apintrix

Threading seven strands of thin cotton yarn through a standard heddle and tying the three minimally required knots was enough hand-effort to knock out some night-time sleep. I'd guessed it beforehand and paused after the knots, such that there were only minimal negative effects.

(Since this heddle's holes are too small for a reed hook (which I don't have) or a crochet hook of a size to snag the cotton yarn, I used the Stoorstålka suohpan---a little nylon loop---included with its heddle. A US knockoff product is available, slightly cheaper for me than paying shipping individually from Jokkmokk.)

I still haven't begun weaving with those seven cotton strands because the Stoorstålka backstrap, as demonstrated by their rep, doesn't stay on me. There's a remedy for it, however!

I've unearthed a backstrap starter kit from my first dip into weaving and braiding, purchased more than 25 years ago (it refers to making a case for one's cellphone or pager). It's meant for kids and kid-reach. Its backstrap is a piece of thin nylon rope, affixed to a (useful) band-lock. I have to step into and out of it. But someone pre-warped it 25+ years ago, and I've used it slowly to weave a basic band.

That band could become a backstrap slightly better than the nylon rope, which is a backstrap-using weaver's equivalent of a coder's "hello, world". I'd rather practice, then make something a bit wider. The kit's strap, which is drying with its ends braided, is only 2 cm across.

It seems to me that the main difference between weaving a band (suitable as strap, belt, etc.) and weaving cloth is how strongly each row of weft is beaten, pushed into its neighbors. The tools or loom type used don't matter, except insofar as they aid or limit the implementation.

Like fishing and sailing (but not like knitting, which is far younger a craft), weaving has a lot of terms of art in English. I started making myself a list to check whether I'd understood things consistently across different texts and videos; by now it's longer than several of my recent posts together. That's next, after I drain it of some sidechat, and then I'll resume posting about non-weaving things.