When you're just started to weave, you hear a lot about "floats." Most likely, you hear about fixing floats, so they sound like a bad thing. In fact, weaving doesn't happen without floats!
In all woven fabrics, the weft crosses over or under the warp. As a weft thread goes over a warp thread, it makes a float on the right side of the fabric; the warp thread makes a float on the wrong side. Think of these as intentional floats. Weave structures get classified by their floats.
Unintentional floats are the ones that might need fixing. They're weaving mistakes where the warp and weft didn't interlace correctly for the type of fabric you're making.
If you notice an unwanted float while the textile is still on the loom, you've got a few options.
- Unweave back to the mistake—easiest when you only have to unpick a few rows with sturdy, non-fuzzy yarns.
- Cut weft threads and gently pull them out—best for fuzzy yarns or when you've already woven a few inches past the error.
- Mark the mistake with a loop of color-fast yarn and plan to fix off the loom.
Before you wet-finish a handwoven textile, you should examine the cloth closely. This is your last chance to fix unintentional floats. Fabrics woven with wool yarns or other protein fibers will change after wet-finishing—you'll want any needle-weaving fixes to match the rest of the fabric.
With some yarns (superwash wools and cottons) and weave structures, trying to fix the float will actually make it more noticeable! If an unintentional float isn't very long and doesn't affect the cloth's stability, you might choose to leave it in. Or you can opt to embellish your handwoven cloth, covering up the error with a design feature.