Thoughts on 9.2 – Take the Leap…..A 45” Wide Mohair Throw

[Ginette]

Let us know your thoughts on 9.2 – Take the Leap…..A 45” Wide Mohair Throw.

[Summerhill Spinner]

Just wondering about doing mohair warp and doubleweave. I have a 36” loom and happily do doubleweave Harrisville Shetland warp, mohair weft, but eventually, I’d like to take the plunge and use mohair in the warp, but I’m concerned that I wouldn’t have a skeleton tie-up in doubleweave (too many treadles needed to lift the top layer off, and too few feet to accomplish it). I’m not a fan of weaving two panels with a seam up the middle as I never seem to make that seam invisible enough. Any thoughts?

[Jane]

I think you could do it with a skeleton tie-up.
Top layer, lift just 1, easy peasy
Top Layer, lift just 2, easy peasy
Bottom Layer, Lift 1, then add 2, hold down with one foot and then add 3, easy peasy
Bottom Layer, Leave foot on 1 and 2, drop 3 and then add 4 easy peasy…..
I honestly think you can do it as long as you are always talking to yourself, Top, Top, Bottom, Bottom 🙂

[Summerhill Spinner]

Ok. That sounds doable. I’ll check to be sure my feet are big enough to cover 2 treadles, haha.

[ljc93054]

can this be done on a Jack loom? Mohair blanket?

[Sandra]

It can be done on any loom! Jane has woven her blankets in Plainweave and Twill. A Jack loom can handle it!

[heather_169]

Could you do a mohair weave on an 8 dent reed or do you absolutely need a 6 dent?

[Jane]

You could try an 8 but it will be a lot thicker and not so easy to weave.

[Joy Sceviour]

I checked my stash of reeds (I have a second-hand loom) and found that I don’t have a 6-dent reed, but a 5. How will this affect the finished product?

[Sandra]

I apologize, Joy – I thought I had answered you! Maybe the website decided to take Sunday morning off 😉 You’ll be fine. Check Jane’s Reed Substitution Chart, you’ll find it with the PDF’s on the Online Guild page. She shows you what you need under the column marked 5. Follow that column until you see 6 (6 epi) and to the left of that, it will tell you what you need to thread your reed to get 6 epi. Also, check out the JST Helpline, there are a group of questions and answers on Mohair under the Weaving with Special Yarns heading which you might find interesting.

[Robyn B]

Amazing blankets! What weight yarn is the mohair?

[Ginette]

Hi rlb353, here’s the link to the mohair that Jane uses:
https://janestaffordtextiles.com/product-category/yarns/mohair/brushed-mohair/

Ginette

[Jamie Rayburn]

I would love to use this luscious yarn.  I once used a novelty yarn that included mohair to weave a shawl and the prickles made it unuseable, even as a second layer.  Is your brushed mohair next-to-skin soft?

[Ginette]

Hi Jamie,

I find this brushed mohair soft to the touch for sure. I’ve also used it as weft while using Harrisville Shetland as the warp and still found the blankets/throws soft to the touch. I’m one that finds wools itchy but not with this mohair. Hope this helps 🙂

[Deborah Fister]

I am sorely tempted to try a scarf using 2 colors (2 skeins), but can’t decide on a stripe sequence. I don’t want to run out of weft in the middle of the project! Also, my loom is only 24″ so a blanket is not in the cards.

[Kellie Stapleton]

I’m weaving 2 panels of a baby blanket; the total warp it too big to do at once because my board is small. So I’ve done 2 separate warps. Could you use this method whereas I weave the first panel and use the end of it as the skeleton warp and tie on the 2nd warp (2nd panel of the blanket)?

[Kellie Stapleton]

Jane says above it’d be difficult with an 8 dent reed. Is that so even using the substitution chart? Is it still because with the  8 dent, threads are still too close together even using reed substitution?

[Kellie Stapleton]

I have a 24″ table loom. Can I still do the blanket? How would I do that? Also, still warp f2b even without a skeleton warp?

[Karen Bondy]

I have trouble with the shuttle falling between my warp yarns when I throw it on a wider warp. I am using a table loom and don’t get a big shed. I do have decent tension on the bottom warp threads. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Sandra]

It seems to me that it’s always a bit harder on a table loom because of the shed – that’s my experience anyway.  You just have to be a wee bit more careful when throwing your shuttle but your technique will improve with the more practice you get 😉

[Josephine Tobin]

I am not sure if this is the best place to post questions… I am still trying to navigate the Online Guild and Forum. Please let me know if there is a preferred page to post specific questions.

I am wondering if Jane demonstrates repairing skips in any of the videos. I don’t recall seeing this in Season 1 but as a new weaver I’d appreciate learning how to do this at the end of a project. I am about to take my mohair blanket off the loom and have noticed a “few” skips. Or will the fulling and brushing process be forgiving enough not to worry about skips?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Patricia Fear]

Hello firstly thank you.  Seasons greetings and continued health and happiness I know it is early for such but these are strange times.

