Back to Babies

Once I got a good woven skyline for the juries, it was back to the orders I have for custom baby wraps. Next up was 2 friends, J & C, who wanted the same colors for their warp. One would have a black weft, one a navy, so the wraps would look very similar.

After I did all my math, and double-checked it to avoid my earlier debacle, I measured out a warp of 750 ends a bit over 14 1/2 yards long. J has been one of my testing moms and she wanted me to make their wraps even a bit thinner than sample #2, which I sett at 26 ends/inch. I went with 24 EPI for the majority of the wrap and 30 EPI for the selvedges.

(Aside – this is the only photo that shows true colors, as it’s the only one with natural light. No matter how many photos I took near the loom and how many adjustments I made on my camera and in photoshop, I got bad coloration for the other photos.)

After getting it all measured it was over to the Macomber for beaming. I was cautiously trusting that the change in process I used for my 2nd sample wrap would remain good and that I would be able to beam this warp in a reasonable amount of time. Whew! It went smoothly and I got the warp beamed in about 1 1/4 hours. Here the warp in mid-beaming – you can see all the colors and the layout J & C chose.

I threaded heddles and reed, tied up the treadles, tied on the front apron, and set off weaving with the navy. No threading errors – YAY!

Now, after 2 long days at the loom plus a bit more, I have J’s wrap with the navy weft completely woven. I’ve just begun C’s wrap with the black weft. I have to say, it’s really hard to tell the difference between the two (navy below the light thread, black above) — at least under the compact fluorescent bulbs I use by my loom.

I’ll be working on C’s wrap more this weekend – maybe I’ll get it done on Monday. Then hemming, washing, drying, hard pressing, and labeling. With any luck they’ll be ready for the mail by the end of the week. 🙂