Tuesday, November 18, 2008
"Figure 8's" on the Leashes
An engineer generally can't leave well enough alone and one that becomes a tapestry weaver is no exception. In class, it was mentioned one weaver added paper clips to the end of the leashes and slipped the other end of the paper clip around the warp. She did this to eliminate the need to releash every time she warped the loom. Leashing can be more complicated than warping, so I agree there is room for a design improvement. I wasn't sure about the paper clips on my little loom, so I ran down to the store and looked at all the jewelry findings. I had hoped to find small slip rings, but only found jump rings and Figure 8 connectors. I chose the figure 8s and placed them on my leashes. We'll see how this works out.
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6 comments:
What a good idea. Like Tommye, I'll be interested to hear how well it works. It would be good to have a method of recycling leashes..might even try it myself. Thanks for sharing this technique.
I like describing as recycling - that's perfect! I'm really just looking at the amount of time I have and I would like to spend it weaving rather than preparing. I'll have to update on that - the 8s are a good step, but I think there's something better out there.
I guess I'm kind of clueless, but I'm not sure how this works. Do you thread the warps through the figure 8s? And if so, why does that make it easier to re-use the leashes? Thanks.
You're not clueless! I'm visual and I generally communicate better with pictures - I should have more pictures! One circle of the figure 8s goes on the end of the leash and the other circle goes around the warp I want to pull with the leash. The circles of the figure 8s are not complete, so there there is an opening I can slip the yarm through. Therefore, I leave the 8s on the leashes and after I warp the loom I can slip the 8's onto the warp. Voila - no releashing - now I realize that only works if I have the right number of leashes for the number of warps.
OK, thanks, that makes sense. If you can slip the 8 onto the warp, doesn't that mean that the warp could also slip OUT of the 8 again? (Sorry, I'm the elephant's child, always pestering people with questions!)
I used to make leashes with a small pony tail elastic on each end of a piece of string, then just slip one elastic onto the rod, and then wrap the leash around the warp and slip the other elastic around. It gives them a little give as well. I think I learned that from Micala Sidore.
Th warp does not just slip into the figure 8 - it must be pushed into the circle. So it cannot simply slip out on it's own. Also, the opening of the circle is also towards the center of the figure 8. When the warp is pulled it is at the bottom of the figure 8 opposite the opening. It cannot fall out by itself. You would have to knowing attempt to remove it on purpose. What I do not prefer is that these figure 8s do occasionally catch on the stationary warps, ergo I will try the slip rings next time.
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