how does she do it?

A weaving project can become anything: a towel, a shawl, a poncho, a scarf, fabric, and so much more. The only limit is the weaver's imagination.

The nature of a project determines the fiber or fibers I use, for example, chenille and cotton for towels, sturdy thread or yarn for upholstery fabrics, and anything--literally--for yardage, shawls, scarves, and ponchos.

After I select a fiber, I calculate how much yardage I need, adding extra for shrinkage and loom waste (the extra warp fiber at the front and back of the loom that cannot be woven).

The warp wound on the warping wheel is four-and-one-half yards long, and has 734 ends (lengths) when I'm ready to dress (put it onto) the loom. By attaching one end of the warp threads to the bar on the warp beam, and carrying the warp up over the back beam, I pull it taut from the front of the loom. I insert lease sticks between the threads to keep them alternating up and down. Keeping the warp taut, I wind it onto the back beam, until the front end of the warp is just long enough to reach a bit beyond the front beam.

Now I count out the correct number of heddles (thin wires that each hold a single thread of the warp) on each harness (the frame that holds the heddles), and thread them according to the pattern selected. This is what determines the woven pattern of the finished fabric. When I've threaded all the strands correctly through the heddles, I select the proper reed for the sett (the distance between warp threads) and sley (thread with a sleying hook) the strands through its openings, usually six to 20 per inch. Sometimes I thread one per opening, other times two or three or even alternating in a one-one-two, one-two-one, or other combination.

When I've completely sleyed the reed, I tie the ends to the front apron in one-inch bundles tightened like a drum top as evenly as possible across the warp. Next, I attach the pedals to the harnesses. Usually a pedal connects to four or fewer harnesses. In this example, I used eight harnesses in different combinations on 12 pedals (remember, this is what determines the pattern in the weave).

At last it's time to check that I've threaded the heddles and the reed correctly, and to make sure that no threads are crossed behind the heddles. If I find mistakes , I correct them now before I have them all tied up and start weaving.

When all is well, and I've dressed the loom properly, the actual weaving begins. The process of throwing the shuttle back and forth to form the fabric is the quickest part of the whole process.

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