|
|
Now that you have your loom, you'll need
some material with which to weave on your loom. My personal
preference is natural fibers. But that's just because of
being in the SCA and the fact that synthetic fibers did not
exist in the Middle Ages. I may not always be able to afford
100% natural fibers when sewing gowns, but I always can when
it comes to inkle woven bands because it really doesn't take
that much thread. Cotton is a good choice for your first
few projects. A lot of your choice depends on how you want
the band to look when you are finished. This knowledge will
be gained as you get experience with the inkle-weaving process
and as you familiarize yourself with the various fibers.
A good cotton for beginners is 4/2 cotton. The designation "4/2" means
that there are "two" threads or plies twisted together
and each ply is a size "four". The higher the size
number, the smaller the diameter of that thread. I do not
recommend using linen or wool for your first projects because,
as you change sheds, the fibers of the threads catch on each
other and deteriorate the strength of the fibers. Silk, if
you can afford it, is great to use. The threads slide against
each other very smoothly when changing sheds. This makes
for a fast weaving project. The silk is very strong and you
are highly unlikely to break a warp thread in the process.
Modern synthetic strings are okay to use. Most hold up to
the tension and you can get some fast projects finished with
them. I have woven with silk, linen, cotton, wool, nylon
and a ploy/cotton blend. I have only broken warp threads
with tow linen, thin unmercerized cotton and wool.
Some other tools and materials you'll need are scissors,
a ruler, a stiff piece of cardboard, a pencil, paper and
something with which to make heddles (described in the
next section). The scissors are for cutting thread as you
warp the loom. They are also used in the making of heddles.
The ruler and the piece of cardboard are for making heddles.
The pencil and paper are for creating designs. It's best
to use colored pencils or markers when creating your designs
so that you can better visualize them. |
