Simple Measuring Tool to Aid in Winding a Sectional Warp

The Royal Hand Weavers of Nigeria demonstrate an ingenious tool to track how much warp is being wound on.  This is simply a pre-measured string wound onto a separate spool.  This is the guide string that keeps track of how much warp they are winding onto their warping drum, so that all sections have the same amount. 

I thought this would be a good way to keep track of how much I am winding on.  I know you can count the turns, but it seems something always happens to interrupt that process -- a tangle, the dog wants to go out, or whatever-- and you lose track of where you were in the counting.  I also purchased a gadget that will measure the string as it passes through (something fisherman use), but that seems to be unreliable--and I don't have the right sized batteries for it.  This analog way of tracking the length of the warp should be fool proof! 

Without having to re-invent the wheel, I tried using my ball'n winder because it's already designed to easily wind and unwind yarn.  I also considered using my skein winder, but it takes up a lot of space ... 

Very simply, I attached the ball'n winder to the top of my spool rack.  It has a pre-measured guide string in a neon yellow color that will stand out from the natural cotton.  I attached it to an empty section on the warp beam (It does not go through the tension box), and let it roll on with the 24 yarns for the "real" section.  When it runs out, I know I've wound on the required amount of yarn.  

This system worked like 2 charms!  

 

 

Cardboard guides to keep the guide thread winding onto the correct section. 

The only caution is that the section used for the guide string should also have the little metal pieces that make sure the string winds onto the right section.  Sometimes, it missed and wound around the rod instead of the section.  Honestly, I had to watch that guide string winding on more than the section with 24 threads!  Because I did not have a 2nd set of the little metal guides that slip onto the section separators, I made some out of cardboard.  Very make-shift.  I'll have to order another set for that very important section! 

Thinking Out Loud: Planning a DIY Spool Rack for Sectional Warping

 Finished Spool Rack / Creel

Someone gave me a tapestry weaving loom (Thank you Jean P.), but I decided that I don't need yet another new hobby at this point (Maybe someday when I have to downsize to a quieter smaller loom, but not now.)  If I want to do tapestry, I'd probably work that out on one of the floor looms --I'd just be working horizontally vs. vertically, and not using the treadles.   

My husband helped me re-work this Navajo frame loom into a spool rack [Sorry -- I don't have a before picture.  Just imagine the frame above without the spools.]  These racks are ridiculously expensive to purchase already made, but they look simple enough to make at home -- or to adapt from existing items.   Bonus: My Dear Husband has agreed to help with this project.

 

Here's another shot, so you can see the 24 threads being fed into the tension device.  Order from chaos!  It just amazes me that this can work at all. 

Would the plastic bobbins work better with my bobbin winder?  It looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time winding bobbins from large spools of cotton. Another option is to just buy the spools of cotton.  Captain Yarn has about the best price for 10/2 cotton.   I wound up buying 30 1/2-pound spools of 10/2 cotton from Captain Yarn in Canada, as he had the best price (plus $36 shipping)--before Bump's tarriffs kicked in a few years ago.  I will need 24 spools to wind a sectional warp for a coverlet.  I got the extras for the tabby weft.  

I cut some lime green rounds off of a pool noodle to act as spacers between the spools.  I was worried about runaway spools, but once I started filling the sectional beam, that was not a problem.  The tension box keeps things under tension and rolls out the yarn at a nice pace -- however fast you roll it on.  

Here is some of the research I did before making my DIY spool rack, just in case it might help someone else out there: 

There are multiple options for the 4-inch spools, too.  Cardboard or plastic.     The plastic spools sell for  $3 or $4 each.  [Rosie's Plastic Spool for $3 each or Leclerc's Plastic Spools for $4 each.  The cardboard ones from Schacht are $3.75, although you can get them cheaper on Amazon -- but I suspect you get what you pay for there-- They are also smaller.  So it may be worth the investment to get the good ones from The Woolery.  The official Spools for weaving hold 8 oz. of yarn.  That seems like a good benchmark for loading the bobbins.  

It sounds like I'd need to amend my DIY electric bobbin winder to use the Schacht cardboard bobbins so that it would be secured on both ends.  Not sure if it would work for the plastic bobbins.  I suspect it's a balance thing?  Since I am using the pre-wound spools, I don't need to waste time winding my own, and since my anticipated long-warp projects will be for coverlets, I can go with the standard white cotton spools.

More thinking out loud:

Here are a few spool racks currently on the market to give you an idea of what I'm talking about --along with the crazy high prices:

Folding 24-in. Spool Rack from Ability Weavers in MI 

• It folds up flat for easy storage.
• It also has the thread guides.
• Made for 4-inch 1/2-pound thread spools.
• Holds 24 spools.
  
• $165   
• Sales at Ability Weavers go to hiring more weavers.  They really do give back to the world.  It's a good cause.
  

Here's the Schacht Spool Rack

• Holds 40 4-inch spools.
• $377 at The Woolery.
• It doesn't seem to have the thread guides. 

 

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I found this one on Pinterest, but the follow-up link did not lead to more details.

I like how the centers turn for installing/swapping out the spools.  I wonder how hard that would be to replicate?  Hubby says KISS, so I guess that's a no.

 

 

Leclerc Bobbin Stand with Thread Guide (photo from The Woolery)  which sells for $213

This DIY version is from one of the weaving groups.  They added the thread guides to hold the thread up and keep the thread from slipping off the ends.  Yes, I think we can do that!

 

Will I need the thread guides, too?  Yes-- We added them. 

Setting up a Sectional Warp Beam--Like Real Weavers Do!

 

Don't those sections look lovely! 

