Category: rigid heddle weaving

Sakiori No.1

Published on by Jen7 Comments

Sakiori was developed long ago by the peasants of Japan, who when faced with a shortage of cloth, made their own by cutting and tearing strips of old used cloth items, and wove them into new cloth for their clothing and home. These days an over-abundance of cloth is everywhere, providing such an opportunity to weave sakiori cloth, from rustic heavy rugs to delicate scarves. I am immensely inspired by the Sakiori style of weaving, and so I bought Ashfords attachable auxiliary cloth beam for my 48″ rigid heddle loom (the Freedom Roller) so that I can weave Sakiori cloth and rag rugs until the cows come home!

Sakiori is like rag rug weaving, that similarly uses cloth strips, but alternates cloth wefts with yarn wefts, so that is a whole element that adds possibility in design. This being my very first sakiori weaving, I have kept it simple, one color for warp and weft. Although I barely even put 5 rounds of sakiori cloth on it with this weaving, the attachment seems to me an essential addition for a rigid heddle loom to make bulky weaves like this, but even for yards of finer fabric, or any situation that benefits from having extra room to wind on a cloth beam, the Freedom Roller frees up the original cloth beam to be used as a secure and stationary front/breast beam, giving the weaving area in front of the reed more room too. I am hoping to weave some heavy wool blankets, rag rugs, and heavier table linens woven in the near future, to fill up that secondary cloth beam with some substantial weaving, and this piece was my first opportunity.

For this style of rag weaving, and in general on the rigid heddle loom, I’ve had to come up with heavy beating tools, because the rigid heddle reeds can not withstand that kind of muscle, and they are expensive, so one must come up with beater tools just for rigid heddle weaving situation like this. I am using the sword from my backstrap loom for this particular weaving that is only 19″ wide, but also tried out the weighted tapestry beater by Schacht. The sword is a heavy piece of wood that has a beveled edge and a slight curve to it so that it can be rocked a little forward and backward, to really pack in that weft. A tapestry beater is a heavy object with grooves like a comb, intended to hit along the weaving edge, allowing the warp to pass between the grooves, and really pack in the weft. These tools slow down the weaving a bit, but with the rigid heddle loom not having a heavy beater like a floor loom, I think these two tools are and will be an essential part of sakiori weaving.

I want to close in saying how amazingly gratifying weaving Sakiori is, because it really weaves up so incredibly fast, especially on the rigid heddle loom where direct warping is in itself so speedy. I am finding I can set up a project like this one and be done warping and tying on in about an hour and be well on my way weaving the weft body by the end of the day. This respite of instant gratification weaving is so refreshing after my many ultra fine weaving projects I’ve been experimenting with over the last couple of months.

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣

  • Warp Yarn: 8/4 cotton yarn, Maurice Brassard, 8.0 oz (~227g) tube = 840 yds. (1680 yds./lb, in color blue. Approx 80″ from apron rod to peg. 
  • Weft Yarn: Cotton flannel, strips 1.5″ wide, alternating with warp yarn.
  • Loom: Ashford 48″ Rigid Heddle Loom, with Freedom Roller attachment.
  • Number of warp ends: 480.
  • Reed: One 12.5 dent rigid heddle reed, about 19″ width in reed.
  • Sett on loom: Warp= 12 epi (ends/threads per inch), weft= 8 cloth picks and 8 yarn pick = 3″.
  • Edges: I did not do floating selvedges, nor did I bother to double up selvedges, but did use a temple. I did weave plain weave with the 8/4 cotton for approx 2″ before and after cloth strips, so that I could make a turned hem. 
  • Finished: 1/2 inch turned hem, sewn against the underside of ends. Rinse & Dry cycle in machine, final measurement after shrinking 8% in length = 9″ x 44″. 
  • Yardage: I did not measure or weigh the actual fabric I tore into strips, but I had a 2 yard piece of brushed plaid, and I have quite a few strips left over, so all I can say is about 1.5 – 1.75 yards of cloth. As for the cotton warp yarn, I didn’t think well about this particular weaving, as it is mostly cloth strips, however I will say I didn’t use the whole warp, I had about 10″ left of warp and didn’t even use the whole cone of yarn for warp and weft. 
  • What I will do differently next time:
    • Use floating selvedges! The rag weft is so thick that if it doesn’t encase the last threads, they sometimes ended up floating over vertically, and I found myself having to catch outer warp threads every pick to keep that from happening, and even had to sew in at the finish some of the long floated warps I missed. 🙁 
    • Measure a piece of string that is the length I want to weave the project, and weave it or pin it to the actual cloth as it winds on to the beam. I did this but let it wind around next to the cloth, and the diameter was much smaller, therefore not accurate, and my end project was about 6 inches longer than I planned for. 
    • Take the time to prepare the cloth strips a bit better; pre-roll and iron the weft, hiding all raw fuzzy edges of torn strips, perhaps use a bias tape folding tool.
    • This thickness was fine for table runner but could have been finer with cloth strips only 1″ wide. For rug I would make cloth strips 2″ wide minimum.