I managed to purchase some cones of Caress Mohair with exactly the right percentages to use for making a stole and later a blanket.  It is difficult for me spacewise to warp front to back and I am wondering if in the first instance there would be a problem of putting on a dummy warp for say 18″ width at the back beam to tie on the stole warp (therefore just making the usual one cross).  I have a counterbalance LeClerc and will set it up skeletal.  After doing this and hopefully getting it right and gaining the muscle memory I am thinking I could make a blanket by simply adding the extra dummy warp width either side of the 18″ and tieing in total for the 45″ with the new warp.  This would be fine yes, then if I wish to revert back to another warp of 18″ width when I can afford more mohair yarn I could simply put the extra dummy warp threads to each side and tape them.

[Lise]

I see no one has commented on your idea yet. I am attempting my first dummy warp as well but starting from a previous stole. I’d like to know how your idea worked out.

Lise

[alexander mackenzie]

@ Karen Bondy I had this problem with my shuttle picking up threads from the lower shed. I fixed it by raising my shuttle race. My lower batten bar is not adjustable, but on my Nilus Leclerc, at the bottom of the batten swords there is a slider. I adjusted the bolts so the whole batten sits a wee bit higher, and now as long as I am weaving in what Jane calls the “sweet spot,” the lower threads of my shed lie nicely on the shuttle race.  Full disclosure: I have not yet tried a mohair warp.

[Barb Philips]

Thanks for the valuable information on how to weave with mohair.  It is a beautiful fiber.  I have a bit of experience with it from many years ago.  Around 1980 when I was a really new weaver, I decided to weave 2 mohair scarves from a 5 yard warp.  I did thread at 6 epi, but had only a 12 dent reed.  Didn’t really know what I was doing.  My husband helped me warp the loom with great difficulty.  I managed to finish the project, and obviously had a poor memory, because in 1988 I decided to repeat the experience.  This time I wove 2 45″ wide blankets.  Again I had my (same) husband help with the warping.  Still no 6 dent reed.  After many deep breaths, tea breaks etc. we got the warp on.  I wove the blankets and still have one of them.  I do remember unfortunately catching lots of mohair on the reed.  And I thought I’d only use it as a weft in the future.  After watching your videos on weaving with mohair, I feel confident I will have a more positive experience weaving my next project.  I recently bought a 6 dent reed, and my husband (same one) will once again help me warp my loom.

[Ginette]

Hi Barb,

You should definitely try weaving one again! You’ll be so amazed at how fast and easier it will be using Jane’s technique. It’s a breeze.

Nice to have your (same) husband/helper over the years to warp your loom 🙂

[Johana]

I need help with recalculating mohair yarn sett, I tried to find the sett but I can’t guess the right amount for the hair.

I have mohair in a ball of 190 meters / 207 yards / weight 50 grams. So it’s half as light as Jane sells. Composition 65% mohair 35% acrylic. Other mohair yarn is not sold in the Czech Republic. I have 8 and 12 DPI reed available. I guess DPI 8 might work, but won’t it be too loose for plain weave? Or should I try twill?

[Ginette]

Hi Johana,

Do you have enough of your mohair to do some sampling? Put enough on your loom to do one sample, cut, wash, brush and see how it turns out then you could resley the reed if needed to add more EPI or reduce it.

I would sample in both plain weave and twill.

[Danette Cross]

The first time I finally got a 10 yard 1320 end linen warp on my loom and saw the end of the warp coming up after weaving about 8 yards, I stopped cold. I knew I was going to end up weaving another 20 yards that year, and I had another loom I could use for other projects, so that’s when I really learned to tie a weaver’s knot (after 1320 times, I was a MASTER at it), and how to PATIENTLY tie on another warp. It is the best thing in the world to not have to think about threading 1320 heddles, or sleying the reed and dealing with any errors you found the first time!! I also found out a 2″ raddle attached to the back beam works great for helping wind on to a 2″ sectional beam front to back!! Also, now, a trapeze doesn’t hurt when winding on warp solo. So, this video warms my heart!!

[Johana]

Thanks for the video, I learned a lot new. My mohair yarn is thinner than yours, so my plaid is thinner, but looks softly. Now is waiting for finishing. Texsolv heddles were not a desired problem. The only problem I had to solve was the space between the warp beam and the heddles, there the threads often joined together and I often had to loosen them. I didn’t see in the video that you had to do it. Why is this happening to me?

[Sandra]

It’s beautiful, Jojana!  The sticking could be due to how close your sett was for your mohair as well as the fact that mohair is, in fact, a warp that likes to stick together.  Well done!

[Johana]

I send photos of the other two plaids and preparing the warp of the last fourth, and then I start washing and combing.

[Gerri Barosso]

Like Jane, I fell in love with the Spring. I don’t, however, think I would love warping it front to back. It doesn’t seem to me that I could get close enough to the heddles, when trying to thread from the back.

Is using a dummy warp the only way to do a mohair blanket on a Spring?

I know the back beam can be made to fold forward but it seems like it would be in the way of threading the heddles. So any shortening of that distance really wouldn’t be a gain in convenience.

Thanks

[Author]

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