Threading Heddles - the better version!

How I thread the heddles for an 800 end warp towel pattern (Mary Berent's "Ultimate DishTowels" available for download at Handwoven magazine) in turned taqueté.
I will also ramble about how I use Excel spreadsheets to eliminate errors in my threading as well as where I get yarn and my weaving tools and I cannot say enough good things about the Macomber loom I restored. I LOVE the design of the Macomber looms!

[@sonjanordahl3158]

OMG! That is so simple and so brilliant! Thank you. I have been hesitant to try more complicated threading's in my weaving.

[@loganpollock1689]

Wow! I use 256 ends of 6-2 cotton yarn for 16 inch dish towels. My old counter balance loom has two shafts which probably simplifies things for me when putting on the warp.

[@sonjanordahl3158]

The only thing I don't care for with the Macomber is the metal treadle tie-up hooks. They kept popping off. I have switched to Texsolv and I'm getting ready to try my first project with the new tie-up method. Wish me luck.

[@KnittingsAndSewings]

Rebekah oh my goodness, this is a great idea! How did you get the Excel in those lines? Did you just take a block of Excel and tape them onto the paper, or did you actually get it set up that way? I'd love to know how to do that set up. This is ingenious. I like the clear instructions. This is a good, efficient method of heddle threading. The heddle threading is my least-liked task in warping. Ha!! I often have threading errors, but am getting better. I always have to check and recheck to make sure. I like this spreadsheet method of keeping track.

[@bekahr1]

Excel spreadsheets are easily manipulated on the computer. You can widen or shorten the columns to your desired size, add borders, and colorize each cell as you want. When I open a new spreadsheet, the rows are already 20 pixels high, so I set the columns at 20 pixels to match. Then I draw borders and add the numbers, turning the numbers white. When I colorize each cell, the numbers appear as a background behind the colors. You’ve just given me the idea of another video showing exactly how I do that. Maybe I’ll put one together this weekend for a quick tutorial.

[@chellecohen9807]

@@bekahr1 That would be terrific. And since you are threading from right to left at the back, do you change the order your original draft was written? I was always told to turn my draft upside down, since I'm working from the back?

[@bekahr1]

I thread right to left but I sit in the front of my loom. I do not work the threading from the back, only from the front since I wind on the warp before threading the heddles. I wind onto the back beam, then go to the front of the loom and thread the heddles, then sley the reed, then tie onto the cloth beam.

[@PenelopeGreen-sk3cf]

Does it matter which way the yarn stands go through the heddles?

[@rebekahmardis4883]

If you have Texsolv heddles, no. But if you have the wire heddles, you might notice that they are slightly off-set. You want to bring your yarn through the heddle in the most efficient manner to prevent rubbing and chaffing of the yarn. So look at the heddles and determine which side of the eye faces closest to the back beam and pull the yarn through from that direction. All of your heddles should face the same direction.