10 Saun 724
Wealth Skill: Fieldcraft
Since it was still foggy out, Dan had decided to start making a sturdy woven strap, the sort of thing that could double as both a belt and as something to tie together a bundle of firewood, or loop through multiple basket handles to make them easier to carry after you had gathered a lot.
Linnet helped him wind the figure of eight warp to the correct length, then moved off to work on her own spinning where she could keep an eye on Dan and correct him as necessary. Dan fastened one end to a table leg, and settled himself comfortably with the backstrap around his hips. The advantage of using a backstrap loom rather than an upright loom was that the backstrap loom was portable. As long as you had something sturdy to attach the end to, be that table, tent pole, or convenient tree, then you could work on it. The downside was that the cloth made was narrower than an upright loom.
He picked up a hank of sturdy hemp thread and began to wind himself a heddle, so that once he began to actually weave he could lift the warp threads up and down easily. The figure of eight warp, combined with the thickness of the end poles, meant that half the threads rose up in the nearer part of the loom and half rose up in the further part. He started with the nearer half, and slid a free thread through the gap between the upper and lower layers. He wound the end around his left hand and held it above the loom, then carefully nudged the leftmost warp thread sideways a little to make a gap between it and the next thread. The heddle thread running underneath it stood out in pale contrast, and the fingers of his right hand darted down between the threads like the beak of a diving bird. He pinched the heddle thread between thumb and forefinger, drew it up between the two warp threads, and wrapped a second loop around his hand. The heddle thread now had a loop on the outside of the warp threads, and then went from there under the first warp thread and up again into a second loop. He moved his left hand up slightly to test it and smiled in satisfaction to see the warp thread lift with his hand. Linnet also glanced over and gave him a nod of approval.
He lowered his left hand again, nudged the second warp thread over beside the first, and darted his right hand down into the new gap. He brought up a third loop of heddle thread, wrapped it around his hand and moved on across the warp of his loom. Each warp thread acquired its own loop either side of it, and then finally he reached the other side of the warp and made one final loop to finish it off. His hand was now covered in wound loops of thread, and he hung onto them tightly to make sure that she didn't lose any of them and have to start all over again. He had done that the first few times he set up. Now he knew better. Until he got them fastened securely together, he didn't dare to move from the loom.
A shriek from one of Rosebay's kid's brought his head snapping round. Dan looked up and down the Hall, his free hand groping for whatever hard object was nearest so he could throw it if necessary, but he saw no danger only a group of children playing tag. The half made heddle tied him in place and he grimaced in frustration. He flexed his fingers briefly and then reached instead for the scissors from his sewing kit, cut the heddle from the ball of thread, then fumbled one handed to unwind another length of thread. He should, he realised, have cut a length before he started winding, but it was too late now.
He yanked on the loose end and it unspooled, while at the other end, the ball of yarn bounced, rolled, and skittered across the ground. Dan scowled at it and at himself for the mistake, snipped a length, and threaded it through all the loops on his hand. Linnet made a teasing gesture at him, picked the yarn up, and put it back where he could reach it.
He nodded his thanks, then pulled the ends of the new thread up, leaned forward and held one in his teeth while he clumsily tied the other to it. He pulled and cut a second tie, and only then eased the loops off his hand. He still had to hold them carefully at this point, or they could pull out and unravel. However once his hand was free, he bunched the loops together and tied the new length tightly round them about an inch from the top. That prevented the unraveling, and he always thought it made the string heddle look like a woollen doll with a puffy skirt.
Dan took yet another length of thread from the ball, and turned to the farther half of the loom. This part was much simpler. He only had to slide the length of thread between the two layers there, lift up the ends of it, and tie them together in a single, simple loop. He managed it without much of a problem, as it wasn't that much different from tieing off any of his sewing threads, and nodded in satisfaction. With that done, he was no longer tied to the loom. He could ease out of it and roll up the partly finished project for transport any time he needed to. He stretched slowly, rolling his head on his neck and flexing his fingers to work out any cramps and stiffness from his work so far, then eyed his threads to see which he felt like winding onto his shuttle to use as a weft thread. He wanted one that neither matched the heddle thread, so that there would be no confusion, and also one that toned with the warp threads so that when he made the simple pattern it would look good.
