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February 2, 9, 16, 17 and 23, 2018

Sandy - “Introduction to Weaving”

Maurine's

Fiber

Friends

I met Sandy Fulton at our January 13, 2018 Fiber Arts Guild meeting. She told me that she was interested in learning how to weave. I invited her to my home to show her exactly what she would be learning in my class.

I showed her the loom she would be weaving on. It’s a LeClerc Voyager 8 shaft 15 ¾” wide table loom. I told her that she would learn to wind her warp on my warping board and how to tie the cross very carefully with 5 different pieces of yarn. When that is all done I will teach her how to take her warp off the warping board by making a chain. We then will bring her chain over to my table and place the lease sticks into the cross. From the cross we thread the

heddles (needles) according to the pattern that I give to my students.

In this class they will have 4 different colors of warp and each color represents a different pattern. By the time they finish the class they will have 60 different woven patterns.

In my class I teach my students how to wind their warp starting at the back of the loom. I show them the direction to place their warp on the loom. Then we tie the lease sticks on each side of the loom and attach the warp onto the back beam. From there we thread the heddles, then the reed which determines how many threads per inch there are and then we tie the warp onto the front of the loom. We then check to make sure everything looks great and then they start weaving.

I give each of my students a loose leaf notebook with all of the patterns that they will weave in it. I teach them how to make a butterfly which is a figure-eight shape made out of yarn by using your fingers. For each pattern they make a butterfly which is glued into their loose leaf as a reminder for future reference what pattern goes with which color.

Sandy was a fantastic student. She learned very quickly. She was very anxious to buy her own looms. By the time the class was over she had purchased a table loom like the kind I had and a floor loom. I told her anytime she has a weaving question just ask me and I will help her.

Sandy is winding a butterfly as

a color sample for her warp.

Good job.

All 4 butterflies are wound and glued onto her instructions for threading her loom for 4 different patterns.

Sandy is winding her warp on my warping board. Color 1 is almost finished. The heavy green yarn on the warp is used to count every 20 warp ends.

Color 2 is wound.

Sandy is counting her warp ends.

Color 3 is completed and Sandy is winding Color number 4.

Sandy is tying the cross with 5 pieces of yarn. The cross enables the weaver to easily thread the loom in the correct order for the pattern.

The cross and the two yards below are tied too.

Looking great. Next is to make a chain which takes the warp off the warping board.

The chain is made from the warp.

The lease sticks are put into the cross on the chain and attached to each side of the loom.

Front view of the loom.

Sandy is removing the 5 pieces of yarn from the cross.

She is now separating her warp on the back of the loom and arranging

it on the raddle which separates the warp into 1 inch sections.

View from the front of the loom.

Sandy is sitting at the front of the loom holding her warp nice and even so it can be wound onto the back of the loom separated with paper for each layer of the warp.

The warp at the front of the loom must be straighted out very carefully.

View from the back of the loom - straightening out

the warp before winding it onto the back of the loom.

More straightening out is done.

When the amount of warp you want is wound onto the back of the loom, cut the warp loops on the front of the loom so it will be ready for threading the heddles.

A very happy student.

Sandy has started to thread her warp through

the heddles according to the pattern I gave her.

View from the back of the loom.

The warps for the first pattern

are threaded through the heddles.

Back view.

Day 2 - Sandy is threading her second pattern which is white.

Back view of her threading her second pattern.

Threading color 3 which is her third pattern - rear view.

Front view of threading pattern 3 through the heddles.

Pattern 4 is being threaded through the heddles back view.

Front view- Sandy is threading pattern 4 through the heddles.

Heddles are all threaded - rear view.

Heddles are all threaded- Front View. Beautiful job.

Sandy is sleying color 2 through the reed.

She is sleying the last color through the reed.

Looks fantastic from the back of the loom.

Heddles are threaded, reed is sleyed, next step is

to tie onto the cloth beam on the front of the loom.

Warp is tied onto the front of the loom.

Threading was checked and now lease sticks can be removed from the loom.

Sandy tied a bow around each set of warps making sure

that her warps were nice and straight and tight and even.

Waste yarn is woven into the shed to bring any openings in

her warp together. Next step is to start to weave her sampler.

Day 3 - Sandy opens the shed by pulling down 2 levers on her loom in order to make a space to throw her shuttle which contains her weft yarn on a bobbin.

Color number 2.

See how the pattern changes.

Color number 3 is woven.

On one sheet of paper Sandy makes butterflies of her weft

colors. On another sheet she writes down the colors she

is using which is next to the treadling or weaving pattern.

Weaving continues.

Day 4 - Sometimes the pattern looks better when

you turn it over and look at the reverse side.

Sandy is winding her bobbin on my bobbin winder for her next pattern.

Her orange weft has been woven on the loom.

Day 5 - Sandy continues to weave her different patterns.