Fiber Sprite
  • Blog
  • About
    • Classes
    • Policies
  • Tutorials
  • Store

Fiber Sprite​

Warping a Loom: Front-to-Back versus Back-to-Front

5/10/2023

 
Warping a loom with shafts mostly boils down to two methods: warping front-to-back, and warping back-to-front. Most of us warp the way we learned, without knowing why. 

The main differences are in the order in which the warp is put on the loom. In the front-to-back technique, the lease is held in the hand or a lease holder, then the warp is sleyed in the reed, drawn in through the heddles, tied on to the back beam, and wound on to the back beam. Finally, the ends are tied on to the front apron beam.

In back-to front warping, these steps are somewhat reversed. The warp goes onto a pair of lease sticks, then onto a raddle, which acts as a temporary spacer. Then, the warp is wound onto the back beam. Next the heddles are threaded in the pattern, and then the reed is sleyed. Finally, the ends are tied on to the front beam.

In America, it seems that a lot of weavers learn to warp with the front-to-back method. It’s definitely the way that I learned, but it turns out that back-to-front has a lot of advantages!

Back-to-front warping has some definite advantages. It keeps a warp under a more consistent tension, meaning there’s less opportunity for yarns to tangle. This makes it great for long warps. It’s good for delicate warp yarns, such as very fine yarns or single-ply yarns. That consistent tension is really helpful for other tricky warps, like ones with very high-twist yarn that would otherwise be prone to tangling. And lastly, it’s good for warps that are densely sett, such as repp weave.

With all the advantages of back-to-front warping, it’s a wonder that anyone uses front-to-back warping! However, there are a few key places where front-to-back warping really shines. A lot of weavers, myself included, like to make “mixed warps” that are “designed in the reed.” For these warps, I find that front-to-back warping is sort of lazy way to plan a warp, and I  use it often.

The other big advantage of front-to-back warping is when your loom (or your body) simply cannot accommodate back-to-front warping. This might be because your loom is pushed against a wall, and your back beam is not accessible, or the posture that you find yourself in is more comfortable for front-to-back warping.

​Whichever mode of warping you choose, ergonomics is key! Warping is a time-consuming part of the process, and it’s important to be kind to your body while you’re doing it.

In my own weaving practice, I've found that the loom itself has a big impact on how I choose to warp it. If I find myself hunched over, or otherwise uncomfortable during warping, I'm less likely to want to warp that way! In the following video, I share five different looms and the way that I prefer to warp each one.
Picture

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    July 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    May 2022
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Affiliate
    Annavestkal
    Bangoutasweater
    Basketweaving
    Books
    Breed Swatch
    Cables
    Classes
    Color Theory
    Colorwork
    Design
    Differential Shrinkage
    Diz
    Dog
    Downloads
    Drum Carder
    Dyeing
    Embroidery
    Ergonomics
    Felting
    Fiber Fix
    FOs
    Freebies
    Knitting
    Konmarie
    Kumihimo
    Lace
    Links
    Log Cabin
    Mending
    Multitool
    Onesockkal
    Patterns
    Podcast
    Ravelry
    Rigid Heddle
    Rug Hooking
    Samplealong
    Sashiko
    Sewing
    Shop
    Slow Fashion October
    Socks
    Spinning
    Spinzilla
    Stash
    Steek
    Swatching
    Sweaters
    Tour De Fleece
    Travel
    Tutorial
    Tutorials
    Upcycling
    Video
    Warp
    Weaving
    WIP
    Wool
    Wovember
    Wpi

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Copyright P.S. Kreative LLC © 2015-2024
  • Blog
  • About
    • Classes
    • Policies
  • Tutorials
  • Store