Gold Dot Inkle Band
By Jane Patrick
Inkle looms are the perfect choice for weaving trims, belts, bookmarks, and straps. On the Schacht inkle loom you can wind up to 8 ½ feet of warp yarn and weave bands up to 4" wide. For this band, we used 5/2 pearl cotton (2100 yd/lb) to create a smooth and strong band with dots of color in the center field.
What You'll Need
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Warp yarn: 5/2 pearl cotton in red, 107 yd; blue, 46 yd; and gold, 56 yd.
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Weft yarn: 5/2 pearl cotton in blue, 40 yds.
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inkle loom and belt shuttle
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32 Texsolv or string heddles
Directions
Warping: Begin warping with an open thread, and follow the warping plan below.
Weaving: Weave a few inches to establish the width of your band. You want the band to be tightly woven with a woven width of approximately 1 ⅝". I use a small ruler to check my width as I weave and correct as I go to maintain a consistent width for the length of the band.
Tip: Because bands are fairly narrow, the selvedges are an important element of your band. For a handsome result, keeping even and tidy selvedges is important. My method is to pass the shuttle from one side of the band to the other, change sheds, and then, pulling on the weft yarn to draw it into to place, then using both hands, using the belt shuttle to press the row tightly into place. It is helpful when pulling the weft tight with one hand, to hold the edge of the weaving on the other to prevent the band from drawing in unnecessarily. If you find that your weft is not positioned well, correct it before proceeding to the next row.