Well... it's being a learning curve. I'm finally warping that collapse weave project.  Does anyone have any hints for dealing with the active yarns? In this case they're a Habu overtwist wool, very fine. It's on the loom and I"m threading, but I feel like I"m untwisting/unentagling the same threads over and over.. once to separate them on the lease sticks so I can count out a group, then again as they get threaded into the heddles, and I imagine again as they get sleyed.  I supposed I could thread them as I separate them. Weighing them to keep them under tension get's weird because the clamp just spins around. I'm sure there's a solution. And I'm surprised at how patient I've become.. but if anyone has a tip. I'm all ears!!

marie

Comments

weaver-dyer (not verified)

Place some "Duck" tape, sticky side up, on the breast beam or shuttle race and place a thread on the tape after it goes through the heddle and on the shuttle race after it goes through the reed.  It is slow, but the threads are kept in order and under enough tension that they don't spring back on themselves.  Marcia Kosmerchock shared this in a workshop that she taught on collapse weaving.

Janet

ingamarie

Hmmm. I"ll try to adapt that. I'm sitting INSIDE  a big glimåkra-- on the knee beam, so the breast beam is behind me and the beater is off the loom.. maybe something on the shaft.

I remembered later, but can't find, an article in Väv with pictures of Lotte Dalgaard where she has a piece of string tied around her waist and the ends are tucked in there to keep some tension. I can see doing that as I get them sorted off the lease sticks, then onto the tape after they're threaded.  

Experimenting. Love it.

 

marie

 

 

Joanne Hall

HI Marie,

Similar to your comment about Lotte, an American weaver took a class in the 70s in Sweden and learned a similar technique.  She would take a unit of threads, pull them forward to be longer, put them on her left and then she sat on the ends.  I had some trouble controlling them when doing this, sometimes getting more than one thread, but it also might be worth a try with your springy yarns.

Joanne

dteaj (not verified)

Hi Marie,

It's probably too late for this warp, but I use masking tape on the harness frame. You could suspend an extra lease stick with masking tape below the lease...

BTW, I just wound a overtwist warp (Habu wool) and found it much more difficult to control extra twists forming. I have a theory that the humidity makes the yarn a little less stable. The last time I wound off the Habu yarn was in a dry winter house.

Debbie