This ultra fine cloth finished has 32 threads per inch in the warp, and was woven on my 20″ Ashford Knitters (rigid heddle) Loom, which is a fabulous sample loom for all the fine weight threads I have been so curious to try. This particular project is extremely fine cotton, was threaded through two 15 dent reeds, and I have no desire to go finer, this is the limit. Famous last words, eh?

One must look and wonder how all these gazillion threads in the warp can be kept track of, and I for one, can not.  I thought all the threads were there, but as I begin to weave, there’s empty slots where warp threads are suppose to be, maybe one or two were mis-threaded, or broke, and I missed them, but as I weave further, more threads have disappeared, likely in not catching them when I was threading the reeds. I just can’t pull my hair out over it, these are sample weavings, total leaps of faith and hoping for the best, I can’t take it too seriously.

The most impressive thing to me about this piece is that it was threaded through two rigid heddle reeds; double threading is a mind bend at first, but then after my first try using these instructions the process gelled and suddenly I felt like I was born knowing how to do it. So I’m weaving on in spite of the mysteriously thinning warp, it is a thrill to be weaving such ultra fine fabric on a simple, nearly primitive loom, even though weaving 30 epi on the rigid heddle loom means I am having to do the extra work of using a stick shuttle for both passing the weft and beating down to try for a balanced weave, and still it is not. Weaving on the rigid heddle in this way slows weaving down a great deal, and there is a lot to pay attention to.

Once I am finished with this piece I may try another similar double threading sample with a different reed combination, coupling a 15 and a 12 dent together, achieving a 24 epi, and maybe then I can beat with only a tap of the rigid heddle reed instead of having to beat it down with the stick shuttle. I strive to find the sweet spot where weaving is truly balanced, not forced, and ultimately what I want to achieve with plain weave.

A bit about the design; I crave bold block design in a subtle contrast, so developing my elongated big check blocks with or without a stripe, and selecting the two very low contrast neutral colors for the background check, for this piece was an attempt to get a “barely there” colorway, yet it is still bold enough, and I really love it!

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣

• Yarn: 20/2 mercerized perle cotton, 8400yds / 1 lb, Maurice Brassard, in colors; Natural (P100), Light Beige (P-2), and Flax (P-5109). 
• Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom 20″.
• Warp:  Double threaded 4 ends per dent on first  reed, then through  a second reed using this method. Using a heddle stand is rather necessary, Jeff made the one I use in tech photos below.  I don’t know how to suggest an alternative, but if one has a couple of heavy objects or uses a bit of cleverness, one could rig a reed stand. Now, with the second reed forward, threading it through in a very seemingly complex manner, but it really isn’t.  Warp length is approx 110 inches from apron rod to warping peg.
• Number of warp ends: 600 , or there about, as I lost some along the way. 
• Reed: Two 15 dent rigid heddle reeds, about 19.5″ width in reed.
• Sett on loom: Warp = 30 epi (ends/threads per inch),  weft =  ?? (forgot to measure).
• Selvedges: I did not do floating selvedges, nor did I bother to double up and reinforce the selvedges, mostly because there was so much going on with threading through TWO reeds , but  a real positive thing about such a tight weave and having to beat with the stick shuttle to get the weft in place, there seems to be no draw-in on the edges. After about 12″ of weaving I noticed a little draw-in, so I started using the temple.
• Sett after finishing: Warp 32 epi, and weft 24 ppi.
• Color Pattern:   
  • Warp =  [12 slots with 4 ends each slot (48ends) light beige , 1 slot with 4 ends (4 ends) flax,  12 slots with 4 ends each slot (48ends) light beige.  12 slots with 4 ends each slot (48ends) natural, 1 slot with 4 ends (4 ends) flax,  12 slots with 4 ends each slot (48ends) natural, 12 slots with 4 ends each slot (48ends) natural. ] REPEAT for a total of 3 pattern reps, and 600 ends.
  • Weft = wound 60 full wraps on to a 30″ stick shuttle for each color, in repeating sequence natural and light beige. 
• Finished: 1/4 inch turned hem, then washed and dried in machine, then pressed, measuring 81″ long and 18″ wide, and weighs 130g. 
• Yardage:  Total yardage used for finished piece = 2405y, figured from weight of finished piece and not including loom waste.
• What I will do differently next time:
  • Again, I ran out of room on the reed(s) while threading, and had to sacrifice the left 12 threads, but its so fine, that is like a quarter inch I am guessing. Second is I didn’t catch it, but there’s a few threads missing in the slots, and that is okay with me.
  • Glimakra slim boat shuttle actually fit in the shed!  I am so anxious to finally use it, I found I had to use the stick shuttle as a beater anyway, why not refine the movements and wind the stick shuttle with thread and omit the boat shuttle this time… but next time, with 24 epi , using 12 and 15 dent reeds double threaded, maybe it will be balanced.  

(( click 1st image to go to slideshow ))