Eventually he picked a darker thread that toned with the warp and wound it onto his shuttle. The notches on both ends of the shuttle helped to keep the thread in place, and the rhythm of the winding was soothing. Once the thread was fully wound onto the shuttle, he took the end of the thread, wound it around the end bar nearest to his, and tied it firmly in place. That was the last piece of setup he needed to do before he could start the actual weaving process, and he looked up from his work to check how things were going around the Hall. That also gave Linnet the chance to check his setup before he started trying to weave.
Linnet checked the threads to make sure that the two layers of the figure of eight warp were properly seperated and ran deft fingers over the rest, occasionally tightening a knot or adjusting the tension, before giving Dan the go ahead to start as she watched.
Dan lifted the farther loop so that he would start with threads crossed in front of the end pole to make a flat start, eased the threads up with his hand, and then lifted the flat beater and rapped the point where they crossed down to rest against the pole. He set the beater down, slid the shuttle between the layers with one hand, starting on the side where it was bound to the end pole, and caught it in his other hand. Drawing the last of the thread through, he paused with one loop around his finger. He slid the weft thread down to the pole, pinched both edges of the warp and eased the last of the weft through until it just rested on the edge. Dan took a breath, slid his hand between the layers and turned it sideways to seperate the layers. It was harder than he recalled and after a moment, Linnet reminded him to lean forward slightly to ease the tension on the thread. That helped. Once he'd eased the tension, he could split the layers with one hand and lift the heddle with the other, causing the warp threads to cross again and pin the weft thread against the pole. He applied the beater to make sure it was nice and firm, then traded beater for shuttle once more.
Dan slid the shuttle through in the other direction, then set it down again to ease the last of the thread through. The pinching slowness of it was a pain, but it made for a smooth and even edge to the strap or the cloth you were making.
"Signed words" Spoken words
Wealth Skill: Fieldcraft
Since it was still foggy out, Dan had decided to start making a sturdy woven strap, the sort of thing that could double as both a belt and as something to tie together a bundle of firewood, or loop through multiple basket handles to make them easier to carry after you had gathered a lot.
Linnet helped him wind the figure of eight warp to the correct length, then moved off to work on her own spinning where she could keep an eye on Dan and correct him as necessary. Dan fastened one end to a table leg, and settled himself comfortably with the backstrap around his hips. The advantage of using a backstrap loom rather than an upright loom was that the backstrap loom was portable. As long as you had something sturdy to attach the end to, be that table, tent pole, or convenient tree, then you could work on it. The downside was that the cloth made was narrower than an upright loom.
He picked up a hank of sturdy hemp thread and began to wind himself a heddle, so that once he began to actually weave he could lift the warp threads up and down easily. The figure of eight warp, combined with the thickness of the end poles, meant that half the threads rose up in the nearer part of the loom and half rose up in the further part. He started with the nearer half, and slid a free thread through the gap between the upper and lower layers. He wound the end around his left hand and held it above the loom, then carefully nudged the leftmost warp thread sideways a little to make a gap between it and the next thread. The heddle thread running underneath it stood out in pale contrast, and the fingers of his right hand darted down between the threads like the beak of a diving bird. He pinched the heddle thread between thumb and forefinger, drew it up between the two warp threads, and wrapped a second loop around his hand. The heddle thread now had a loop on the outside of the warp threads, and then went from there under the first warp thread and up again into a second loop. He moved his left hand up slightly to test it and smiled in satisfaction to see the warp thread lift with his hand. Linnet also glanced over and gave him a nod of approval.
He lowered his left hand again, nudged the second warp thread over beside the first, and darted his right hand down into the new gap. He brought up a third loop of heddle thread, wrapped it around his hand and moved on across the warp of his loom. Each warp thread acquired its own loop either side of it, and then finally he reached the other side of the warp and made one final loop to finish it off. His hand was now covered in wound loops of thread, and he hung onto them tightly to make sure that she didn't lose any of them and have to start all over again. He had done that the first few times he set up. Now he knew better. Until he got them fastened securely together, he didn't dare to move from the loom.