[Later edit: I realize now that I will need to re-work some of these sections as they did not all wind on in even and flat ribbons, which will cause tension problems later on, so I need to deal with that issue BEFORE I thread heddles.  Still--It was a good 1st run! and good practice.] 

24 lines coming into wind on a section.

I love the way this looks -- kind of like a spider web. 

Now that I have the "little loom" (Not so little really: It's a Kessenich 30 -inch 4-shaft floor loom) newly set up with a sectional warp beam, I am planning to have it perpetually set up to weave coverlets for the for see-able future.  I don't mind weaving multiple panels -- It just makes the joy of weaving last longer with a little less time on the set-up side. 

Warping and Starting a Loom Using the Sectional Warp Beam System [Vimeo video] by LeClerc Looms 

Since this is the first time I was winding the sectional beam with a spool rack /creel and the tension box, I wanted to review the process.  Lucky for me: LeClerc created this little video [above] as a reference.  Last time I did it, I did not have the spool rack, and ran the warp chains for each section on my vertical warping mill.  It took about 2 months to get it all done!  I'm hoping this more direct method will be quicker with fewer places to make mistakes.  

It took about 8 hours to wind on 29 sections; About 10 minutes per section, once I got the hang of it towards the end.  Much less time than running a separate warp chain for each section, and much less frustration that trying to wind on a 16-yard warp all at once!

I'll make a separate post about my DIY creel rack.  I want to make sure it works and doesn't need any modifications before I post it. [It worked out surprisingly well!  And easy enough to make.]

I bought the 10/2 cotton thread from Captain Yarn in Canada. 

 

I measured off a neon yellow guide string so that I knew how long to wind each section.  I have a fishing line counter, but I've heard those are not as accurate as you might expect them to be, and I didn't have the right size batteries to see if it worked -- Also, no way to attach it to the tension box.  The guide string worked very well attached to the ball'n winder at the top of the spool rack/creel.

The guide line winding on.    This section could have benefited from those nifty little metal guides that keep the line winding into the right section.  I only had 1 set which I used for the cotton.  I made a DIY cardboard set as shown above.  It worked but the metal ones would have worked better.  I'll have to purchase another set for this purpose.

  

Here are the metal ones that worked so well for the actual sections, along with the yellow guide wire at the end of the beam. 

 

  

Things worked pretty well, but there is always a learning curve when trying new things.

Although I wound on the first section correctly, I realized I'd wound on the next 4 sections in the wrong direction.  So I had to make myself a note to make sure I pushed the beam down as I was winding on.  I'll have to pull those 4 sections off and re-wind them in the correct direction.  Fortunately, they are already pre-measured, so it should not be too much trouble to run it through the tension box again.

 

 Special THANKS to my Dear Husband who helps with the additional tools I require for this weaving journey.  He built the sectional warp beam and modified the frame loom into a spool rack.  

Squirrel Cage Swift

This is a squirrel cage swift.   

It's used to wind skeins of yarn into balls or cakes.  

I didn't think I needed one of these, but this one fell into my hands this weekend.   An older quilter friend had an estate sale this weekend, and this was one of the pieces in the sale.  She had wanted to get into spinning in her craft life.  He daughter said that a friend in Ohio made this for her out of oak.  It is a very solid and substantial piece!  Although she didn't get around to using it, she had it sitting in her living room as a piece of furniture.

I have a bale singles still in skeins  [See the bag of blue and red yarn above.] that I purchased for upcoming coverlet projects.  This squirrel cage swift will make it much easier and quicker to get them onto the bobbins for weaving. Yahoo!  I wonder if I can go directly from the skeins to bobbins?

Thank you, Universe, and Marilyn C.  You knew I needed this!   And now I have something that belonged to you, a thing I will use and cherish!

Here's a video demonstrating how this type of swift works. 

I think this one would need some slight amendments in order to wind a skein onto it, as from a spinning wheel bobbin.  I'd have to add a crank, or turning handle to the upper squirrel cage.  It's do-able. 

Arcane Fiber Works - Gorgeous Hand Dyed Yarn

Arcane Fiber Works - Driftwood

 

Have you seen these?  Arcane Fiber Works is a dye shop in Canada that uses photos to inspire the colors of their dye combinations on yarn.   

I ordered 2 skeins of Driftwood for my next pair of socks on the knitting looms.  I used one of my retirement gift certificates to pay for it. Huzzah!

I also wanted to get a closer look, with the intention of dying some of my own in this style.  The owner has a keen eye for color!

Arcane Fiber Works - My Guide to Hand-Dyed Yarn - Pumpkin Spice 

They have a number of videos showing their methods.   The real trick is to figure out what dye colors to mix up and in what proportions.  I think I can use my Periodic Table of Colors to figure out the dye mixes.

This is what it looks like balled up.

 

I already turned the skeins into balls and  loaded them up on my 64-peg oval sock knitting looms from CinDWood.  This will be the handwork project for the next year or so ...  Here I've already worked up the toe box with a kitchener cast for one of the socks. 

Cascade Wool Socks Finished on the Oval Knitting Loom

Wool Socks

I think I started this pair of socks around Christmas time (?)  I worked on them during down time while traveling, and also during my Quilting get-togethers so I would have some handwork to do.  I don't do much hand stitching.

I used the 64-peg 1/4-inch oval knitting loom by CinDWood.    The yarn was Paton's Kroy sock yarn in cascade colors, which is wool, but quite thin.  I should be able to wear these socks in shoes, rather than relegating them to be winter bed socks.

I was wondering how these would turn out on the larger loom.  Looks like a perfect fit!