Shaker Bands! Chevron Style Band Weaving....

Last year, I got my old barn loom set up to weave rugs.  I live only one and a half hours from the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield MA, so I took the family over for a fun research day into the old looms they have.  The Shakers made wonderful rugs with a chevron style twist and incorporated the pattern into a lot of their rugs. They have a small floor style band loom which they made bands on to weave into chair seats and to decorate the ends of their rugs.

http://reggiesreenactments.blogspot.com/2017/05/shaker-looms-visit-to-hancock-shaker.html

Now that it is cold and bleak in New England and I have time off from my spring, summer and fall 24/7 pottery and weaving events, I am thinking about making some rugs with the chevron pattern.

So I got out my newly acquired book,  Weaving Shaker Rugs by Mary Elva Congleton Erf.  Wait one minute... There are bands in this book along with the rugs! So I set up a couple patterns on my Harrisville Loom.

This was a challenge. The books suggest plying 3 yarns on your spinning wheel. Someday I am going to learn how to spin.  I decided to try out a couple of designs about 6 feet long to practice and twist them as I go. I used cotton on these two pieces.

Here is a series of photos of how I set up the loom.

This pattern is set up below

Pattern number 2

I set up short warps on a dresser.

I made some more adjustments to my loom. I removed the velcro that was glued onto my beams. I added some warp beam pop sticks to the back beam by drilling two holes through the front and back beams and tied on the new warp beamsticks. I also clamped the heddle to that front beam so I could thread directly onto the loom.

On this pattern, I threaded the left border first.

My twisted warps are attached in pairs. Attached with a loop below.

Set of 3 threads are twisted before threaded into the heddle. 
I stand across the room a the end of the warp threads and twist them with my fingers,  counting 24 times as I twist.
Keep track of  S or Z twists.  Then thread them one at a time.

Once threaded, clip the ends to a cloths pin so they won't untwist. Notice the border threads are set carefully out of the way top left.

Weight groups of twisted warp threads so they don't tangle.

I added a warp beam to the front and back beams.
I tied the borders on first with even tension.

Groups of twisted warp tied on.

Wind the warp onto the back beam. I used some pop sticks on the beam layers to keep the warp evenly wound.  I gently combed the warp and held them tightly in my left hand as I wound the back beam with my right hand, stopping to check the tension once in a while.

Lease sticks and start of weft. This is not a warp faced weave.
Spread out your warp threads so you get a plain weave.
There is no beater, so keep an eye on the edges so you don't start pulling them in.

You can attach a paper folded around your weave so your edges stay even.

Working along.

Now I had to do something with the bands.  The band with the blue edges looked like a red tree growing in a forest.  Too pretty to attach to a bag or clothing and be seen only once in a while, so I mounted it with an unfinished sampler I found second hand.  Should I finish the cross stitch?

I made a quick vest for the other pattern.

Thanks for looking at my adventures in weaving.  If you are still new to band weaving, check out my step-by-step book to show you how to set up a loom and weave the fun pick-up patterns. Tape Loom Weaving.... simplified. available on Amazon.com and my web site, www.eastknollpottery.com

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