There is nothing quite like the sound of loom music!
This video clip is approximately 11 M so may take a few minutes to load. The clip is from CD Weaver – Weaving Hints and Tips – and shows how I weave. The view is close enough that you can see how I use my thumb as a “brake” to keep the bobbin from rolling forward and letting off more weft than I want for the next shot.
Weaving efficiently is a combination of many things.
1. A well beamed warp with the threads under good tension – no rogue threads that are too tight, or too slack.
2. A well wound bobbin so that the weft feeds off without catching on “hills” in the yarn package or binding in the shuttle cavity.
3. Holding the shuttle as shown so that you can catch and throw with a seamless motion, pushing it across the width of the web with your index finger. I can easily throw the shuttle across a 60″ wide warp this way although I find it tiring so generally use the fly shuttle if I’m weaving more than 34″ in width.
While many people use a floating selvedge, I find that they just get in my way, and slow me down, so I never use them.
Ultimately, weaving can be a dance with the opening of the shed, throwing the shuttle and beating all coming one on the heels of the other allowing the weaver to get into the “zen” of the moment and feel at one with his/her equipment. It’s an aerobic workout, and at the end you’ve got fabric to show for it.
How fun is that? 😀