Winding a 4-Color Warp

Jennifer Moore demonstrates winding a 4-color warp using a warping board and a warping reel.

[@sunfishergirl]

I have been struggling with twisted/tangled cotton warp threads when winding several ends at the same time and I didn't understand why it was happening. I really appreciate the demo of these techniques, and look forward to using them to solve my problem! Thank you.

[@jennifermoore1621]

I'm not sure if I mentioned this here before, but a student of mine came up with a great hack that is helpful for a lot of people. Take the plastic top of a spice bottle that has all the little holes. Put each of your four warp ends through a separate hole. Then you can just hold the cap in your hand and wind your warp. always keeping the cap in the same orientation and avoiding twisting your hand.

[@lovestoswatch2694]

thanks very much for this video, extremely clear, and perfect companion to your book!

[@irenepulfer]

Wow! I got so many useful tips -- I can't wait to wind my next 4 color warp!

[@SyneMitchell]

Thank you for taking the time to put together. I was really helpful.

[@jonlilley2832]

Thank you very much for the demos! Both were very helpful, but I really like the warping reel idea a lot. I think that's the way I'm going to go.

[@p1anochik]

As I get ready for MAFA (MidAtlantic Fiber Association) and your double rainbow workshop, I thought it would be wise to watch your video. It made perfect sense. Thanks! I am a front-to-back warper, so I suspect my bigger challenge will be trying to warp back-to-front-and dealing with short flower pots.

[@RuthHenriquez1]

Very nice demo, thank you Jennifer.

[@barbararickman8543]

Awesome! I get the idea of how and why you do what you do with the warp color changes. Once my counterbalance is set up in the 2nd story bedroom, I will do this very technique for a set of dish cloths.

[@karnativishnu2103]

Really such a great job

[@jennifermoore1621]

No, the warp only gets cut at the bottom end peg. The top end peg stays looped and ends up at the back of the loom. Even though you are doing a rotation of six colors, you are only winding with four of them at a time for a number of repeats. The number of repeats is an even number, so you always end up back at the bottom end peg after you have wound your series of a particular color sequence. I think if you watch this again you will be able to see how I do this. The colors get put into their proper order when you are threading the heddles. If you still have questions you can send me an email from my website, www.doubleweaver.com.

[@lovestoswatch2694]

thank you very clear - yes I can see how you do it in the video, wasn't quite sure whether it was enough to sort at the heddles. Thank you!

[@jenmonn]

This is a great help. When the yarns go onto the warp, do they need to be threaded in the same order you had them going onto the warping board? Or could you put them in random orders if you wanted?

[@jennifermoore1621]

Putting them on in the order I have creates a logical flow to the colors. But you can do whatever you want and see what happens! You might find something really interesting!

[@jenmonn]

Jennifer Moore, I was wondering more if they would get hopelessly tangled or twisted and if that would affect the weave. It’d be great to use this technique for warping anything - even solids, if one doesn’t have to worry about twisting.

[@jennifermoore1621]

@@jenmonn I don't think it would cause any problems with twisting because they are in no set order as you are winding the warp and you put them in order as you thread the heddles. I keep the cones in order as I am warping and in my fingers in order mainly because it helps me keep track of where I am in the sequence. As long as you keep the threads parallel as you are winding so that they can't barber pole around each other they aren't able to twist. If you then wind on back to front they can't twist between the reed and the heddles either. If you do find that there are any twists in back of the heddles as you are weaving you can sort of comb them with your fingers toward the back beam. As long as they don't ever reach into the heddles it will not cause a problem. If I am weaving with a solid color warp I generally wind with two cones at a time - I almost never wind a single warp end. I probably wouldn't wind four of the same color, but there really is no reason why you can't.

[@jenmonn]

@@jennifermoore1621 thanks for your thorough reply!

[@SallyYoung-b5x]

What brand is your warping mill? I have the same one, but haven't been able to find it elsewhere.

[@jennifermoore1621]

I bought my warping mill secondhand from a friend in the 1980's! It has no markings on it and If I ever knew what brand it is I don't remember now - sorry!

[@vpostrel]

Pardon my dimness, but why doesn't attaching a new thread from position #4 to the old thread from position #1 create a problem?

[@jennifermoore1621]

Each thread moves over one position, and where you tie on to the old one has no relation to its previous position. If you try it I think it will become clear. This keeps the threads in color order and makes it easier to keep track of where you are.

[@vpostrel]

Thanks. Once I started it did become clear, but as it turned out it worked out better for me to do each pass separately. It would be helpful to show how this warping actually goes onto a loom--and also to have closeups so we can see your hands and the patterns of the yarn. Also, I didn't use a raddle cross, since you don't show one, and now I have a big mess. But at least this was a practice run! (Obviously I'm a beginner, still struggling with getting warping right.)

[@jennifermoore1621]

This was a homemade video with a camera set on a tripod in one position, so I wasn't able to do any closeups. Hopefully in the not too distant future Interweave is going to shoot a professional video of this process, in which case I will be able to have closeups and a lot more detail. Good idea to show how the warp goes on the loom - hopefully we can include this as well - thanks for the suggestion! Good onya for giving it a try - it should become easier with more practice!

