Practice

Since the Betty Mac the loom is already warped, I decided to practice. Yup Betty Mac. That's her name. I'm not even sure I like it, but that's her name. Betty for short is okay too.

Anyway, Betty showed up at my house with this yellow, orange, red warp already set up. Looks like worsted weight wool. I've ignored this warp for a few days, but it isn't going away. I don't have any yarns in my stash this color, and, frankly, I think its kind of ugly. But I don't want to waste it. Maybe I could use it for practice?

Before I started practicing, I wanted to know what I'd be practicing, so my first task was to figure out how to read a weaving draft. I was using a rigid heddle loom before, and mostly ignored the pattern draft stuff I'd read earlier. This time around, I payed more attention. At first, it made my head hurt. Then the part about the threading draft started making sense. The weaving draft and the shaft combination took a little more time, but things got easier once I stopped over thinking everything. 

I went back and forth, looking at the book (The Handweaver's Pattern Directory) and looking at Betty and decided that her harnesses were warped like for a tabby or twill weave. Perfect. I just needed to change the way the pedals were connected, and then everything made sense. I grabbed some cotton yarn and started practicing.

I think its fun to see the different patterns, and how the weft yarns change to look of the warp yarns.