Many of us like to use tapestry looms or frames with continuous warping. This usually means that you have some kind of warping bar that revolves with the warp around the loom. This way of warping is helpful because you can weave something a lot longer than your loom is tall. But one problem I see on any loom with continuous warping is that the warping bar can become tilted as you’re weaving. If you don’t notice this problem, it can have consequences for how square your tapestry is. It is easy to miss the tilt as it starts happening because we tend to weave with something between the layers of warp. That makes weaving easier visually, but it also hides the bar from our immediate view.
Both the classic Mirrix looms and the Schacht Arras tapestry loom have this kind of continuous warping with a warping bar. You can also do it on any pipe loom. There is a video below in which I demonstrate the problem and talk about how to fix it.
Why does the warping bar tilt?
The warping bar can tilt for quite a few different reasons. It could be that you consistently beat harder on one side of the tapestry than the other. Over many sequences and inches, that harder beat may cause one side of the tapestry to creep downward and the bar will tilt. If your warp has been advanced and the header is under the bottom of the loom, you might not notice that the header and thus the bottom of the tapestry is now slanted as you accommodated for this with the weaving. This can result in a very non-square tapestry!
Or it could be that you don’t like your warp tension very tight and so the bar is more prone to tilting as you beat. It could also be that some outside force made it tilt and you didn’t notice: a cat, moving the loom, not getting the warping bar straight again when you advanced the warp, spirits (?).
You want the bar to look like this as you weave.
Mirrix Big Sister loom with level warping bar (and six inch warp extenders). This is how the warping bar should look.
When the bar tilts, it looks more like the photo below. If you have a big piece of cardboard or a curtain between the two layers of warp, you won’t see that bar!
Warping bar that has tilted as the weaving progressed.
Consider what happens to the weaving when the bar starts tilting. I tilted this bar for demonstration purposes. Look at how it distorts the weaving.
A tilted warping bar distorts the weaving.
Now imagine that the bottom of the weaving is wrapped around the loom. The bar may start tilting so slowly that you think there is just a minor variation side to side in your weaving and so you fill in the lower side. If that continues, you’ll end up with a tapestry that is a trapezoid and not a rectangle.
Three ways to keep your warping bar level and your tapestry square
use an even number of warp ends so that the beginning and ending warps are pulling on the bar in the same direction.
check the bar often to make sure it isn’t tilting! Make it a habit to look behind your visual screen between the warp layers to make sure the bar is still horizontal.
stabilize the bar with an extra warp tied on at each end of the bar. If your loom is very wide and your tapestry narrow, this can help keep that bar level.
What are the consequences of a tilted warping bar?
Don’t panic! There may be no consequences at all!
If you find the bar is tilting slightly, it is probably best to correct the tilt right away and try to keep the bar level. However if your tapestry looks square and the bar is tilted, leave it tilted for this warp! When you advance the warp, keep the bar at the same tilt and don’t let the tilt get worse as you weave. This will mean you can’t advance the warping bar over the top of the loom, but you rarely do that anyway, right?
If your weaving has become a trapezoid, you may be able to fix it off the loom somewhat with steaming and/or blocking. I guarantee you’ll remember to check that warping bar in the future especially if you pin that trapezoid tapestry on your studio wall as a reminder!
The video below demonstrates ways to stop this problem before it starts.
If you’re getting the blog via email you can watch the video on YouTube HERE.
Resources: warping for tapestry
continuous warping Diagrams and tips
This is the sort of warping that we’re doing with a classic Mirrix or any loom with a warping bar. This blog post can help with the pattern of warping a loom like a Mirrix or the Schacht Arras tapestry loom. https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2017/11/29/continuous-warping-for-tapestry-the-mirrix-example
Making an adjustable knot on a warping bar when putting on a continuous warp
This blog post talks more about the double-half hitch knot and how to us it when warping continuously. It has a YouTube video that shows you how to make the knot. https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2023/2/16/half-hitch
How tight should your warp be?
I mentioned this post in the video. https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2023/8/3/how-tight-should-my-warp-be
Tapestry Looms Simplified
I have an online course about tapestry looms. If you have more questions about what sorts of looms are out there and which one is right for you, this may be the class for you. https://rebeccamezoff.pathwright.com/library/tapestry-looms-simplified-183295/about/
Have you had this experience of a warping bar gone wonky on a continuously warped loom? Do you have a different solution for all of us? Please share in the comments!