All wound up!

The warp yarns are through the heddles in the loom – time to start winding!

First up, the yarns are tied to a rod, that is lashed to the back beam of the loom.

When the back beam rotates, the rod pulls the yarn onto the back beam and voila! We’re winding on!

At the front of the loom, I separated the yarn into chunks. Each chunk gets a tug before I forward the yarn through the loom. This helps prevent tangling.

If you recall, I left the lease sticks in the yarn at the front. They become useful during this part of the process. The goal is to work through any knots or tangles before they hit the reed or the heddles. It just makes life easier!

I like to set up pseudo-bookends on the back to keep the yarn in line (aka thick grey wool yarn, tied in place). Imagine having 30″ of yarn winding around the back. Over time, those 30″ might creep out to 31-32″. Then, it doesn’t stack onto the beam evenly, the tension gets crazy, and you want to crawl under the loom and cry a little bit. In an effort to avoid ALL that drama, I use a beefy yarn to act as a barrier, keeping everyone going in the right direction!

And we can’t forget my beloved yardsticks! I place one every 3/4 turn or so. The idea is to make sure the yarns are all going on evenly.

Almost done winding! Next up, I’ll tie the yarns to the front, prep some neckties, and start weaving! ‘Bout time, right? Talk to you soon!