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.