A shriek from one of Rosebay's kid's brought his head snapping round. Dan looked up and down the Hall, his free hand groping for whatever hard object was nearest so he could throw it if necessary, but he saw no danger only a group of children playing tag. The half made heddle tied him in place and he grimaced in frustration. He flexed his fingers briefly and then reached instead for the scissors from his sewing kit, cut the heddle from the ball of thread, then fumbled one handed to unwind another length of thread. He should, he realised, have cut a length before he started winding, but it was too late now.
He yanked on the loose end and it unspooled, while at the other end, the ball of yarn bounced, rolled, and skittered across the ground. Dan scowled at it and at himself for the mistake, snipped a length, and threaded it through all the loops on his hand. Linnet made a teasing gesture at him, picked the yarn up, and put it back where he could reach it.
He nodded his thanks, then pulled the ends of the new thread up, leaned forward and held one in his teeth while he clumsily tied the other to it. He pulled and cut a second tie, and only then eased the loops off his hand. He still had to hold them carefully at this point, or they could pull out and unravel. However once his hand was free, he bunched the loops together and tied the new length tightly round them about an inch from the top. That prevented the unraveling, and he always thought it made the string heddle look like a woollen doll with a puffy skirt.
Dan took yet another length of thread from the ball, and turned to the farther half of the loom. This part was much simpler. He only had to slide the length of thread between the two layers there, lift up the ends of it, and tie them together in a single, simple loop. He managed it without much of a problem, as it wasn't that much different from tieing off any of his sewing threads, and nodded in satisfaction. With that done, he was no longer tied to the loom. He could ease out of it and roll up the partly finished project for transport any time he needed to. He stretched slowly, rolling his head on his neck and flexing his fingers to work out any cramps and stiffness from his work so far, then eyed his threads to see which he felt like winding onto his shuttle to use as a weft thread. He wanted one that neither matched the heddle thread, so that there would be no confusion, and also one that toned with the warp threads so that when he made the simple pattern it would look good.
Eventually he picked a darker thread that toned with the warp and wound it onto his shuttle. The notches on both ends of the shuttle helped to keep the thread in place, and the rhythm of the winding was soothing. Once the thread was fully wound onto the shuttle, he took the end of the thread, wound it around the end bar nearest to his, and tied it firmly in place. That was the last piece of setup he needed to do before he could start the actual weaving process, and he looked up from his work to check how things were going around the Hall. That also gave Linnet the chance to check his setup before he started trying to weave.
Linnet checked the threads to make sure that the two layers of the figure of eight warp were properly seperated and ran deft fingers over the rest, occasionally tightening a knot or adjusting the tension, before giving Dan the go ahead to start as she watched.
Dan lifted the farther loop so that he would start with threads crossed in front of the end pole to make a flat start, eased the threads up with his hand, and then lifted the flat beater and rapped the point where they crossed down to rest against the pole. He set the beater down, slid the shuttle between the layers with one hand, starting on the side where it was bound to the end pole, and caught it in his other hand. Drawing the last of the thread through, he paused with one loop around his finger. He slid the weft thread down to the pole, pinched both edges of the warp and eased the last of the weft through until it just rested on the edge. Dan took a breath, slid his hand between the layers and turned it sideways to seperate the layers. It was harder than he recalled and after a moment, Linnet reminded him to lean forward slightly to ease the tension on the thread. That helped. Once he'd eased the tension, he could split the layers with one hand and lift the heddle with the other, causing the warp threads to cross again and pin the weft thread against the pole. He applied the beater to make sure it was nice and firm, then traded beater for shuttle once more.
Dan slid the shuttle through in the other direction, then set it down again to ease the last of the thread through. The pinching slowness of it was a pain, but it made for a smooth and even edge to the strap or the cloth you were making.
"Signed words" Spoken words
