Expanding my RH horizons

Neither of you is wrong but in reality it's very difficult to get that 4th shed with the pick up stick and/or string heddles.  I have tried and it's very difficult.

I found Jane Patrick's book helpful.  Alex Xanakis' book very challenging and requires 3 rh heddles.  When you start trying to get beyond 3 shafts, it becomes very fiddly and I ask myself why?  I have a perfectly good floor loom for this and it's much too difficult and time consuming.

Let's continue to explore and perhaps we can expand this to a class where we explore together online via webcam conference.

Claudia

Kat, your analysis looks correct -- but if I could make a suggestion:  as you and Peg are both used to weaving on "regular" looms, you may find it easier to think in terms of which threads are "up" in any given shed -- in the same way you'd do for your 4- or 8-shaft loom.  (A good reason behind this is that it makes it much easier to "translate" a written threading draft for use on an RH loom if you're thinking in terms of which threads get lifted, rather than what's in a hole or slot, or what's "down" or "neutral".)

Thus, if you have two rigid heddles, and the threading is 1-2-3-4 ...by which I mean:

1. Thread 1 goes through the hole of heddle 1;
2. Thread 2 goes through the hole of heddle 2; and
3. Threads 3 and 4 go together through the slots of both heddles

the six sheds Kat described are:

1. Thread #1 lifted.
2. Thread #2 lifted.
3. Threads #2, 3, and 4 lifted.
4. Threads #1, 3, and 4 lifted.
5. Threads #1 and 2 lifted.
6. Threads #3 and 4 lifted.

As you can see by this, you're almost "there" for weaving a 4-shaft structure with two rigid heddles -- you just need to find a way of lifting Threads #3 and 4 independently.

One way is to place a pick-up under the #3 threads when you want to lift them, and then place a pick-up stick under the #4 threads when you want to lift *them*.  That makes for a lot of extra manipulation....

An easier way (making for less frustrating weaving) is to put "doups" or string heddles on the #3 and #4 threads.  It takes a bit longer to set up, but it makes the weaving go a lot faster.  When I do this, I still use a pickup stick to lift the threads when opening the shed, but the string heddle makes it a real snap to insert the pickup stick.

An alternative:  put a string heddle on the #3 threads and park a pick-up stick under the #4 threads, and slide that pickup stick back against the warp beam when not in use.  In this case, when you want to lift the #3 threads, you lift them with the string heddle, slip in the pickup stick, then slide the pickup stick forward and open the shed.  And when you want to lift the #4 threads, you just slide its pickup stick forward and turn it on its side to open its shed.  (If you've made the string heddles generous enough, they won't interfere with the #4 threads.)

For myself, when I'm weaving a 4-shaft structure with rigid heddles, I go ahead and use three heddles -- plus a pickup stick parked under the #4 threads.  That gives me super-positive control of each "shaft" of threads.

Does that make sense?

Oh, one more thing:  if you thread the two heddles as I described above, not skipping any holes in either heddle, you'll end up with a thread spacing that's twice the normal density of your heddles!  So, if your heddles are 10 dpi, they'll let you weave at 20 epi when threaded this way.

It's fun stuff.  I love weaving with multiple heddles!

Ruth

I wanted to add another comment about "straight draw" threadings on multiple heddles (a comment that applies to point twill threadings and others, too):  they're great for weaving a lot of things, but if you're weaving a structure that uses tabby (for example, Overshot, or Summer & Winter, or Crackle), be prepared for a little bit of discomfort with each tabby shot.

The book by David Xenakis ("The Xenakis Technique", still in print) introduces an elegant workaround with a special threading (requiring three heddles) -- and it makes the weaving of structures using tabby a lot more comfortable.  The downside is that it's pretty much completely non-intuitive!   It's perfectly do-able, though.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in here with a word about tabby.

What Kate said is excellent, too, though:  there are some wonderful structures you can weave with just 3 shafts (two rigid heddles).  With a little experimentation in drafting, you can come up with some great stuff!  When we have 4 or 8 (or more) shafts available to us, we forget that you can do some really neat stuff with fewer.

Erica de Ruiter has written a wonderful book on 3-shaft textiles -- some are so beautiful, it's hard to believe they required only 3 shafts!

Ruth

Kat, I think the surest bet for getting Erica's book would be to contact her directly.  She has another book available, too, which looks like it's easier to find in the States:  "Tejido Huave and Beyond", a book exploring some pretty incredible pickup techniques (she started with traditional pickup techniques from Mexican weaving, then expanded it into refreshing new territory).

Another wonderful thing from Erica is this article on Weavezine.  At first glance, you might think, "Oh great, more colour-and-weave" -- but it's much, much more!  It's, um, a kind of advancing basketweave, with colour.  And you could do it with a single rigid heddle, or with two heddles to double your density, or with two heddles threaded to give three "shafts", which lets you add a supplementary warp accent.

Fun stuff!

(And you know what this conversation is going to force me to do, probably today??  Without fail, I now have to clean up my workroom, tidying the precarious and toppled stacks of books to find my copy of "Weaving on 3 Shafts"!!)

Ruth