Thoughts on 3.2.3 – Cramming & Denting Linen Warp at the Loom

[Ginette]

Let us know your thoughts on 3.2.3 – Cramming & Denting Linen Warp at the Loom.

[mlodge]

My goal this year is to use what I have and what I have is lots of tencel. Can you suggest setts for cramming and denting with tencel?

[Jane]

That is an awesome goal. I have not used Tencel, just bambu which is close but more softly spun. Really you just have to start with sampling….to find out what your favourite sett is for balanced plain weave and then you just take it from there following all the tips in the videos. I’m sorry I can’t be more help with this yarn. Cheers, Jane

[sengle685]

I have a jack loom. Should I be concerned weaving this project? Should I not use linen?

[Sandra]

Jane answered a concern about weaving with linen on a Jack loom on the Online Guild Forum under the Cramming and Denting thread. We thought it a helpful enough item for everyone that we also put it on the JST Helpline. It can be found by following this link – Weaving linen on a Jack Loom

Hope her comments help you.

[sengle685]

Yes it does. Thank you. I have a dipping Jack loom if I am understanding Jane’s note correctly ! It is a Gilmore 1976 era.

[Barbara]

I have done several projects in 2/40 linen on my Baby Wolf, jack style loom without any tension issues. I think with plain weave,particularly, that if shaft one rises on the first shed and is slightly tighter, it will stay straight on the second shed, slightly looser, and thus will balance out over the entire project. So, I say, just go for it, fearlessly!

[Janet]

Can anyone tell me where I can find Jane’s lesson on hemstitching. I watched it–she did an example of hemstitching the open area. But for the life of me, I can’t seem to find it again on these episodes! Thanks so much

[Ginette]

Hi Janet,
Jane shows hemstitching of opened areas in the Denting Episode, you’ll find it here: -hemstitching denting fabrics, 3.1.1, 12:37

[Janet]

Thank you so much! Exactly what I needed

[sengle685]

I just started weaving my second scarf using the silk with the linen. I FORGOT to do the hem stitch at the beginning. Since I wove too much before I discovered this, I can’t get my scarf back to the beginning to do the hem stitch!. I don’t want to pull out all my weaving. Does Jane have a secret way to do the hem stitching after the fact?
Thanks,

[Jane]

Hemstitching off tension is doable but it is much harder. You can always just twist your fringe without hemstiching, many weavers don’t hemstitch before they twist. You’ll be okay…keep going forward, it will be beautiful. Honestly, truly. 🙂

[sengle685]

Why do I have to keep logging in each time I come back to your site?

[Sandra]

Good morning! You can click the “Remember Me” checkbox under your user name and password, for quick re-entry.

[andruzzi]

I would like to use 30/2 raw silk for the cramming and denting as the 40/2 linen is not available in UK. Could you recommend some setts?

[Ginette]

Hi andruzzi, your 30/2 raw silk should have the same sett as 30/2 spun silk. I think it’ll be just fine.

[Steve Lucas]

Wow – so much to add to the To Do list. I did weave a turned monks belt on an Ashford 8 shaft table loom (Deb Essen from her fab book on supplementary weaving). Weaving with linen was great but dressing the loom wasn’t so hot – linen acts like Velcro!

[ingamariec]

I love weaving with linen! I do weave with the Swedish singles, and I live in Texas where it’s hot and dry half the year. You guys are in the. PNW, and it’s a damper climate. In Sweden I can weave linen ‘as is’, but in Texas it’s helpful to increase the humidity. You’d be crazy to do that in summer, but in winter I run a vaporizer and/or spritz my warp with water. Just a comment that might help someone living in a dry climate.

[Maureen]

Just started slaying my reed for this one and am somewhat confused given Jane’s comment that the outside dents only have two threads. This leaves only 22 for the 4 denting crammed section. DoI take 2 from the open section and sley 2, six dents with 4 and then remaining 30 in 1/1/2. The PDF doesn’t mention only 2 threads on the outside.

[Ginette]

Hi Maureen, all you need to do is move your 2 outer threads on each side in a dent to themselves and continue sleying the reed as the draft says. Have fun weaving 🙂

[joan horwich]

I threaded my loom using a revised version of Jane’s linen warp. I was attempting to create a piece 21″ wide to be used as a window covering. All appeared to go well until I started weaving. At this time, after weaving approximately 15″ I have broken at least 16 of my side warps and 1 center warp thread. I’ve used a variety of techniques to repair the first 10ish broken threads and was successful with all of the repaired ends, but every time I attempt to cram my wefts, I break more. I have put in the additional rod to tighten loose threads- which appeared to be about 1/2 one side of my warp. My warp appears to be tensioned fairly evenly across with the more dense areas slighting tighter than the looser ones. I am weaving on a countermarch loom using 40/2 warp and weft. My two outer dents on each side are dented 2 per dent with the remainder 20 threads at 4 per dent using a 12 dent reed. I really love the look of this piece and would love to figure out what the problem is and be able to use try this again. I was wondering if I’d have more success using a thicker thread at my selvedges – or is my warp too wide? Any suggestions? Joan

[Jane]

Hi Joan,
I would suggest increasing the angle of your weft thread in the shed before you beat. It is usually draw-in that causes this on the selvedges. High angle and beating on an open shed really help with draw-in. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jane

[joan horwich]

Thank you for responding – even on your winter break. I completed my project with the linen warp, continuing to break threads- but decided to go for it anyways. The result was a slightly narrower piece than I envisioned – but it is beautiful. I now have a linen silk (40 and 30 weight) warp on the same loom and am alternating silk and linen in the weft. The set is 20 EPI. I am using an end delivery shuttle for the linen and have paid better attention to both the angle of the weaving weft as well as toning down my beating. I am still breaking threads, but only 2 so far and I’ve woven about 12″. One of my problems is that I have dropped my shuttles on more than one occasion, when advancing the warp – which I realize, must put additional tension on the warp threads. Thanks again for your suggestions. Joan

[juliamnorman]

I’ve just bought some linen in 16/1 and 12/1 and am wondering if it was a mistake and I should get 2 ply instead? I would be interested to hear you thoughts.
many thanks,
Julia

[Sandra]

It would depend on whether you were using it for your warp or weft. It would be fine as a weft.

