Bam!

I pulled 2 threads out of the center to give it room to move around when I wash it.  I hope it works out ok!  The center doesn't look too bad.  I think I have enough yardage for 2 blankets!!  And I left the loom threaded so I can run another set if I want to by tying on to the old set.  That would save a lot of time!!

Inside Outside

 This is what it looks like inside my doubleweave blanket!

I love how I can weave a twill blanket on my 8-shaft loom!  

I'm hoping that when it comes off, I can wash out the seam in the center.  It's better than having two panels sewn together though!  It's almost done... Maybe another hour or two of weaving and I can call it good!

Enjoyment

 I've really been enjoying this weave a lot!
As you can see in this picture, there are some pins helping to keep the layers together better.  Last time  I did a blanket, it became mis-shapen a little bit because as you roll it on, the layers are stretching at different rates.  With some pins, the layers will be more of the same size.  So far, it's helping a lot.

 It's amazing how easy this doubleweave ended up being, too!

I'm hoping that the grouping of threads will relax once it's off the loom and washed.

 I love all the shades of blues and greens!

I keep seeing only one side of it, but this is the other side.  It also looks very pretty!

Ready, set, go!

I had about a dozen little errors to fix... none were really big, just two threads flipped or threads that were crossed in the reed.  It took awhile though to get through all of them!  It seemed as though I would find 2 and think I was done, and then find 2 more and think I was done... etc.

This is a picture from the back.  When the other layer shows through, it almost looks painted!  

So pretty... 

 Ignore the very bottom stuff, that will be cut off.  It was my practice stuff.  I was going to do a sample piece, but I think now I know what I'm doing and have it all in order so I'm going to just go for it!  So exciting!

I'm putting a few straight pins throughout the layers just to hold them together better.  Last time they slipped around a little bit as I wound it back onto the loom.

75%

75% threaded, 25% more to go... 

This really is HUGE!

Even though I have been extremely careful with my threading, I know mistakes must exist already in this and I don't really look forward to discovering and fixing them!  I already know of one, and I marked it.  I am ready to fix it when the time comes.  I know there must be a few others though... it's inevitable!  

Sleying

The reed is sleyed!

Now it's time for threading!  And this is going to take forever!  I'm going to try doing it in sections and then take a break.  1300 is a lot!!!

Double the heddles = double the fun!

The warp is finally all measured out!  And it looks so nice together!  Some of these colors are just great side by side!

I pretty much had to double the number of heddles on this loom!  We went from 800 to 1600!  It took quite a while.  I just put a good movie on from Netflix and just sat back and counted!  Hopefully I got them all straight enough and in the right places!

Green, blue, and purple

 I've decided to pull all of my green, blue, and purple yarn to make this blanket.  

 

 They look really good together!  And here is a black and white check to see the values of darks vs. lights:

 It looks like a good ratio of lights, mediums, and darks!

I think this will look really good!

 Can't wait to get this blankie warped!

Here are my estimates and calculations for this project:

At the warp board: 2 strands at a time, around the board 24 times total for 3.5 yards (that leaves 1/2 yard for a sample piece to make sure everything is threaded correctly.)  This means that there are 48 threads per color change, and with 6 threads per dent that means that each square of weaving will need 8 dents in the reed.


26"x10 dents per inch = 260 dents available, and since the number needs to be divisible by 8, that means I will use 224 dents, leaving 3.6 inches total to be free, which is 1.8" on each side.  One extra dent on the right will be filled with the extra center threads to help space out the center better.  I might do the same on the other end, add a few extra to make it space out better on the edges.

224/8 dents total per color change  = 28 squares total across when unfolded

224 dents x 6 strands in each dent = 1,344 threads total in the warp

I am warping the reed to weave at 30 epi, but after washing, it comes out to be more like 34 epi.  Therefore, with 1344 threads, it will be approximately 40" across (approx 43-44" before washing)  I am calculating a 12-14% shrinkage rate.  It should be weaving up at 22.5" at the reed.

I have checked and rechecked my calculations, and I think I'm finally ready to warp!

Critiques and Improvements

 The sample washed up beautifully!

 It's super soft, and all the fibers fit snugly into their places!

This is an upclose shot of the center fold area.  You can hardly tell it's there!  I see some squeezing of the threads, so to correct it I think next time I am going to put in 2 extra threads at the center point that I will pull out when it comes off the loom.

Everywhere else looks just great!  However, I need to make sure I keep my treadle pattern going, even when I make a color change.  This example shows some funny spots:

I also need to make sure I extend the twill line all the way across the diagonal (from corner to corner) in order to get perfect squares. I lost count many times while I was treadling, but I think this will help to not have to count it out every time but still get a perfect square.

The camera angle throws off the proportions a little bit, the twill line needs to go from corner to corner, like this:

Hey, this black and white picture is great for checking out my lights vs. darks ratio:

Speaking of lights and darks, now I need to choose my colors... 

I really like the way this sample piece turned out, maybe I'll just use these 8 colors over and over, but arrange them a little more even!

PS.  Happy 600th post!

squared boxes

 My little sample piece is 12"x12"!

It's so colorful, even though I repeated a few weft colors!  ;)

It looks like it's cozy wool, but it's really lightweight 12/2 cotton!

Mmmm.... cotton-licious!

I nearly threaded every heddle perfect except for a few....

... this is where my mistake lies.  However, it is now fixed and I'm ready to weave on this sample again!

I can't wait to wash it tomorrow to remove the reed marks and to see what the seam down the center looks like.