Friday, May 10, 2013

How long does it take to weave a rug??

I get asked this frequently.  I usually just smile and tell them about an hour of actually weaving.  BUT  here is how much work really goes into weaving a rug.
I borrowed this pic from the Internet but have one just like it, but didn't have a picture of mine.  This is the first step, it is called measuring the warp.  The warp is the "string" that runs the length of the rug.  Each cross on this is one yard, so if I am counting this right there is  about 9 to 10 yards of warp so will make several nice size rugs.


The warp is taken off the warping board by making these loops over your hand to sort of hold it all together then where the cross over is, you slip the lease stick into it. See how handy that folded up tread mill is??  That is my little table top loom sitting on the floor.  But I am warping up the big floor loom for my instructions here.
This picture shows that lease stick tied to the front of the loom.  By the loops being crossed it keeps them straight so you can thread them thru the beater bar that you see here.  There are little slots and each 320 ends are threaded thru. I really like to warp my loom from the front to the back.  So much easier when doing it by myself, and I get an even wrap which is extremely important in weaving.
You can just see to the left of last picture the wire heddles, each one has a hole in the center and you thread the warp thru these heddles in a certain sequence depending on if you want a pattern to your weaving.  So now I have 320 ends to thread thru these.
I have been a couple weeks puttering with this so far.  I will add a couple more pictures as I progress with the warping of the loom that has to be done before you ever weave at all.
So what do you think I should say when someone says "how long does it take you to weave a rug?"
I do have to say that most weavers would never complain about all this work as it is a labor of love and each step is important for the end results.

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