[juliamnorman]

Thanks Sandra, I was hoping to use it for both warp and weft. I wonder if I should change it for 2 ply? I have done quite a lot of weaving in the past.

[juliamnorman]

my loom is a David which Jane said would be fine for linen as the shafts rise and sink equally but isnt it a sinking shed loom?

[Sandra]

I don’t know! I’ve just had a trying experience weaving on a single-ply silk warp on my David loom. Parts of the silk pulled apart as I wove it. I was sure it was going to be fine, but – it wasn’t. The David is a sinking shed loom and, as you know, has a great shed – but in my mind, that isn’t the issue here.

[Ginette]

Hi Julia, just to add to Sandra’s comment, I weave all my linen on my David and it works beautifully. When you open your shed on a David, the tension on the top and bottom threads is equal which makes it great to weave linen. This equal tension is what makes the David loom such a great loom 🙂

[juliamnorman]

Thanks for both or your replies….Ive just woven with 12/2 linen in the warp (16epi and then 12 epi) and then the same in the weft. Also some tussah silk in the weft and singles 4/1 . its incredibly stiff but maybe washing it will help. Also I am going to try different setts. I am determined to master linen because it is so beautiful but I really dont know if the yarns I purchased in the UK are the same count as the ones Jane uses…
I hope the silk warp worked out in the end Sandra….
best,
Julia

[Ginette]

Hi Julia, once you’ve washed it, it will softness up for sure. The yarns you purchased, have you wrapped a ruler to give you a guide on a sett? Jane demonstrates how to do this in Season 1, Episode 4:
-determining sett using a ruler
-50/50 plain weave 4.1, 4:38
-2/2 twill 4.1, 30:32
-wool 4.2, 6:20

[Corey]

Love this draft and the results. Not to be too picky, but I am a bit confused with the numbers in the threading draft. If I sley 16 ends at 4/dent in a 12 dent reed, wouldn’t that give me 1/3” instead of 1/4”? To figure this from the other direction, if I threaded this part 4 times in a row, I would end up using 16 dents, not 12. The threading sequence here all works out just fine in the end, it is my brain that doesn’t. I am trying to design another scarf using this type of structure, and I got stuck when I got here. Thanks!

• This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Corey.

[Ginette]

Good catch Corey! Linda will be correcting the draft, and you’re right, it should be 1/3″. Thanks for bringing this up 🙂

[Corey]

[Sandra]

It’s beautiful, Corey!

[Dayamitra Blenman]

I wove some curtains using linen on a Jack loom and didn’t have a problem! My loom is an Ashford (a New Zealand loom). I think because the back beam is far enough away from the front beam, there was no problems.

It’s amazing how much linen softens after washing! I look forward to trying linen and silk now.

[Maggie]

We did a 3 day course in my guild on weaving with linen and, as we couldn’t all bring our floor looms for obvious reasons, we used our table (jack) looms. The only problem we all had was with the tension where several warp threads, not necessarily in groups, became loose and we were advised to do as you do. I had a knitting needle with weights on each end and this solved the problem. So, it is fine to use a jack loom but to be aware of the tension issues which can easily be overcome. I have woven with linen on my David 2 without problems apart from the odd rogue warp thread which was easily tamed with weights.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by Maggie.
• This reply was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by Maggie.

[Teresa Coons]

I have a fair amount of bambu 12 that I recently acquired.  What do you think about weaving with linen and bambu, using this technique?

[Sandra]

It would certainly be worth trying, Teresa.  12 gauge Bambu is a bit heavier than 30/2 silk so I’d put enough on to sample so you can get the sett you like.

[nc345]

I was wondering about yardage when cramming and denting.  The weaving calculator formulas don’t take into consideration skipped spaces for weft or warp.  How do you determine if you have enough yarn or should I just do the regular calculations and end err on the side of caution?

I’m just curious and hoping to use up stash/clean house.

thank you.

BTW, I’m really enjoying this guild and have learnt so much.

 

 

[Sandra]

It’s impossible to work out the exact amount of warp and weft you will use.  That’s one of the ways we end up with a stash to choose from later on down our weaving path.  It’s always better to err on the side of caution and just enjoy the process!

[Betsy Dickinson]

I bought some linen yarn from a shop going out of business. It’s very old, as indicated by the yellowing on the label. And I have no idea of the size. I used it as a warp with cotton for tea towels. I had a terrible time with it felting, of all things, while warping. And it wanted to curl. Any ideas on how to prevent that in the future? I have a lot!

Betsy

[Sandra]

Did it have a label?  It doesn’t sound like 100%linen and I’m wondering if it was mixed with something else.

[Betsy Dickinson]

Hi Sandra. The label says “From California by Shaggee…a superquality Crochet Yarn. Containing the finest grades of cotton.” (cotton is crossed out and linen is written in) Another sticker on it says “artspun linen”. And to clarify, is felted after warping and before threading. It got worse during heddle threading something fierce. However, the piece turned out beautiful. It washes up soft.

 

Thanks, Betsy

[Anne Brickman]

The linen cram/dented project. I used bombyx silk, color stormy teal, for one. I love it.

[Sandra]

Love them!  Teal is one of my favourite colours 😉

[Author]

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