Split‐Shed Workshop Instructed by Deborah Silver Set‐Up Instructions

Split‐shed Workshop instructed by Deborah Silver Set‐up Instructions

Your loom needs to be pre‐warped. You may use either a 15 dent reed at one end per dent (epd) or an 8 dent reed at 2 epd. The warp yarn is 8/4 cotton carpet warp. This yarn is fine, cheap, and strong, yet very forgiving of tension issues. Many companies carry and it comes in lots of colors, but I recommend one spool of the Smokey Blue (color 06). It works well with most weft colors. DO NOT use linen or linen blends! You will need 146 warp ends. The repeat is: 4 3 2 3 4 1. Note on the draft that there are extra ends at the selvedges. Double the last end at each selvedge. (Thread 2 ends together in the reed and heddles.) Plan the length of the warp for 40” of woven cloth plus loom waste. You may wish to make it longer for further sampling. If you bought one 8 oz. spool, the warp may be as long as 4 yards and you will still have plenty left for weft.

Tie‐ups on a jack loom are according to the diagram. Skip tying up treadle #5 if possible. Black squares are rising shafts. For direct tie‐up looms: Treadles should be tied up consecutively: 1 2 3 4. Shafts 3 & 4 will be treadled with one foot. You will need to change the tie‐up order for the other two weave structures. For table looms or any loom where a shaft cannot be held up in a half‐raised position by treadling: Split‐shed weaving creates two mini‐sheds by moving a layer of warp ends in‐ between the raised and lowered ends. On a floor loom, this is accomplished by depressing

some treadles halfway. On a table loom, you will have to buy a very expensive piece of equipment. Just kidding! It’s a stick of wood. Measure the height of your open shed at the reed when it is pushed back. You will need a piece of wood cut to half that height. (See diagram.) The wood needs to be between ½ ‐ 1” deep and at least 12” wide (but shorter than the width of the reed). To make a split shed, you will raise both the upper and “split” shafts all the way. The wood is inserted into the shed against the reed. The split shafts are then lowered and are held up in position by the wood. You may wish to practice this before the workshop to see whether placing the wood either in front or behind the reed makes the sturdiest shed. The wood is removed before beating.

Once the loom is warped, weave a plain weave header, alternating treadles 2 & 4 on a jack loom, or alternating even and odd shafts on other looms. Mark the center of the warp by tying a thin white yarn around the center dent in the reed.

Weft yarns:

Tied Beiderwand uses two pattern wefts and one tabby weft. The two pattern weft colors will blend in places to create a third color. Wefts will need to be thick, loosely plied yarns that can compress when beaten, but “pouf‐out” in the pattern areas. I like Lamb’s Pride Bulky, Geo rug wool or Deco rug wool. Heritage has many colors of Lamb’s Pride, but it specific colors are desired, please place a special order at least two weeks prior to class. Choose solid colors that contrast well and that will make an interesting color when blended. The tabby yarn will be the same thickness, but since it will not blend with the pattern colors, you may choose a variegated‐color yarn for tabby weft. (Lamb’s Pride Bulky has some beautiful variegated selections.) The pattern wefts will be the colors of the design, while the tabby creates the background color. It is best to be adventurous and choose interesting color combinations with lots of contrast. You will need 20 yards of each color. The sample weft yarns pictured here are “actual size”, if printed out on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, so that you can compare them to similar yarns you may already have at home. Unbalanced Tied Weave uses the same type of weft yarns as above, but there is only one pattern weft and one tabby weft. The tabby weft may be variegated. You will need 20 yards of each color. Bronson Lace uses the same yarn for weft as for the warp. You will need 40 yards. Shuttles: You will need two flat/stick shuttles for the pattern wefts. These need to be long enough to hold while navigating the shuttles through a 9” wide shed. The tabby shuttle will be thrown through a normal shed and can be any shuttle that you wish to use.

Berroco Ultra Lamb’s Pride Deco Rug Geo Rug Apaca Chunky Bulky Wool Wool

Materials List: Two 12‐16” flat/stick shuttles. One 8‐16” shuttle of your choosing. Warp and weft yarns listed above. Scissors Optional items: Extra flat pattern shuttles T‐pins Orange or red medium to fine point permanent markers Clamp light and extension cord. Transparent or masking tape 14‐22” flat shuttle A few large safety pins Colored hi‐liter (not yellow) 6‐12” ruler 5‐10 yards fat rug weft Fishing weights Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. [email protected]