I’m really kind of liking this but……
2/20 merc. cotton is generally pretty solid as a warp. Sure I double the outside four ends in the heddles (but not the reed) just to give the selvedges a little more spine, but usually I have very little trouble with broken threads.
The first four towels wove up nicely but I wasn’t really loving the results. Soooo – I changed the tie up. Now I only changed the tie up in the first 12 shafts. The last four shafts remained the same as the first four towels.
So why, then, did I start having broken threads? Not a lot of them, not frequently, and not on the outside edge, but the 3rd or 4th dent in???? And in the area that had not been changed? So what had changed? What was causing the breaks?
Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m not a patient person and I don’t like fighting with my equipment – or my materials!
But one or other of the threads would break just often enough that it was making weaving these towels, which I really quite like, not fun.
After towel #4 I thought what the heck, and instead of throwing 2 picks for a cutting line I threw 3 picks which changed which direction the shuttle was entering the cloth.
And started weaving again. Passed the 12″ mark, then the 18″ with no breaks. By the time I got to 24 I was holding my breath! Would I make it through one whole towel with no breaks?
YES!
Can the fix possibly be so simple as merely changing which shed the shuttle begins entering the cloth?
Who knows. All I know is I finally got a towel without flaws. And I’m liking this design enough that I’m willing to risk another one to see if I can get two ‘perfect’ towels. And if I can, I’ll go for 3 and then….4…
Still don’t know why the breaks, though!