Daily Reading (29 October 2015)

[nanila]

What have you been reading today? Everything counts, from a novel-length fic to the labels on your washing!

Comments

[weaverbird]

Twitter et al (which is very busy after last night's GOP debate), info on tape/paddle looms, emails, and a short MCU fic a friend just posted.

[nanila]

I applaud the variety of your consumption! Can the essential differences between loom types be explained easily to a layperson?

Tape looms - a very short course

[weaverbird]

Definition: A Tape, Band or Gate loom is a simple, portable, rigid heddle loom.
Tape Looms are centuries old, invented for the purpose of making narrow bands of fabric. Before the invention of zippers and Velcro, everyone needed a narrow piece of fabric that was strong, practical and attractive to tie aprons, hats, clothing, bags, suspenders, belts, seam binding, cording, guitar and banjo straps, curtain tie backs, dog collars, leashes, head bands, garters and trim. - Regina Britton

Here is a paddle loom
The warp yarns are threaded through the slots and holes and weaving is done by fastening one end of the warp to a doorknob or piece of heavy furniture and the other end to your waist. Then the paddle is alternately raised and lowered to create a space between the warp yarns (called a shed) through which the shuttle bearing the weft yarn is passed. (If you ever made a Popsicle stick loom in Girl Scouts – it's precisely like that.)

A box loom is slightly more complex in that it holds the paddle in a frame that also serves to hold the warp under tension. Here is a box loom with work in progress

Both from this site

ETA: A google image search yields lots of good pictures

I'm in the process of creating some clothing such as might have been worn by a fictional pre-industrial society (say about 18th century rural England) and my research is taking me down numberless interesting byways!

Re: Tape looms - a very short course

[nanila]

Fascinating, thank you! I had somehow pictured something more complicated, but it appears very simple - although I bet using it isn't.

Are you planning to use such a loom in the clothing creation process?

Re: Tape looms - a very short course

[weaverbird]

As with most weaving, using a paddle loom can be very simple, but one can also add layers of complexity. Utterly plain tape to use as, say, a petticoat drawstring, is simple enough for a small child to weave (albeit with some help getting the warp set up), whereas something meant to show off - a belt, guitar strap, suspenders - can be a real work of art, with complex use of color and weave structure.

And yes, I plan to weave at least some bands for this project. The yardage for garments and other items will be woven on my floor loom - an 8-shaft Baby Wolf - and I am considering spinning some wool yarn to either weave or knit. Also plan to attempt to learn to spin flax. Then there are dyeing and felting components, and more. It's an absorbing, long-term, open-ended labor of love. *g*