There have been a few questions from newer weavers about equipment for warping. I buy my silk in skeins and dye it. It then needs to be warped but warping from skeins is not my idea of a fun activity so I wind them onto tubes. This also means I can wind more than one thread per colour at a time. Here I am warping for a deflected double weave (thank you Marian Stubenitsky) which requires 2light/2dark. I have wound the two colours onto two tubes each - the darker colour is on 4 tubes because I occasionally find knots and it's easier to deal with them at the stage.
So here we go. The first stage is winding from the skein to tubes. My skein holder has done years of service and is still going strong.
My tube winder is also used for winding pirns and was made by a local wood worker. It's not perfect but it was a lot cheaper than the commercially made options. The tubes come from old cotton reels that I have used up over the years.
The end result is this
Now I can wind two threads of each colour at a time. This saves a huge amount of time and effort. But first I set up my reel holder, made by my husband and again a whole lot cheaper than things on the market.
This is a rubbish picture but you get the idea. I can hold up to
ten reels on this and it really is a time saver.
The warp is now wound, via the warping square, onto the loom. Here the photo shows the silk still on the square because, quite frankly, it looks prettier here than on the back of the loom!
And that is it. The various bits and pieces required for warping. If you have any questions send me a message. I will do my best to help!
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