beaming the warp, Scotty

Now I had to get the warp wound onto the loom. The process is called "beaming the warp". My man thinks this is where the Star Trek terms came from. Maybe Gene Roddenberry's wife was a weaver.

First I unchained the warp and pulled it out straight several feet in front of the loom. The instructions I'm following say that the tension should straighten the warp threads automatically. Mine were like a dreadlock. I had to use a wide-toothed comb to rip the knots out. I felt like I was combing the hair of a naughty stepdaughter.

The ends of the warp were irresistible for Max.

Then in groups of 20 or so, I tied the warp ends to the tie rod of the back warp beam. First I pulled the beam up so that it came over the back breast beam of the loom. The warp threads went over the top of the beam and then back under, they were split in 2 groups and then tied in a square knot on top of itself. 

Then the warp threads were rolled onto the back beam, with layers of newspaper between the thread layers. This is supposed to keep the warp threads laying flat as they're rolled up. The instructions say to alternate rolling onto the back beam, then straightening and pulling tight from the front, then rolling some more.

Actually, I fount it easier to get my man to hold the warp threads from the front while I was rolling up from the back. He could spot tangles and keep the warp tension while I was doing the beaming. This pic was taken after the warp was entirely beamed. 

The instructions I'm following say that the warp should come over the back breast beam, then roll *over* the back beam, but we rolled it under the back beam. At the time it seemed like the logical way to do it, since the ratchet mechanism of the back beam only works in this direction.

I was fine with this until this very moment, when I really think this was a mistake. I won't go into details now, but I think that going over the back beam is what allows for the fabric to be easily advanced while weaving. This issue will surely be revisited soon.

Here is a picture of what should be a clean shed (space between the threads when lifting up shafts 1 and 3). All of those threads in the middle are threading errors, where warp threads are crossed over each other so they can't lift properly. You can see the threads crossed at the right side of the pic near the reed. There were 6 of these, which is about a 3% error rate. Not bad for my first time. These were easily fixed.

Rolling the warp the wrong way on the back beam is another story. It may be a fatal mistake. I'll do some thinking and confer with my man, and maybe have to start over again.