Measuring String

A while ago I mentioned a little device that I use to assist in my production work. It's a string that carries masking tape flags and helps me keep track of where I am. Production is all about efficiency. Anything I can do to save time makes a big difference, especially if it reduces an action that happens dozens or hundreds of times a day.

Before I start weaving, I measure out a length of string and stick little masking tape flags at measured intervals. For yardage, it's just 1 marker every yard with a number. For garments it gets trickier. These involve different lengths of weaving with differing lengths of fringe between them. The flags are labelled SH1 EH1 SR1 ER1 SR2 ER2, etc. This means Start Hood 1, End Hood 1, Start Ruana 1, and so on.



This string gets wrapped, end first, onto a bobbin that fits a shuttle I've taped to the back of my loom. (Notice the string riding on top of the finished cloth below.)



I feed the string between the heddles, but laying far beneath the shed. After I've woven a couple of inches, I pin the string to the beginning of my project. Notice the single shot of wool that serves as a cut line between projects.



The AVL's sandpaper beam is crucial to the success of this system. It pulls the measuring string over the beam at the same rate as the advancing cloth. I just keep an eye on that string and watch for flags. I follow the instruction written on the flag, advancing past fringe sections, and keep on weaving.

I know that weaving can be trance-inducing, and sometimes it's a hour before my next flag arrives, so there's one more trick I've learned to make sure I don't miss it. For the first set of weaving with a new weft thread, I keep track of how many bobbins are used per garment. Then I wind that many bobbins plus 2 (fudge factor) and lay them out in a box. When I see 4 bobbins left (plus and minus my fudge factor), I know it's time to check for a flag on my string. After a few projects with a weft thread, the fudge factor goes down almost to zero. The flag appears right when I finish weaving the last bobbin in the box.

Now, when it's all done, I don't worry about removing the string yet. I've got several copies of each pattern string so I just put on the next string and weave until the cut mark goes all the way to the back of the loom and wraps a little around the cloth beam. See THIS POST for a quick method of cutting garments off the loom.

When it's cut off, I carefully pull the string from my bolt of cloth and wrap it onto a bobbin, pin and all, for later use.