WEAVING
Make Shed 1. Pass the shuttle into the space between the threads. Pull the shuttle firmly down towards
the front peg. Pull the shuttle out of the shed - pull the weft thread tightly.The weft threads will move
together closely so you cannot see the weft at all through the warp.
- Make shed 2 and repeat.
- Use the sharp edge of the shuttle to beat each row firmly into place.
KEEPING THE EDGES STRAIGHT
The first 2-3cm usually look poor because the tension isn’t right yet, and you may have some crossed
threads. Don’t worry! This part can be unravelled when the finished braid is cut off the loom.
From now on though, it’s possible to keep the edges beautifully straight by followings simple rules:
1)
Keep the warp very tight. A high tension
makes the whole braid and edges look better when
finished.
2)
Try to keep the same tension on the weft as
well. Make it quite tight so that the warp threads sit
on top of each other.
3)
Everytime you pull the shuttle out of the
shed, and before you tighten the weft, pull the
previous weft thread again. That will even out the
little loop that occurs between the two outer warp
threads, which is essential when it comes to making
even edges.
MOVING THE WARP
Loosen the nylon knob and move the tension flap down. The warp will slacken. Pull the warp forwards
towards yourself until the end of the woven piece is about 5cm, 2” from the front peg. Gradually move all
the threads around from peg to peg! TAKE CARE when you are using the longest warp length! Do not pull
too tight, you could break a peg! Tighten the tension flap. PUSH the leashes back to their correct position.
FINISHING
When you can’t move the warp any further and the knots in the warp are close to the leashes, simply cut
each half of the warp 3cm, 1 1/2” behind the leashes and pull the threads out.
Sew the weft back three or four rows to lock it. Now the warp threads cannot come undone unless you cut
it very close to the end of the braid. So, don’t do that!
Let the ends hang loose as a fringe, plait, twist, tie knots, glue and cut close to the braid so you can fold
the end of it under, or tie the ends around a piece of wood to make a wall-hanging.
