Zoom session from Sunday June 30, 2024, 7pm

Led by Debbie Cummings, moderated by Ann Rader

Mixing Fibers

This Hangout primarily focused on fiber choice and mixing fibers. As Robyn Spady had just issued her most recent edition of Heddlecraft, we referenced her, as a highly accomplished weaver, and cited comments in the Heddlecraft article by Gail Pilgrim. Plug for subscribing to Heddlecraft (https://heddlecraft.com/), a digital magazine that includes wifs (Weaving Information Files, digital drafts that can be used in weaving software)—only $19.99 for six issues or $35.99 for 12 issues.

Multiple fibers can be mixed but as a general rule, alternate/incorporate frequently enough (in warp) so they won’t create noticeable shrinkage inconsistencies. So avoid wide stripes of different fibers; instead alternate 1-to-1 or 1-to-2 in the warp.

Mercerized versus Unmercerized Cotton; Linen
To make mercerized cotton, a gas is applied to the yarn to “burn off” fuzziness. The process also gives the cotton strength. It starts as less absorbent initially but with repeated washings will become as absorbent as unmercerized cotton.

Linen sheds no lint, so is ideal for tea towels that will be used to wipe clear glass. Linen tends to be springy or wiry—it has more energy than cotton.

Cottolin is 60% cotton and 40% linen together in one strand.

There was lots of discussion about the appropriateness of fibers, alone and in combination. Much of this concerned cotton, cotton and linen, and cotton plus cottolin. These three are good choices for towels, regardless of mercerized or unmercerized, as they absorb water.

Because animal fibers (wool, alpaca) repel water, they do not make good towels but instead provide warmth. You can mix wool and alpaca as well. But if you use one fiber for’ the warp and another for the weft, shrinkage differences are minimized as compared to wide warp stripes or weft stripes as mentioned earlier. Be sure to sample first and make adjustments prior to weaving the entire warp length.

Sampling
Debbie gave guidelines for sampling, not only for specific projects but as a general rule. She suggested putting on more than an extra yard to make samples. Her example was based on a 24” warp width –

To calculate draw-in, take-up, and shrinkage:

WIDTH
• Measure width in the reed. (Can also calculate via: total ends divided by epi)
• Weave about a foot and measure the width on the loom about 1/2 way between the fell line and the breast beam. If you started with 10” and are now at 9.5”, draw-in is 5%.
• To calculate shrinkage, remove your sample from the loom, measure the width, wet finish, and then measure again. If your width off the loom was 10” and you measured 9” after wet-finishing, your draw-in and shrinkage is 10%.

LENGTH
• Measure woven length on the loom.
• Remove from loom and measure woven length (the difference is take-up).
• Wet-finish and measure once more. The difference between off-loom length and after wet-finish length is shrinkage. The difference between on-loom length and after wet-finish length is combined take-up plus shrinkage.

Record results for fiber and for pattern. Keep a record of this and you’ll create a database of information that will enable you to repeat your work reliably.

How large a piece to sample? For a 24” wide warp, aim to weave a sample at least 10” long. For narrower warps, aim to weave a square. In this sampling portion, you can play with colors so it does double duty in helping you to choose weft colors.

Sampling also helps you to determine if your sett is correct. Re-sley to a denser sett if the cloth is to loose. Re-sley to a wider sett if your cloth is too stiff.

Something to know about Handwoven’s Master Yarn Chart – the suggested setts are based on articles in Handwoven. If you have a hard beat, you may need to sett more densely. The Master Yarn Chart also does not include what sort of fabric (scarf, tea towel, blanket, rug) was woven which can also affect sett—another reason to sample.

Your Shed
There was a question about fibers in the shed ‘sticking together’ specifically in plain weave when using “hairy” yarns like recycled yarns or mohair (i.e., you aren’t getting a clean shed). There are several solutions:
(1) You may have sett your warp too densely—re-sley to a wider sett.
(2) Instead of using only 2 shafts to weave plain weave (1-2), thread 1-2-3-4 across four shafts. Then raise 1-3 and then 2-4.
(3) If you still can’t get a clean shed, raise the shafts individually (raise shaft 1, then raise shaft 3 to get the first shed; raise shaft 2, followed by shaft 4 to get the second shed)

Reeds
Discussion of reeds—how many reeds do you need and which ones to get first? It depends on what type of weaving you do. If you have an 8-dent reed, you can easily weave 8 epi, 16 epi, 24 epi. If you have a 10-dent reed, 10 epi, 20 epi, 30 epi, 40 epi are easy. If you use primarily thick yarns, you may need a 6-dent reed.

But regardless of what size reed you have, you can consult the reed substitution chart in the spiral bound Weaver’s Companion (it appears to be out-of-print but can be purchased as an E-book). The reed substitution chart will tell you how to sley your reed. Say you have a 12-dent reed and your warp needs to be 32 epi. The reed substitution chart tells you to sley 3-3-2 (3 threads in the first dent, 3 threads in the next dent, and 2 threads in the dent after that).

Single or double beat, and on open or closed shed?

Beating on an open or closed shed: Possibly something automatic, like driving a stick shift and trying to analyze when to press the clutch. Personal preference, structure, and selvage may influence decision. Double beat or beat/change shed/move beater back to castle: densely-sett warps, springing weft, or weave structures like overshot and doubleweave fall into this category.

It was clear that as the hour was winding down, a discussion on beaming on and maintaining appropriate tension was going to take some time. It will be a good place to start next time.