Hello Toika friends!  I am having trouble balancing my tie-up for a 150cm Liisa with an 8 inch tabby warp.  I have 4 shafts and 6 treadles on the loom.  I hooked up my tabby ties to the outer treadles (1/3 and 2/4) and they are correct.  At first I only tied up the two outer treadles to the 4 harnesses.  When the locking pins were removed, the harness and treadles moved and no decent shed formed.  My notes from Barbara Elkin at Webs recommend tying up six treadles even for a tabby weave but do not specify upper/lower lamm tie-ups for the inner four treadles which will not be used for the tabby pattern.  I have six treadles on the loom now and locking pins ready to go.  Any suggestions?  Also, does the width of the warp have any effect on the balance of the loom or is that a red herring?

Comments

MaryMartha

I've had a similar experience when using fewer treadles than shafts.  I recommend picking which treadles you want to use to actually weave (2 outeror 2 inner, etc.).  Then tie up at least two more treadles that you won't use.  You could duplicate the tie-up for the two useful treadles onto two others, or just tie the remaining four to one shaft each.   In any case, tie both upper and lower lamms just as if you would be using the treadle.  The only time you tie only the lower lamm is when you are using treadles to provide balance for an unbalanced weave, when some shafts have many more heddles than others.

So, now is a good time to stop and think about the motions you want to make with your feet.  For me, using the two outer treadles would not be confortable. Not sure if width enters into this.  I suspect the issue is more the separation between the cords on the lamms -- you are using the two extremes rather than the middle.  As a rule, the two inner treadles will provide the best balance and the largest shed.

Sara von Tresckow

Try tying the inner four treadles to a 2/2 twill -

1 and 4

1 and 2

2 and 3

3 and 4

With this tieup you can do twill, tabby, overshot, monk's belt and many other weaves - this tieup will make about 75% of trhe patterns in Davison's "Handweavers Pattern Book".

FYI - if you want only tabby, try using only two treadles. Having those extra four heavy treadles not tied up makes the balance difficult.

Also, you can't really judge your shed until you have a warp on the loom. An 8 inch warp on a 60 inch loom will also be doable, but really too narrow for the size of the loom. I've tested an Eeva with such a narrow warp and it was "lost". The final test of a coubtermarche tieup is that the shed FLOOR is even.

 

kerstinfroberg

With a narrow warp, I would try to use the middle  treadles  In my experience, using treadles outside the warp can make the shafts tilt, even om a CM.

- I had never heard about tying extra treadles for balance until i came on to the 'net - it is not seen as necessary/helpful here in Sweden... (As ever, I agree w Sara: it is the floor of the shed that is important! And I will add: it is not important if the shafts "move" when the locking pins are out - you will not throw a shuttle without stepping on a treadle... )

Missus T.

You cannot imagine how helpful your experienced advice is!  Thank you.