[Ansteorra-Textiles] Greetings and Questions

[Fields Family Farm]

I realize that the 'clan tartan' think was dreamt up as a marketing gimmick
in modern times.  I've been told that the weavers in the clans wove what
they wanted, and if enough of the clan wore it, they could be recognized by
it, but that was about as 'clan tartan' as they got.

>From reading I'd gathered that a reed spaced the warp threads, but '10 dent'
wasn't obviously equivalent to 10 spots for thread per inch.

If I can build/buy/borrow a loom, I plan to start with a plain weave
pattern.  I tend to like my cloth simple.  Perhaps in the second loom I
build I'll put more 'shafts'.

As for whether I'll 'like' weaving yardage, I doubt that I'll be able to
tell from reading about it.  This seems like one of those activities that
one must do to find their own opinion.  Jogging, for example, sounds grand
when one reads about it - fresh air, a continually changing viewpoint, and
good health.  Cooking, on the other hand, sounds messy, imprecise, and
sweaty.  And yet, I dislike jogging, and I like cooking.

I anticipate that I'll end up with the Dorothy Parker view of weaving.  I'll
dislike the weaving, but I'll love having woven.


Hrethric/Rick



On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:05 PM, Sharon Palmer <ranvaig at columbus.rr.com>wrote:

> Thanks, both of you, for the advice.
>>
>> I'm starting to realize that I know very little about weaving.  At first
>> it didn't seem that complicated, but now I'm getting somewhat intimidated by
>> the amount to learn and all of the complications possible.
>>
>> For example, I was just planning a plain-weave loom, with the minimum
>> number of shafts.  I thought I could weave a tartan with that, and work on
>> something more advanced later.  But tartans are usually twills?  Even in
>> period?
>>
>
> There were twills in the patterns we call tartan now.. There were probably
> also plain weave patterns.  The whole "clan tartan" thing is post period.
>
>
>  I've been looking at looms for sale.  I don't even understand all of what
>> they're offering.  What's a 10 dent reed?
>>
>
> A reed is a device for spacing the warp threads.  A 10 dent reed lets you
> have 10 threads per inch.. or 20 with 2 threads per space, or 30, 40, 50,
> etc.  Or 15 threads per inch with one space having one thread, the next
> having two, etc.  A rigid heddle loom combines the read with the shed.
>
>
>  I think I need to get together with a weaver and learn a bit more before
>> trying to build anything.
>>
>
> Among other things, you probably need to be sure that you *like* weaving
> yardage.  If nothing else I'd start with some books about weaving.
>
> Some looms are build to make one thing easier, and others to make other
> things easier.  The only thing you really *need* to have is a handful of
> sticks, but a backstrap loom isn't the best thing for yardage.
>
> _The Book of Looms_ by Eric Broudy might be a good thing to look at. I
> believe it's hard to find now, but you might try Interlibrary loan. Google
> books doesn't have the whole thing, but it does have quite a bit.
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=shN5_-W1RzcC&lpg=PP1&ots=2D_sfW6k3I&dq=broudy%20looms&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
>
> Happy Weaving
>
> Ranvaig
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>
>
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