Posted by Peg in South Carolina
On my current warp I have six treadles tied up. But I have a total of ten treadles on the loom. I could have tied up the first six treadles on the left side. Or I could have tied up the center six treadles. I decided to tie up the center six.
There is a definite ergonomic advantage to tying up the center six treadles. Doing this keeps my legs closer to my body as I weave. That translates into the fact that it is physically easier on my legs (and one arthritic ankle) to weave with the center treadles tied up.
But, as with most everything, there is a price to be paid. Some times I don’t start far enough to the left at the beginning of the treadling sequence. When that happens, I begin the treadling sequence with treadle four instead of treadle three. Since I am treadling straight and because for some reason I see more easily what is going on to the right of my body, by the time I get to what is supposed to be treadle five in the sequence I realize that I have not enough treadles left on the right. So I unweave a bit and start again. This has happened only a few times, so it’s really not a significant price.
The other problem is what to call these treadles when I am writing this blog or talking to others. Sometimes I call them 1,2,3…….; sometimes 3,4,5…. They exist in my computer drawdown as 1,2,3…….. I think it is probably least confusing to refer to them as 1,2,3……. The actual physical tie-up is only a matter of ergonomics.
For myself, however, in my head I think 3,4,5…….as I am weaving. If I did not talk to myself like this, I might really have treadling problems! And so in my written notes I refer to them as 3,4,5………..
Related Post: Ergonomics at the Loom
“Tying up Treadles” was written by Margaret Carpenter for Talking about Weaving and was originally posted on June 25, 2009. ©2009 Margaret Carpenter aka Peg in South Carolina
2 comments:
If it is always the same treadle where you miss the right one you could mark it. I have two thick hair elastics (sorry, I'm dutch, don't know if this is the correct name) on my plainweave treadles. One at the heel-side, one at the toe-side. Treadling in socks I can feel were I am and it is easy to remove them without damaging te loom.
Harma, I understand what you mean. I think that is a great idea. Unfortunately I have to wear shoes, but I wonder if I could feel them with sneakers on. Thanks for the suggestion.
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