Anxious To Cut It Off
10:00 p. m. Sunday night. Ahhh – cutting the fabric off felt so good. The whole nine yards plus some. I have approximately 30 threads to mend. Overall I am quite pleased with it. And can’t wait to wet finish it and press it to a nice sheen. I wish I had a cold mangle!
Snipping, Snipping, Snipping
Not Much Loom Waste.
Off to work!
The End of the Warp
The cone of silk arrived. Weaving commenced along with the return of my son from college. With unpacking, cooking good food and lots of visiting I did not allow myself to stress out. With the apron bar in sight, I am nearing the end of yard nine. On Saturday I had 24 inches left.
Weights Hanging At The Back Of The Loom.
With one yard to go I realized I was going to run out of silk. Another cone has been ordered. While I wait I thought I would show the back of the loom where the washers and S-hooks hang. The (pain ) prescription bottle holds a broken warp thread.
I measured how much one pirn weaves up. On the average one pirn weaves up about seven inches. I can weave one full pirn in about one hour. Total that is about 46 pirns. With 90 inches to go, I need to wind 13 more pirns.
My other looms are lonely. In my mind I am planning the next project. It has saturated colors ( after 9 yards of pure white silk) I look forward to something quick and colorful!
My Loom Room
Remember Dory in Finding Nemo?…..just keep on swimming, just keep on swimming…..126 inches to go – let’s see. That’s 7,560 more picks. (that is weaving lingo for throwing the shuttle with a weft thread.) I should be done before you know it!
No - The Lacing Will Not Be Blue !
Communication continues regarding the dress. I am pushing into yard five (of nine.) This is the back of the gown (the muslin). The lacing will not be blue ! We used fabric and ribbon that was on sale. Sara and Kate are going to be making alteration markings and mailing it back to Karen. This long distance project is proving to be very challenging. Back to weaving.
Karen Has Put Together a Muslin From Several Sources
While I continue to weave the yardage, Karen is working on the pattern. I found a very useful book on creating custom clothing from flat patterns, using a sloper. The muslin is on the way to Ohio so Sara can have it fitted and altered. Her friend Kate is a fashion designer at OSU and will be doing the alterations with Karen on Webcam. This is getting complicated !
Here is the wooden tool that sits in the warp where the broken thread is. It simply holds the warp threads open to allow a clear view of the heddle that needs to be threaded. I have had it so long I can not remember where I got it. I think a wood worker could make one. It reminds me a little of a stringed instrument bridge.
Linen Tester
This little tool is so handy. I lost mine so, I had to go and buy a new one. This one is very sturdy made of metal with a mag. of 8x. It turns out I was not beating to square. Problem solved.
Note the two bungee cords
I think I have the issues resolved. First of a piece of wood under the loose section worked nicely. I will put up a photo tomorrow. At dinner Neil and I discussed the problems and when he came to take a look and he wondered why I only had one bungee on the batten? Low and behold when I glanced down the length of the batten there was a minor discrepancy. I placed a second bungee cord on the other side of the batten and measured (like an engineer – multiple times) to make sure everything was copacetic.
Voila ! Oh – one more thing. I had misplaced my pick glass. Wasted two days digging around for it. Finally went out and bought a new one. Measured my picks per inch and found a was quite a bit short. Beating to square has made a world of difference ! I am so happy! Photos tomorrow.
When I became the mother of a little baby girl, I began to daydream about weaving the fabric for her wedding gown 
some day. Well the day is here....