Questions from episode 1

[Liz]

Yes, I’m a little behind – I will blame the two small children (as I will no doubt be blaming them right up until they’ve left home in 18-odd years’ time and I just have to face up to the fact that I’m not very organised!). I have a bunch of questions from episode 1 though. I’m hoping it’s OK that I post them all together…

1. It looks like Jane winds her warps under a fair amount of tension. Does it matter how much tension we use, as long as we are consistent? A certain amount of tension makes it easier to be consistent I think but is there an optimum?

2. Jane mentions the “corner” on the mill that you get at the bottom end. But there’s also kind of a corner at the top, I think. This:

Is it that the angle is not steep enough here that it makes a difference? I have just started winding warps on a mill at home and this has been my big worry (well, not that much so far as I’ve been using forgivingly stretchy wool and winding in multiple bouts, but I am wanting to get things working as well as I can). Does this limit how many threads you can wind on a mill more than the length of the dowels?

3. Why keep going underneath all the time? Is this related to question 2? I partly ask because Peggy Osterkamp advocates winding above and below. Clearly I will experiment, but I’m just trying to get my head round it.

4. How do you chain off a warp without messing up your guide string, if you’re winding multiple bouts? How much does that matter?

Thanks everyone!

[Jane]

1.   You just need consistent tension. There is no way I can describe how much tension…everyone’s will be different.  You just don’t want soggy threads in your warp.

2.  As the warp ends move out on the peg at the top, the angle is the same as it goes down under each time.

3.  When you go under with each path there is no build up anywhere in the warp….it is always the same length as the previous end.

4.  When I chain off I make sure I don’t have the guide string in the chain and even it it is don’t worry about it….just pull it out when you wind on.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by Jane.

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