Click 1st image to go to gallery slideshow.

Scarf No.3

Published on by Jen10 Comments

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 ))

Another rigid heddle loom!

Published on by Jen5 Comments

An Ashford 48-inch rigid heddle loom has shown up here, and I am broadening my weaving experience. I waxed it and put it together some time ago, and it happens to fit excellently in my closet squirrelled away when not in use, because it is actually a very simplistic streamline idea in loom design. But now I’ve set it up here for its first test weave, sacrificing all the cottolin thread I had on hand in order to learn the scope of it, and have worked only about a third of the warp through the reed, all to show for about three hours of set up; calculating basics, measuring and placing the tables for the pegs, which I’ve got spread out to section the warp, and actual warping, all which is so uncomplicated and easy compared to conventional warping. The direct warping method is brilliant, a loop thread is drawn from the spool, through the dent slot in the reed and around the pegs, which creates two threads, one which is often rethreaded later through the heddle hole, creating one thread in the slot, and one in the hole. However on this project I’m doubling up on threads which makes it even easier, although twice the initial threading through the reed to the peg, for then all the threading will be finished as soon as I make it across the full forty-eight inch reed (12.5 dent), with no additional threading after I reel the warp on to the back beam. Honestly, this is the method of methods, and I’m going to explore it extensively (a conversation with Bea comes to mind, about doubling up the threads in the reed.) : waves to Bea : Oh, and obviously the colors are much too bright for the room, and now that I photograph the set up in the house I realize now that I am going to need to get shade cards and be much more subdued with my color choices, but I am weaving this test run with all that I have on hand, and it is going to apparently consume a lot more yarn/thread than my Ashford Knitters Loom, which I fully expected proportionally. Its going to be so wonderful to have it around when I want to weave larger things, like table cloths, small blankets, curtains, etc . . . and besides, it is just the natural progression of things around here, pushing for new perspectives and experiences. In closing I’ll say that I have learned to weave standing, so working the stick shuttle through the shed, although going to take some wrestling with the reed, will be taken in stride, literally.

Wool Shawl No.3

Published on by Jen10 Comments

Number three of Donegal Tweed neckwear pieces, last week I reeled off the loom , and now it is finished, and this one warped with the help of Juno who’s colorway is so similar that I’m naming the colorway “Juno” . . .

I’ve woven this one with a larger dent reed on my Ashford Knitters loom than the last two, a 12.5 dent reed, and think I’ve decided that it is the perfect size for this single ply fingering/lace weight yarn. Now three finished, no more Donegal Tweed and so on to the rest of the yarn in my drawers.

♣   Weaving Notes  ♣ 

  • Yarn: Isager Tweed made in Donegal, also known as Donegal Tweed by other brands.
  • Loom: Ashford Knitters Loom, 20″.
  • Reed: 12.5 dent reed, optimal I think, for the Donegal Tweed.
  • Sett: Warp = 12.5 epi and weft = 9 ppi, 1 thread in the heddle/hole, and 1 thread in the dent/slot.
  • Direct warp method.
  • Selvedge: Doubled up two outer most selvedge warp yarns, and used a temple.
  • Finished: Not wet finished, but steamed, tied a simple knotted fringe (knots could be taken out and twisted fringe worked, but I prefer the soft yarn strands). 
  • Measurements: 76″ long x 19″ wide, not including 4″ fringe.
  • Weight: 246 grams. Yarn has 218 y per 50 g so that is about 1090 total yards. 

just reeled off . . .

Published on by Jen5 Comments

Just reeled off the loom, another plain weave check, that somehow miraculously used up the colors of the Donegal Tweed that I had left in my stash. This piece needs all of its finish work done as well as notes composed, and to “hang loose” off of tension for a while, and so I’m on to the next. This one and previous one, will return as finished and fringed pieces to properly photograph. Until then, I’m happy enough to just dive back in the yarn drawers and resurface with another warping to attend to before the end of the day. People are asking me, almost worried, what has happened to knitting? Am I finished with it? Will I return to it? The answer is simply that for now I am so happy in the weaving, knitting is only on a short sabbatical, and while attempting to convert yarn stash into cloth for a while, my long goal is to work back to spinning. Also, considering a very large rigid heddle loom for weaving wider cloth, such as throw blankets and table coverings, and what seems to me to be the natural progression of things around here. I don’t see that I will ever grow tired of simple plain weave.