Tien Chiu

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Time for Plan B

So, I got the reed sleyed and tried again:

120/2 silk warp sample, sett at 92 epi
120/2 silk warp sample, sett at 92 epi

As you have probably noticed, the problem with breaking threads is just as bad as before. I persevered for about six inches, and then (just for thrills) decided to time myself.  2.5 inches took 41 minutes, 37 seconds, and at least twenty broken threads (I stopped counting at 20).  At that rate, for 20 yards (720 inches), it would take me approximately…uh, how long does it take for two people to eat one ham?

(190 hours, if you’re curious, at least for this value of “forever”.)

I don’t think it’s a problem with the yarn, nor is it a problem with tension or other whatnot.  The sheds open (for the most part) cleanly, though occasionally two threads do get stuck together.  Therein lies the problem.  If you hit the stuck threads with the shuttle, they will break.  If you try to go through a shed with lots of stuck threads, you break a godawful number of threads at once.  (My personal record is five with a single throw!)

While I do believe it is possible to weave with 120/2 silk (Lillian has the absolutely-gorgeous-to-die-for work to prove it), and I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with the silk, it’s either beyond my skills or beyond my patience at this time.

(Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the effects you can get with a 120/2 silk warp…and I plan to try it again in the near future…but not for that quantity of yardage and not when working to a deadline.)

So now we go to the fallback plan, which is 60/2 silk at a more reasonable sett, say something in the 60-70 epi zone.  The sett table in Peggy Osterkamp’s book suggests that for 70/2 silk, 17,000 yards per pound, 64 epi is appropriate for a fairly densely sett piece (80% of maximum).  The 60/2 silk I have is a trifle thicker, 15,000 yards per pound, so figure something like 60-62 would be appropriate.

I’d kind of like to do 72 epi, (because that would fit three repeats nicely into a 1″ section), but I think that would REALLY be pushing my luck.  So I think I will fall back and do 60 epi, 2/dent in the 30-dent (actually 120/10 metric) reed I just bought.  It won’t be nearly as delicately pretty as the 120/2 silk but it will be one heckuva lot faster, which is important, because I really WOULD like to get married someday.  🙂

(In case you’re wondering, we still haven’t set a date, and probably won’t until I’m employed again, as it seems somewhat unwise to schedule a big expensive party when the finances are uncertain.)

So, I will drop a note to Lillian seeing if she has any further thoughts, but meanwhile start preparing to cut the sample warp off the loom and wind a new one in 60/2 silk.  12″ wide x 60 epi = 720 threads, a very manageable number, at least compared to this last warp.  I’m hoping to get it onto the loom in one all-out, gosh-darn-golly-whiz intensive day on Wednesday.  (Tomorrow I am visiting with some friends from India and running some errands.)

So stay tuned, soon there will be ANOTHER sample warp, and then (dare I say it?) hopefully some real YARDAGE!!

Comments

  2. For plain weave evenly balanced fabric I have found 60 epi works very well. When I have wanted it just ever so slightly warp dominant, I have woven it at 54 epi. For twill, I find 72 epi works very well, if only because it nicely gives me 4 ends per dent in my 18-dent reed!
    Sorry about the 120/2. When you decide to give it a go again, you might try a very narrow scarf. Narrow warps are much less problematic than wide warps, so they are better to learn on.

  3. Tien, this is frustrating to read. You’re such a good weaver. It’s very frustrating to want to accomplish something with the speed you are used to going at … and for you that means “warp” speed!
    Before you ditch that warp try inserting something into the shed to open up and “unstick” the threads. Then throw your shuttle. You’ve probably already tried this and I’m being redundant but it might be worth a try. Maybe treating it like a very sticky mohair would work, too. Kathy

  4. Last year I had a long, problematic warp too. I had to use a “weaving sword” to clear the shed before each shuttle pass, and I was using TWO shuttles.

    For the first few yards, I was whacking the top of the harnesses with an EFS to try and dislodge the hang-ups. It felt great to unleash my frustration, but somewhere around 5 yards, I realized I had permanently dented all 12 harnesses on top! So I took a beveled lease stick and used it to clear the shed before throwing the shuttle. Yeah, it was painfully slow, and I think wove a total of something like 10 more yards with that method. It was not as fine or wide as your warp, but it was densely sleyed. I loved the final product, but not real happy or eager to go down that same path anytime soon!