Ask Madelyn


Ask Madelyn: Reasons for a Broken Warp at the Edge

When I break a warp thread during weaving, it is always the thread on the far right (no matter if it is a floating selvedge or the first thread in the draft).

Ask Madelyn: Substitutions for 10/2 Unmercerized Cotton

What can I substitute for 10/2 unmercerized cotton? Madelyn has the answers!

Ask Madelyn: Tie-Ups and Marguerite Davison

I am weaving some table napkins using a diamond pattern, Periwinkle from Marguerite Davison's A Handweaver's Pattern Book, and I find that the pattern comes out face down, i.e., upside down.

Ask Madelyn: Beaming Warps

When beaming warps, I understand a lot of weavers like to use water-filled recycled plastic bottles with handles as weights. Can you suggest another thing that can be used as a weight?

Ask Madelyn: Reed Substitutions

I only have a 10-dent reed, so I used slightly finer warp threads and sleyed 4/dent for 4 dents and then skipped 1 dent, but the skipped dent is very obvious in the cloth. Any suggestions?

Ask Madelyn: Minimizing Warp Waste

How much extra warp should I allow in order to retie the remaining warp? I'm using silk yarn so I don't want much warp waste.

Ask Madelyn: Fixing Smiling Selvedges

What's the cause of smiling selvedges and how do you fix them? Madelyn has the answers!

Ask Madelyn: When to Count PPI

When to is the best time to count PPI, under tension or with slack tension?

Ask Madelyn: A Tale of Two Temples

The amusing result has been that some students like wooden ones and some like metal ones and now I really need two temples for each school loom.

Ask Madelyn: Adjusting a Draft to Be Woven in Two Panels

Because my loom is only 36" wide, I’m thinking of weaving the blanket in two panels. What would be the best way to do this?