for the two Complex Weavers articles I promised to write (due August 16), that would make the articles much stronger/more interesting.
- I could fix the problem with the warp beam that was giving me conniptions the last time I wound on.
- I could play around with the Summer and Winter pattern that Sharon Alderman was nice enough to develop for me, and figure out what I wanted to do with the coat pattern.
Benefits of staying the course:
- Not having to re-wind twenty-four 12-yard sections and re-thread nearly 2300 heddles (!). Not to mention re-sleying, fixing threading mistakes, etc.
On the whole, though, I think cutting off the warp and starting over is the better idea. But I’m going to leave it as it is until after I get back from Laura’s.
Which is only THREE DAYS away!! I can’t believe it. Can hardly wait.
I am surprised you are having tension problems. How come? I thought you have warping wheel and that was “IT’ for even tension. I am considering one…..was it problems with the warping wheel? or?
I left the lease sticks in the warp ONCE on the very first warp on my very first floor loom. They caused so many tension problems (it was a fine wool warp) that I gave up on them forever. Never use the lease sticks except to hold the cross for threading. After that, I pull them out and forget about ’em. Between the warping wheel and sectional beaming, my warps always behave politely. Especially on a loom with a short distance from the heddles to the back beam, I think the lease sticks just shorten the distance that could be a better shed.
I do hope you are planning to blog from Laura’s and show us what you are doing/learning!
I always remove the lease sticks before weaving as they shorten the distance needed to create a good shed. One thing that you might try before giving up on the remaining warp, is to try creating a shed and inserting lease sticks behind the heddles. Or, perhaps an even better things would be to try gently pulling the warp forward with some shafts raised. This may mean tying up some of the shafts–disconnect the springs at the bottom of the shafts.
If you go the route of removing the warp entirely, try to make a cross or at the very least chain up small sections and you may be able to recycle them later. Been there and done some of that. 🙂
Tien, I think it is good to just let this sit and let your subconscious process this.
I keep my lease sticks in. I get a great big shed with the LeClerc loom so that is not an issue. One of the reasons I keep them in is for the very reason you suggest, Tien. If there is going to be a problem it is much easier to fix at the lease sticks than at the heddles. This did actually happen to me once on this warp. I couldn’t get the warp to move forward. I checked the lease sticks. A small group of theads had gotten kind of crossed up at the lease sticks. I straightened them out and everything went fine. I was grateful for the early warning.
Some people who have looms that don’t have such big sheds keep their lease sticks at the back, between the back and the beam.
They have never caused me tension problems. The only thing that has caused me tension problems is less than perfect beaming on of the warp.