So far the experience has been quite delightful. I learned how to warp the loom, and then did so all by myself. I do have to admit I was a little nervous. All those loose ends, (119 to exact) that needed to be strung through the reed ( see that metal grate below) one by one and do it so that not one of those threads gets out of place or tangled.
Then it's on to the heddles. See those wire type things below? Well this loom is a 4 shaft loom and you need to know if your going to thread the string through shaft 1, 2, 3, or 4. After all the threads have gone through the heddles on one of the 4 shafts then you get to pull them tight and tie them to the beam. To check your work all you need to do is raise each shaft one at a time and make sure that no unwanted threads are in the shed. Lucky for me the shed was clear, so onto weaving.
This was a sampler that I made to get a feel for how the loom works. My homework was to use different types of yarns, different pressure on the beater bar, and lifting the shafts in a different order to make different types of clothe.
This was my second sampler. The one above is simple weaving, this one was using "twill patterns". I really liked how all the different patterns came together.
This is a close up of a pattern call "goose eye"
My next class is tomorrow, and we will start learning how to plan and design our next project. I have finished cleaning and refinishing my floor loom. I'm just waiting for the replacement parts to arrive. They should be here sometime this week.