I'm a fairly new rigid heddle weaver and I have a problem achieving a balanced weave.  No matter how hard I beat, I cannot get as many weft shots per inch as I have warp ends per inch. I notice after I beat a weft shot, as I move the heddle back into position, the row I just beat seems to sort of "bounce" back toward the heddle, leaving a gap.  I have been using a wide tooth comb to push it back into place, but even so I can't get the rows close enough together.  For instance, I am currently working on a project on a 10 dent heddle and I can only get 7 weft rows in an inch.  Are some types of yarn harder to pack in than others?  Anyone have any advice? Thanks.

Comments

Mon, 02/10/2014 - 20:42

Sara von Tresckow

Couple of things here.

1. The last pick is something that many weavers misunderstand. It always tries to pop out when the shed is open.

2. Now observe the Next To The Last Pick. When you press in the last pick, it straightens up and packs more tightly. The real "beat" tends to work more on this pick than the very last one.

3. Going bang, bang, bang with a rigid heddle does not reall constitute "beating". This device doesn't have much "oomph".

Press your weft in place. Change the shed. Pass the shuttle(wider than the project) into the new open shed and press with the side of the shuttle and observe how the weft rows pack tighter. Now you'll need to determine how much pressure to get your desired picks per inch and things should work much better. Ashford did make a "cotton" shuttle that has a beveled thin edge designed for pressing the cotton weft on towels and runners into place more closely.

True squaring of your cloth is also possibly not what you're looking for. Commercial fabric has a slight warp dominance to give the cloth "grain". That's what makes a scarf drape properly along the warp and why sewing patterns usually cut the pieces along the warp grain so they hang better when wearing. 10 epi and 9 picks per inch would be quite acceptable as you'll have takeup and shrinkage after weft finishing.

Also, you say 10 warp threads - whether you get 10 wefts is also dependent on the thickness of your weft threads. You should be trying for a fabric that has a nice drape and isn't too loosely woven. There is a bit of latitude there.