| =================================== Sectional Warping Tips =================================== Attaching the warp to the sectional beam I purchase a narrow metal rod the length of the back beam for each loom. I attach it to the beam, inside the sectional part with several small eyehooks. (It could be attached to the beam itself, as long as it is out of the way.) I cut very thin nylon cords for each section. The cord should be twice the distance it takes to wrap once around the beam and reach to the back of the heddles. (Actually I don't cut the cords because the nylon frays instantly. Instead I hold a match or a candle to burn the ends in two, which seals both ends by melting them). Tie the ends together to make a loop out of the cord. Each cord may be then attached to the metal rod by tucking the loop under the metal rod and then through itself. When you are ready to attach a section of warp, simply form a larks head out of the cord and attach it to a knotted end of the warp. Wind on as you normal would. Be sure you are winding in the correct direction for you loom. Make sure that the knot in your warp does not fall on top of anything solid, but rather floats in space so it doesn't cause a build up in the section. Check this before cutting all your cords and adjust the measurement if necessary. I have tried various things for the cord and the narrow nylon seems the best as it doesn't stretch, it isn't bulky and it can be removed and reattached very quickly and easily. The metal bar is out of the way and using the eye hooks holds the rod up just enough to let the cord slip under with ease. I take off any unused cords as I don't like them dangling about. After attaching the thin cords to the thin rod on the sectional beam, wind the cord around as if you were winding on a warp. Do this before you cut all the cords so you know you have the correct length. If, when you form the larks head the imaginary warp knot would fall on top of one of those thin slabs that holds the rake, either shorten or lengthen the length of the cords, just enough so that when there is a warp tied to the cord, the attachment place, (the knot) will fall between two slabs into the "air" between them. You will not get a bump in your warp as you wind on. Some of my looms have 1/2 yard circumferences, some have yard circumferences, all are 2" sections. I prefer yard circumference as it requires less winding to get the length I want. Not all looms will accommodate a beam that size. ---- I don't use any packing. If you wind on with good tension on the warp threads, and your warp spread out to exactly fill the section, you should be able to avoid problems with your tension. If your tension box has the kind of reed at the front which pivots, try filling it slightly wider than the sections you will be winding and then pivot it to exactly fill each section. Also it helps to get your spool rack some distance from the tension box. Keep a careful eye on the sections as you wind them so that you don't get threads piling up on the sides, or in the middle. With a tension box I don't hold the warp threads in my hand. (I do hold them when I am warping with only a thread guide, to help tension the ends.) Dana in California -------------------------------------- To attach the warp to my Harrisville sectional beam I made loops of cord to go through each of the holes in the drilled section of the beam - there is a hole for each of the 2-inch sections. I put one end of the loop around a metal bar the length of the beam that then lies along the beam to prevent the loops from pulling through. The other end larks head directly to the warp bundle. It is most economical of warp to make the loop long enough to take the warp to just behind the heddles and, as someone has suggested, take care to make it so that the attachment to the warp bundle lies between the section supports so that it doesn't make a bump on the beam. Barbara Stafford, Napa, CA -------------------------------------- Try cutting manilla file folders into 1x4 strips. Turn up one inch on each end of the 4 inch strip. You can, at each round, place one in the 2" groove with the ends of manilla folder strip turned up. if you colored coded ends with some dot, you could even keep track of the round put on, like red for five or some such. It keeps row flat and they do not slide around. (Plus, price is right!) Juanita -------------------------------------- Plastic Tubing Plastic tubes can be used to help guide the sections of warp into their slots on the warp beam. They help to keep the warp threads from catching on the ends of the dowels that separate the sections. You will need two pieces of tubing for each side or rake on the sectional beam. So a sectional beam with 4 sides/rakes will need 8 piceces of tubing. The tubes fit over the dowels on either side of the section you are filling. Then you ease the tube down onto the dowel of the section on either side. If the tubes are too long they can catch on the back beam or some other part, depending on the loom. If this happens, shorten the tube as little as possible so that it will still span the distance, or try pushing it down just a bit further. When one section is filled, move the tubes to the sides of the next section you choose to fill. The tubes are especially helpful if your sections are not all exactly the same size and you are using a thread guide instead of a tension box. But it works the same way for either. Dana -------------------------------------- Another way to sectional warp, (without a spool rack): Put cup hooks or screw eyes in the ceiling (some distance from the loom). Or run yarns up and over a clothes drying rack. The important thing is to feed the yarn "up" off the cones. Run the yarn from cones or tubes (put a metal rod or wooden dowel through tubes and rest the rod on the back of chairs, so the yarn rolls off the tubes rather than pulls off the top of the tube) through these hooks. Feed yarn through several hooks if a particular yarn feeds off at different speeds. I then go through my tension box, but if you don't have a tension box you might be able to control tension with just the hooks. Susan Snover -------------------------------------- And another way to sectional warp with out the spool rack is to hang a reed from the ceiling above the cones. Feed the warp thru the reed and then to the tension box. This one has the added advantage of being able to use a reed that will give you the right ends per inch going into the box. Susan Meredith -------------------------------------- I wrote down each step of the warping process and hung it on the loom until each step became automatic: 1. Position tension box 2. Tie in a new warp bundle 3. Crank forward to position the knot in the middle space 4. Reset counter 5. Set tension 6. Crank it on 7. Tape ends 8. Loosen tension a bit before cutting so the ends don't spring out of the comb 9. Tape bundle down 10. Continue on from step one. Now, I am able to completely warp the loom by myself in way less than half the time the other methods took with the added benefit of it being a very even tension across the entire warp. Warping no longer seems like such a chore, and in fact I enjoy it! So, for those of you wondering if sectional warping is easier, in my book that's a big YES! Cris -------------------------------------- Warp can be attached to a sectional beam several ways. *My Weaver's Delight has tapes between each section that are long enough to go around the back beam and touch the back of the harnesses. Each tape has a 1" ring to receive a knot from 2" of warp ends. (Wind warp on WD on back beam in an "S" fashion.) *Some Unions just have the weaver tie a knot in the warp bundle, attach it onto a sectional peg ands then wind that section on, on top of the looped end. *Some older looms have staples in each section to which to attach the warp bundle. Some sectionals. Have cords and a rod to which to attach warp brought through reed from front. The ends, after threading through reed and heddles, are then attached to rod and ropes (which go up and over the back beam) and wound on. Adjusting length of ropes will keep rod from hitting pegs on its first journey around. When winding, have a friend around who counts well and doesn't talk much. :-) Juanitas ---------------- In order to use sectional equipment and get a consistent warp at an open sett for rug weaving, you need to do something to maintain the warp on the warp beam. Some weavers use cardboard and file folders. I would suggest something more substantial. If you have even minor woodworking skills you can cut a number of slats from hardwood that are about .100" narrower that the width of your warp beam sections and about 1" wide and 1/4" thick. With every one and a quarter turns of the beam, insert this rigid stick into the warp and wind it onto the beam. This has the effect of introducing a new support with nearly every turn and will result in a very even warp in the end. When you use a sectional beam with an open sett, it is even more important to level out each section as you wind as the warps have a tendency to fall into the open areas in each section. Your warp sections should be very even and not as they appear in your photo. You can also dress your loom from front to back, even with a sectional beam, and add tensioning bars while winding the warp. If you prepare your warp this way you can use packing sticks that are just shy of the width of your warp beam, inserting one across the entire warp package with each one and a quarter turns of the beam. Tensioning bars can be used with or without Angel Wings, and have the effect of turning your entire loom into a tension box. If you take the time to prepare your warp with care, the weaving will be quite enjoyable and trouble free. Su Butler -------------------------------------- To use a spool rack for sectional warping, it is common to also use some sort of tension box, or thread guide to keep your warp threads in order as you wind on each section. Put your spools onto the spool rack in the order you wish the ends to be within the sections. I put mine down in a row and then begin another row ending up with several rows of warp spools. Then when I thread the tension box I take the first warp thread from the first row at the top and place it through the tensioning device, then I take the second thread down and thread it, and so on. When you come to the end of a row, go to the next row. I like to get the spool rack as far way from the warp beam as is possible. When I have the desired number of *turns* on the section, I use blue painters tape to hold the ends in order rather than a cross. Dana -------------------------------------- |
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| "When you are ready to attach a section of warp, simply form a larks head out of the cord and attach it to a knotted end of the warp." |
| "They help to keep the warp threads from catching on the ends of the dowels that separate the sections." |
| "Another way to sectional warp, (without a spool rack)" |
| "I wrote down each step of the warping process and hung it on the loom until each step became automatic" |