WEAVEIT RIGID HEDDLE HOW TO

The scarves pictured above were woven with a straight twill threading, i.e., 1-2-3-1-2-3. This scarf has alternating sections of warp dominance (gold) and weft dominance (teal).This scarf is weft-dominant on one side (left), warp dominant on the other (right).I also reversed the sequence to get a zig-zag pattern of diagonal lines.

To achieve the alternating pattern, I modified the 3-heddle sequence to 1) one heddle down, the other in neutral, 2) the second heddle down, the first in neutral, 3) both heddles up.

Next, I wove a scarf with alternating sections of weft-dominance and warp-dominance. The two sides of the fabric appear quite different from each other. I wove a scarf with the weft-dominant side facing up on the loom, warp-dominant side facing down for the whole length of the project. The bottom portion is a section of weft-dominant twill, showing more teal weft floats. The top portion is a section of warp-dominant twill, showing more gold warp floats. Any shed made with this threading is always 2 against one – plain weave is not possible with this threading. One third of the warp threads go through the holes of one heddle, another third go through the holes of the second heddle, and the final third of warp threads go through the slots of both heddles. With the help of my internet sources and some mental gymnastics performed during wakeful hours late at night, I realized I could thread the loom at 1.5 times the density of a single heddle in a 2/1 threading. Now, back to the 2/1 twill that can be woven on the rigid heddle loom with only two heddles and no pick-up sticks or heddle rods. The “right” side shows more indigo warp floats, the “wrong” side shows more white weft floats, and the diagonal lines frequently form a 30° angle.

Denim is made with indigo-dyed warp and white weft, so the two sides of the fabric look different. The other side of the fabric is a 1/3 twill, with the weft crossing under 3 warp threads, over one warp thread. A 2/2 twill looks the same on both sides of the fabric and the diagonal lines form a 45° angle.ĭenim, used for blue jeans, is typically woven in a 3/1 twill, whereby a weft thread crosses over 3 warp threads, under one warp thread on one side of the fabric. A 2/2 twill means a weft thread goes over two warp yarns, under two warp yarns, with each new row offset by one warp thread. Having first learned to weave on floor looms with a number of shafts that are multiples of 4, I tend to think of twill as a balanced 2/2 twill or an uneven 3/1 – 1/3 twill. The salient feature of twill is its pronounced diagonal lines created by small floats of yarn crossing over two or three yarns in the web. I want an alternate weave structure I can create with just the two heddles I already use.Īfter poking around on the internet, I found an answer: twill weave, but specifically 2/1 twill. If I want to do a complicated weave structure, I have floor looms for that.

WEAVEIT RIGID HEDDLE HOW TO

My library of weaving books and videos is full of advice on how to make a rigid heddle loom act like a 4-shaft loom, but the process always seems so complicated! Weave with 3 heddles, or use multiple pick-up sticks, or add heddle rods. But after producing dozens of plain-weave scarves, table runners, pillow covers, etc., the thought comes creeping: “What other structures might I be able to create on this loom?” Both heddles go up for one shed, both heddles go down for the other shed. I weave with double heddles for a double-density sett with finer yarns on my loom, but I still am weaving plain weave. If you like to create visual interest in handwovens by varying the order of colors and textures of yarn, and complete a project in less than a day, you can hardly do better than to warp and weave on a rigid heddle loom. Plain, or tabby weave, is when a weft yarn crosses over one warp yarn, under one warp yarn, across the width of the fabric, just as you would do to make a lattice pie crust. Its primary strength is its ability to make beautiful plain-weave cloth rapidly and easily. One of the things I love about my rigid heddle loom is its simplicity.

Weaveit rigid heddle