WEFT article index

If we are going to weave on a table or floor loom, we need some way of measuring the warp threads so they are all the same length, under tension or not. The most common options are warping boards and warping mills. Let’s delve into what they are, their advantages and disadvantages, and which one is perfect for you.

Laura Fry explains what a warping valet is and why it could change your weaving life.

A step-by-step photo guide to warping your loom front to back

Sleying errors are some of the most demoralizing things that can go wrong while dressing a loom. As you’re weaving your header, finally getting ready to start your project after all the work of warping, beaming, and threading, you notice ends sleyed in the wrong order, or the wrong number in a dent. Now instead of throwing a shuttle, you have to stop, sigh deeply, and dig your sley hook back out. Luckily, sleying errors are often easy to fix. Here’s how to move past them to the weaving part of weaving as painlessly as possible. This article covers identifying and fixing sleying order errors denting errors, and missed threads.

A step-by-step photo guide to warping your loom back to front

A supplementary warp is a secondary warp that can be used in conjunction with a ground warp but is tensioned separately. It’s sometimes called a compound weave. If a pattern requires a different take-up for different portions of the warp, using a supplementary warp can make that easy. This article will teach you what a a supplementary warp is, when to use one, and how! It also covers using a supplementary warp with and without a secondary beam.

Felicia explains what a warping trapeze is and why it could change your weaving life.

Interested in sectional warping? Felicia Lo explains what it is, why you might want to use it, and how do do it! In traditional warping techniques, a warp is measured using a warping board or warping mill and then wound onto the back beam of the loom all at once. With sectional warping, small sections of the warp are beamed one at a time until the entire width of the warp is complete. This comes with a few benefits: Smaller sections for wide warps, more consistent warp tension, short sessions for time-strapped weavers, and less work for long warps. Step-by-step photos will have you warping in no time!

Want to know what some of the best weavers use to separate their warps? This short series of articles has then telling you exactly what they do!

Turning a draft is magical and not so hard. This article walks you through exactly why you’d want to do it (sett, time, selvedge, drape, pattern, yarn effectiveness), how to do it, and which structures you can successfully turn.

Tying on is a wonderful of warping. It’s the last step before you can start weaving, and that’s exciting! But it can be frustrating, especially with a slippery or fragile warp or a loom that is just a little bit off square, and sometimes you have to go back and forth adjusting the tension two or three times to get it just right. It can make sampling hard because you don’t want to cut off a piece and have to re-tie and re-tension. Sometimes you have to cut a piece off the warp for reasons other than sampling, and knowing how to cut off without losing that perfect tension is useful. Knowing this technique is useful is so many situations and it’s quick and easy!

A step-by-step guide to making an easy and quick repair heddle

At the heart of weaving is the art and science of mastering even warp tension. Identifying and addressing warp tension problems early on in your project is key to achieving your weaving goals. Here, we’ll explore common signs of tension trouble, causes of tension trouble, and practical solutions to help you get your weaving back on track.

Hand painting your own warps gives you an incredible amount of freedom and flexibility. It gives you an opportunity to infuse your own creativity and flair into every piece you weave in a way that is unique to you. You can dive deep into your own style, which will develop and grow the more you do it. No two pieces will ever be identical. Here’s an easy to follow guide to painting your first warp!

A twill scarf like a hug using a handpainted warp on 8- or 12-shafts

Justin explains and teaches how to warp with multiple ends using historical method that he says may be tricky to pick up and can seem overwhelming at first. You might try it and want to go right back to winding with one end at a time. Learning a new skill can be hard, but once it clicks, you’ll save time and wear and tear on your body and join centuries of weavers from around the globe.

Justin, like pretty much every handweaver in the US today, was taught to insert packing between layers of warp, and he dutifully obeyed for hist first eighteen years of weaving. But as a studen of history and weaving, he’s found no mention of historical packing but instead a common technique for beaming a warp that doesn’t require any.

A step-by-step guide to warping back to front (just like Jane)

What is the best way to warp a loom? That’s an awesome question with many possible answers. We all learn to warp a loom from our very first weaving teacher, whether that be an in-person instructor, a book, or someone on the World Wide Web. Sometimes those experiences are great, and other times they leave us totally overwhelmed and in need of a stiff drink. Jane talks us through many many ways to warp a loom and encourages us all to find the way that works for us.

Yes, a warp can live forever and Madelyn shows you how in this step-by-step guide to tieing on a new warp to your old warp. Need a new threading? She cheekily suggests that you get a new loom.

This is a common instruction in many weaving projects and patterns, and one we often follow blindly. After all, if the instructions say so, there must be a reason to do so, right? Well, let’s talk a bit about floating selvedges, what they are, their advantages and disadvantages, and when they should and shouldn’t be added. 

Threading a loom is one of the most exacting steps in the weaving process. It requires focus, patience, and a keen eye for detail. We all know scoring that trifecta isn’t always possible! This article covers identifying and fixing threading errors along with best practices to avoid them!

This stunning project uses supplemental warps but more than that, Deb explains her simple and fool-proof system for using a supplemental warp. She talks about when and how to weight it, how to know if you’re using too much or too little weight, how to winde and beam the warp, and how to thread (sitting at the front or the back). She gives basic rules and troubleshoots the process and finally, you get to weave a gorgeous turned monk’s belt pillow.

Jane Stafford jumped at the opportunity to share her deepest thoughts on one of her favourite subjects. In her humble opinion, plain weave is the best weave structure in the world. She tells you why it’s so great and what it’s meant in her life including how it’s perfect for new weavers, it’s a comfortable canvas to grow from, how it’s a continuous teacher in her weaving life, how she’s made 1000 plain weave mohair blankets, and more.

Plain weave is often, in twenty-first-century American handweaving circles, regarded as a stepping stone to other structures. A requisite structure for an introduction, if that, but seldom a structure to be dwelt on, let alone to build a career on. This should come as no surprise, considering the position that handweaving occupies in this particular time and place. No longer a generator of essential textiles, handweaving is more novelty than utility. We weave by hand because we want to. If every handloom ceased operations the world would not go unclothed. Born out of creative impulse and curiosity, our time at the loom is often spent exploring the infinite possibilities for interlacing yarns. I don’t have any hard data, but my hunch is that very few American handweavers spend their entire weaving lives producing plain cloth. It gets left behind like those first strips of construction paper in an elementary school classroom. Too basic, too boring. Kid stuff. Over one, under one, over one, under one. Next. 

This article is one that every weaver should read. It is stunning.