Backstrap Weaving

Hi Jen. First if all, let me say that I can only give general advice because I have no idea about your weaving background and the amount of experience you bring to this. Secondly, I’m assuming you are going to weave warp-faced fabric.

I feel I need to point out that if this is your first ever backstrap loom project, 12″ is way wider than what I would recommend particularly if you are using hand-spun. It’s a huge leap from the kind of width you get on an inkle loom. The thing is, you shouldn’t underestimate what’s involved with first of all learning how to use the loom. First-timers will typically have difficulty with working the heddled shed…and that’s with smooth mercerized cotton. It’s a whole other story when using hand-spun.

I recommend trying something 2 inches wide and about 24 inches long to begin with. You’ll learn what’s involved with transferring a warp from the warping stakes to your loom, the kinds of problems that will arise if you haven’t created an evenly-tensioned warp, what happens when you make a mistake on your string heddles, how your handspun behaves in string heddles on a backstrap loom, how to move your body to relax tension when necessary to help you operate the loom……and a bunch of other things….all without feeling overwhelmed by 12 inches of width and stressed because of the waste of your handspun (because maybe 12 inches is just too much to ask from a first-ever project).

The two-inch project will answer your own questions about yardage.

But if you are still wanting to go ahead and start with 12 inches width, there’s this: If I count 24 threads in an inch in a single “row” on my warp-faced cloth, I know that I need 48 ends to make an inch. If my warp is 36 inches long, I’ll need to calculate 36″ X 48 to give me the total length of yarn for one inch of woven cloth.

BUT if you want two fringed pieces 16″ long each, you’ll need a much longer warp than 36″. Your two placemats with an inch of fringe will measure 36″ (32 inches of cloth plus say, 4 inches of fringe). There’s take-up to consider as well as what I call “comfort space”. You’ll know about take-up from your inkle loom. You’ll want, especially when you are new to this, at least 10″ of space in which to be able to comfortably operate the loom. I always play safe and add 50% to my finished fabric length. That would make your warp 54″. It will be more than you need but better safe than sorry, I say.

Now, if +50% seems too much to you and you’re not keen on possibly wasting your handspun by playing it safe like this, you should first weave the 2-inch-wide sample that I recommended. Measure how much length you are able to weave before you start feeling cramped and uncomfortable and unable to smoothly operate the loom. Struggling to operate the loom to try and crank out another inch WILL affect your weaving. Compare that to the original warp length. It will also enable you to calculate take-up. And with that you can figure out how long to make your placemat warp.