Three Rugs One Warp
Mom and I (Carol and Leona) happily joined the Rug Weavers Study Group this past winter and we were inspired and excited to weave our first rag rugs. We had been crafting regularly with her neighbour Jean and we invited her to join us on this journey and the three of us started to make a plan. We decided that we would warp the loom (a LeClerc jack loom) with enough warp that we could each weave a rug consecutively one after the other. This is where we encountered our firsts hurdle. We did not have a warping board. So, we enlisted the help of Carol’s husband Jim and he got to work out in the wood-shop. After a quick search online we found a great how-to video tutorial on YouTube and in just one day we were ready to use our handy new tool.
Our original plan was to weave our rugs 24” wide and 36” long on a 10-dent reed. We were not exactly sure how much we would need for tie ups and loom waste and space in between each rug so we erred on the side of caution and decided to make our warp 200” long. The three of us sat together and watched a YouTube video that showed us the step-by-step process of dressing the loom then we got to work. We noticed that we were missing another piece of equipment, so it was back out to the workshop, and we made of raddle with a nice piece of wood and a box of nails. I measured the warp on our new warping board, mom threaded the heddles and then I sleyed the reed. We enlisted Jo’Anne to come over on our crafting afternoon and help us make sure that we had everything properly set up. After some figuring out and fiddling around we got things good to go but then discovered that two dents had been missed when sleying the reed. Other than this small error we were ready to go and grateful to Jo’Anne for helping us! We left the project overnight and the next day collectively decided that we would re-slay the reed and switch it out for an 8-dent reed to spread out our warp threads. This would make our rugs a little wider. This time Jean had the honour of sleying the reed and by later that day the weaving had begun! Jean went first weaving with fabric strips from a quilting jellyroll. I went second and used two sheets and a tablecloth for my rug. Carol went last using all sheets. It was fun and each of us very much enjoyed the process of making of our rag rugs. Each of our finished rugs measure approximately 30” wide and 45” long and it was really neat to see how different three projects turned out when all were woven on the same warp. Plans are already forming for our next co-operative endeavour!
Links used:
https://youtu.be/u9Ajcm-1VU8
https://youtu.be/eYDZubyKf9Q
Warp: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton 4 ply worsted weight 710 yds/ 14oz (650m/ 400g)
