Tubular Edging

Continuing on with my trial steps of learning to tablet weave a belt, this installment will focus on a tubular edging for the belt. This technique uses 1-4 tablets on each edge to create the tube, with each tablet having all four holes threaded.  Most of the trims included in the book Tablet Woven Treasures by Karisto & Pasanen1 have at least one tubular edge.

Step 2: Creating the tubular edging/selvedge.

A tubular edge pulls the threads of the outermost card around and to the back of the band.  It has the effect of hiding the weft thread along the edge, even if the weft is of a contrast color to the warp threads in the outermost card.

To make the tube, first gather all the threads of the edge cards, the three outer cards on this band, and separate them from the rest of the shed.  In this photo, they are all on top of my thumb with my hand holding open the shed.  When you hold the threads this way, it is very easy to pass the shuttle under the edge cards and through the rest of the shed in one pass.

Tighten the weft as usual, beat it with the shuttle, and turn the cards per the pattern.  Beat the weft once more and tug it to make sure the edge it tucked around the band.  Do not pull the weft so tight that it compresses the warp and narrows the band.  Repeat on the other side of the band, beginning with the gathering the threads of the edge cards on this side.

Wrapping the weft under the threads creates a float, where it is not caught/covered by a series of warp threads.  This instantly creates a wrong side to the band, which is not a problem if you plan to sew it to a garment.  When the band is used as a belt, however, care must be made when tying it on to keep the correct side out.  On the other hand, if you’re making a monochromatic belt, it won’t be a glaring faux pas if the belt’s back face shows.

I can see the use of a contrasting weft thread as a design feature for the flat-woven edge, but it would require a consistent tension to make sure the dot on the edge is an uniform size.  That did not happen this time with my first attempts (see the first photo), but that also wasn’t my focus this time around.

A tubular edge is a technique with a purpose, that being to strengthen the edge of the band.  It might also be used as a sturdier edge for sewing to a garment.  When one is decorating everyday clothing that needs to hold up, the extra work to make them would be worth it.  As an re-enactor who wears a single outfit, out of four or more, maybe four times a year, the need is not as great.  Is it worth the extra effort in this case?  I’ll let you decide for yourself.

Until next time,

~Marjorie

Notes:

1 Tablet-Woven Treasures, Archaeological Bands from the Finnish Iron Age, by Karisto, Maikki and Pasanen, Mervi, 2021

The Next Steps

Here I am, back with the next step in the on-going tablet weaving project(s) I’m working on.  This post was supposed to happen while at Pennsic, but the heat and humidity really sapped any ambition for creative writing from me.  I will keep the posts short and sweet, instead of trying to cram it all into one long slog.

Step One: Warp the Loom

I used my inkle loom to create the warp for the second project. 

As you can see in the picture, I just pushed the previous project inwards and warped the second alongside it.  I chose to do a continuous warp with enough length to have at least 18-inches of actual project to show off and extra length to practice a finishing technique I want to use on my apprentice belt.  I have a large safety pin through one set of holes to keep the cards aligned properly.  I also have a clip across all the threads between the cards and the knots to keep the cards on the project when I cut the knots.

Here is the box loom all set to begin weaving. 
The shed is to the left.  The cards may look like they’re backwards, but they’re not.  I’m left-handed, so I read them better if they are facing left instead of to the right.

What you cannot see are the modifications I had to make to the loom so it could be warped.  The vendor’s helper said all I had to do is knot the warp around the dowel and then tighten it.  As Ellisif Gydasdottir states in her Youtube video, Warping up a box loom for tablet weaving (minute 5:27) this doesn’t work.  I recommend everyone watch this before warping up your box loom for the first time. 

With a trip to Town and the help of a friend who seems to bring all-the-tools, in miniature form, to Pennsic, we added two screws to each rotating dowel and cut a ¼” dowel into two pieces which fits between the uprights of the loom on each end.  The warp then is tied to this smaller dowel, which is then placed against the screws to create tension on the warp as the larger dowel is turned.

As mentioned in my previous post, I am using wool yarn.  When wool threads are rubbed together, they will catch and hold onto each other.  This is not a desirable thing when winding a long length of wool yarn on a loom.  To alleviate this problem, strips of paper are placed between the warp as it is wound.  You can see the white paper sticking out on the right side in the above photo.  As one strip gets short, you just add another strip, overlapping the previous paper so none of the yarns touches those already wrapped.  

Once your loom is warped, you can begin weaving.

More on that next time.

~ Marjorie