[@maureensless315]

Might I suggest that in future you set your camera to a horizontal position. It is much easier for our eyes and brain to process visual information on the horizontal plane, that is why every film aspect ratio is wider than it is tall. Our eyes are oriented in our heads horizontally. This is not an issue with still photography as we our eyes are able to scan around the image to take in all the data.

[@jennifermoore1621]

Thank you for the suggestion. With this homemade video we were only able to have one camera position on a tripod and were trying to cover both the cone holder and the warping reel. Hopefully I will be shooting a new video with Interweave in the coming spring, and they will have much more sophisticated equipment and videographers. In the meantime, I hope this video is helpful for those who are trying to wind a four-color warp.

[@slnrpt]

Really helpful!

[@lovestoswatch2694]

sorry Jennifer, one question in case you see this: when warping the loom, if you have to alternate all the six colours, am I right you have to cut the loop on both sides of the warp? Warping back to front and putting the loops through a lease stick to attach to the back beam won't give you the four alternating colours, but repeats of four threads alternating in two colours only, unless one crosses the threads, or am I missing something? Thank you!

[@jennifermoore1621]

Although I am rotating six colors here, I am only working with four at a time in any given section. And since I am working with an even number of repeats in each section, the cuts are only at the bottom end peg and the loops at the top end peg are uncut as they go on to the back of the loom. You will have four colored threads together in the cross, and they get put into the proper order as you thread your heddles. Because the four threads are kept parallel throughout the warping process they don't get twisted around each other.

[@lovestoswatch2694]

@@jennifermoore1621 thank you, crystal clear as ever!

[@jeannettedeloya4259]

Hi - I have a question about the cross...Don't you have to have each thread alternate in the cross, as opposed to every four threads?

[@jennifermoore1621]

I put all four threads together in the cross and then they get put into their proper order while threading the heddles and I have never had this cause any problems. You can certainly create a thread-by-thread cross if it makes you feel more comfortable, but it will significantly add to the time involved in winding the warp.

[@jeannettedeloya4259]

@@jennifermoore1621 Thank you! That has me thinking!

[@nkwasibwebright961]

hi dia, That's great friend

[@bettyspaur9079]

I believe this is would be a better tool if the camera was closer to the warping board. It's difficult to see exactly what you are doing.

[@msflood1]

I'm having a difficult time understanding how, when you're at the bottom turn to go back up, you keep the warp threads in proper order. My thinking is that all threads should stay in proper order always, and I can't quite make out what your right hand is doing when making that turn. Now I have a tangled up mess!

[@jennifermoore1621]

Hi Linda, I don't worry at all about keeping the threads in the proper order as I'm winding the warp and going around the end pegs. As long as you have the four ends separated between your fingers in one hand and keep that hand in the same orientation all the time you are winding, they don't have any opportunity to get twisted around each other. So it doesn't matter if they are in order in the cross or on any of the pegs - that all gets sorted out in threading the heddles. When you go around the end pegs you do get a half-twist, but the top end post is the end of your warp that never gets woven and your bottom end post is the end that gets cut. Even if you were painstaking about keeping the four colors in perfect order as you were winding the warp they wouldn't stay there as you move the warp over to the loom, and you are only making it harder by trying to keep them in perfect order as you wind the warp. If you still have any questions you can contact me through my website, www.doubleweaver.com and I will try to help you out.

[@lesleythackeray5428]

Thsnks for this video. I am using your book to try the rainbow sampler and would not have managed this winding without seeing you in action. Managed well after a few initial tangles. Now warped. You suggest stuffing as an option. I was wondering what material would be suitable for this. Wadding cut into strips?

[@jennifermoore1621]

Fleece and roving work well if you want a puffy stuffing. For flatter stuffing I cut strips of quilt batting and use two or three layers of the batting.

[@lesleythackeray5428]

@@jennifermoore1621 Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. Your instructons worked very well.

[@jennifermoore1621]

I agree that that would be nice. This was a homemade video and we were only able to have one camera position for an overall view. Hopefully within the next year I will be shooting this with Interweave press and we will be able to have multiple camera positions and close-up shots. In this meantime, I hope this at least helps you get started.

[@jwstanley2645]

Sorry, but there must be a much simpler way to keep any number or patters of warp threads properly in order. Perhaps, using the loom and a horizontal warp pegboard, you could easily avoid a step (a potentially confusing step), and arrive at the warped loom more easily.

[@jennifermoore1621]

You can also use a spool rack or a warping paddle if that is comfortable for you. Let me know if you figure out a better way - I'm always open to improvements!

[@jwstanley2645]

​@@jennifermoore1621 I am not sure what you mean by spool rack, but maybe you mean a spool table, a table that holds one spool for each warp thread, with or without color changes. That is what I had in mind. I look forward to your future videos and I would enjoy seeing more of your completed work. Thank you so much for responding.

[@jennifermoore1621]

@@jwstanley2645 The spool racks that I am familiar with are vertical racks that can hold many spools, and they are generally used for sectional warping. I do not have one, but they can enable you to wind multiple ends while maintaining a thread-by-thread cross. I am spending much of my time these days preparing materials for teaching my Double Rainbow workshop via Zoom. As part of this I am planning to film a new video on winding a 4-color warp with some more suggestions, as well as some helpful hints while setting up the loom.

[@jennifermoore1621]

I'm in the process of writing a blog post with several alternate ways of winding with multiple strands. It should be up on my website, www.doubleweaver.com in the next couple of days.