2,500 picks

Every endeavor has its own language. In weaving, a pick has 3 components:

1. Step on a treadle to open a shed (moving threads up and down – presumes a floor loom; table looms are a bit different);
2. Throw the shuttle, sending the yarn through that shed ;
3. Pull the beater bar forward, packing in the yarn.

According to my calculations, I wove about 2,500 picks yesterday. Whew! I could only do that because I did no volunteer work for the Weaving Center, no babysitting, no posting on blog or Facebook, no grocery buying, no cooking.

After I got the two shawls woven I had a bit of extra warp and decided to weave what I could for length and see if I could make a cowl. I got about 22″ woven, and this is how close I came to the end of the warp.

This morning I cut the woven fabric off the loom. Then there are several steps to be done. First is a visual inspection of both sides of the fabric, looking for any treadling errors or skipped threads. I only found a few, thank goodness, because I hate needle weaving. Here’s what it looks like when I have to do it.

Then I have to pull out my sewing machine and sew a line of stitching close to the edge of each piece to stabilize the threads before cutting them apart.

Although I machine hem my towels, I hand hem all of my wearables. First pin, then hem.

After that it’s into the washer & dryer. Then, with most fabric (but not rayon chenille), a hard press finishes the weaving process.

I’ll try to get a few pix of the finished shawls in natural light tomorrow.