Who knows what causes a difficult warp to behave. Whether the weaver comes to grip with the combination of tension and beating a warp requires, or whether eventually they get tired of proken threads and swap them out, sometimes persistance pays off.
This warp is the one of random ends of old 60/2 silk that I've been working on for a while. It's given me a lot of trouble with broken warp threads, and also with twists in sets of warp threads from the way I beamed the warp (the idea of winding sets of six threads on a cone and treating them as a single thread for sectional warping clearly needs refining). The fist scarf I wove on this warp had a lot of broken threads which will require mending when I finish it. Even the start of this scarf gave me a lot of trouble with broken warp threads in the first couple of inches - until I realised that all of the breakages were happening in my new substitute ends. I was replacing good silk thread with weak!
I'd really begun wondering whether persisting with this warp was worth it, or whether I should just bite the bullet and cut it off - but the realisation that it was the substitute ends causing the problem now and replacing them all fixed the problem (that was not the case with the first scarf, as it was the weaker beamed ends that were breaking). It's been a long, slow process, done in between work, a couple of very social weekends and yet another cold. Having swapped out all the weak ends, I've now woven several feet of this scarf without any problems. The design is a treadle-controlled undulating twill of my own design, woven on a straight threading.
I had, once I'd finished this warp, planned to tie on another 60/2 silk warp to it to do another series, this time in blues and greens. But there are so many substitute threads hanging from the back of the loom now, that trying to replace those on the beam would be more of a headache than it's worth. So now it's off to the drawing board to see which of many incipient projects I'm going to do next instead - I suspect it's going to be playing with more handspun.
Oh, that is looking lovely! I'm afraid I laughed a little when you said about replacing good yarn with bad in your broken ends - sounds totally like something I'd end up doing. Happy planning!
ReplyDeleteWell done for persevering, it looks very lovely in the photo, but I do understand why you will want to use a different kind of warp next!
ReplyDeleteThat is just gorgeous!! I'm not always a fan of undulating twill - but that is a gorgeous design you've created!
ReplyDeleteForgive me for being the teensiest bit glad to hear that I'm not the only one who sometimes has all kinds of stuff hanging off the back of the loom by the end of a warp. (Not that I wish difficult warps upon you at all!!)
Thanks Alison - it looks far more reasonable than it did the other week! I can't believe it took me forever to figure out what was happening.
ReplyDeleteDorothy: I'd happily weave into the same warp again, but tying on as I'd planned just isn't going to work...so I may as well think more about the next threading.
Sue: You should have seen my loom a week or so ago - I really should have taken a picture. Dozens and dozens of things hanging off the loom, both front and back. Absolutely every odd object I could find that weighed about an ounce.
Lovely stuff. Very feminine. Congrats!! You should give yourself a few loving compliments.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this has given you so much grief, but it certainly is beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! You have a really good attitude. I suspect there would be way more wailing and gnashing if this warp had happened to me, and I'd probably have settled for silk potholders!
ReplyDeleteI have experienced the same dilemma with weak warp. I usually hang in there stubbornly but I can think of at least once when I had to give up. A slightly lesser tension seems to help. Sometimes. I wouldn't give up on any silk warp if I could help it though! Finding a reason for the breakage certainly seems to help mentally at least.
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