# Frazzlehead: Mira question...



## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

I read on ravelry that your loom is a Mira? Have an opportunity to purchase one:
http://kelowna.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-hobbies-crafts-36-Leclerc-Loom-W0QQAdIdZ457478709
what do you think? 
There are no classes, teachers, etc here- so I will have to learn via books, computer.
I went back and read your weaving thread on Mira- thanks so much for the detailed info! I did not understand what you meant about twill set up- can you suggest a book or site that would help from start to finish? I do have learning to weave- will drag that out- but maybe you know of another?
thanks so much!
Editing again to ask- what about an unbalanced weave with this loom? Can you do rag rugs, use thick, thin yarn with no problem? editing again! shed regulator- In looking at the pics, I do not think this one has one- and they sound like a must for unbalanced weave...


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Wow! Yeah, that's a great price especially with the bench and all the extras.

Unbalanced weaves are possible but it's tricky to get a good shed. However, you can do SO MUCH with balanced weaves, I don't see that as a huge drawback.

I am completely self taught, so it's doable. Just get a bunch of cheap yarn to play with, warp it up about 12-16" wide, thread it for a twill (1, 2, 3, 4 in the heddles, standard tie up, which is on four treadles, 2 heddles to each treadle, you can find it easily on line 'cause I can't remember it exactly) and get all the books you can from the library. That's what I did ... just read a bunch of books, took back all the useless ones (I love interlibrary loan and online book requests) and copied down some threading setups from the ones I thought looked interesting. Then I played.

Yes you can use any kind of yarn though the heddles are not huge, so you need to use 'reasonable' yarn for warp (though I'm using 2 ply wool from Custom Woolen Mills on the coats, so it's not like you can't do a thick warp). 

There's a bunch of info on the LeClerc site about setting up the loom, and they have a free ebook with lots of info on getting started, too.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

That is great to hear!
I love your coat- that is what I want to make, clothing fabric. Looking at using interesting handspun- here is a link to a saori woven vest/jacket that I'd like to try. Do you think the Mira could weave this?
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/weaving-in-the-saori-way/1987756/551-575#551


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Oh, for sure. That's really just plain weave - but done with all kinds of interesting techniques with the weft yarn. 

A nice plain warp and interesting wefts does really cool things!


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

That is super! For sure will get this Mira, then. Thanks so much!
Teri


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Great deal IHN! Good luck and have fun!

That loom looks like it only has 2 shafts.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

It's four ... Just the way the heddles are hanging makes it look like two.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

The first thing I would like to do is weave some kitchen rugs. Do you know of any good books? I saw some super cute ones using denim and fabric. Also, where do you get your weaving wool? (or cotton) for warp? People have said Webs, but it seems pretty expensive.
In reading about this loom on the internet, a weaver said a Leclerc loom was like a Chevy. Not a Cadillac loom, but sturdy, dependable, and will get you where you want to go.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Frazzle sells wool warp, I know. I sell linen and cotton warp, and I can get the Brown Sheep Company warp.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Lovely yarn on your website- are they sold in cones? what is the weight of the cone, if so? I was looking at the Bockens, but I think that is too nice for a rag rug. What weight, and fiber would you suggest? I am off to church now- so will check back later.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Oh! I just read your post on Rav ... the unbalanced weaves you have troubles with on this kind of loom are the ones where you lift just ONE shaft some of the time, that can get a bit weird.

But having thin warp and thick weft, no problemo.

Plain sturdy cotton is a good warp for rugs - I really like this stuff, it's so easy to work with.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

thanks for the link.... will have to figure out what I'm doing after getting the loom Wed. I did see that that SvenskaFlicka has was in the latest Handwoven mag..... I think it may be a bit before I can do something with so beautiful a yarn.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

It's nice to work with good materials when you are learning, so you don't have to struggle with yarn that falls apart. Butcher's twine would work if your weft is really thick, I would think - the thinner stuff. I mean, really, it's just cotton, right?

I did my initial testing with heavy crochet cotton I got at the thrift store.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Frazzle, I have this ready to go (I think), but having issues with a clear shed. Is that normal? If the tension is too loose, will it cause that?
editing:
found problem- uneven cords on treadles, and tension....


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I was just gonna say - check the cords, some are probably longer than the others. You found it! 

I had to tie my own cords, so it took a lot of trial and error to get them even.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

http://www.crazyasaloom.com/
so take a look at this video- making rugs with socks! Love it!


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Another question, Frazzle-
you have a sectional warp beam, right? Do you use a spool rack, or what to warp? I just have a warping board, and no sectional beam at the moment- but someone has one for $100.
What is your take on it? Is is worth that?


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

A sectional beam for your loom for $100?? Get it!

I love it. It makes life Sooooooooo much easier. 

You can warp the chain for a 2" wide section - so say you are doing 12 epi, you'd warp 24 ends on your warping board, then wind that chain onto the loom. Repeat until it's wide as you plan to weave. You are never dealing with more than one set of chains at a time, which is what I love.

I use a home made rack that holds antique weaving pirns suspended on old metal knitting needles - picture two upright pieces of wood with holes along the sides, the knitting needle goes through the hole, through the pirn, through the other hole. I wind my warp onto the pirns, then set up however many pirns I need for my 2" section and wind the section directly from the pirns onto the loom (the thread goes through a piece of pegboard mounted in front of the pirns, and then through a small reed clamped to the back beam to spread it out as it winds on).

I think new the sectional beam is just over $200 so it's a good price.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

So, when you wind your warp onto the pirns- Do you take the warp from the warping board to the pirn- or does each pirn have one yarn, in the length you want. (so for 24 epi per section, you use 24 pirns?) Could you post a picture?


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I have a picture somewhere ... I"ll see what I can do.

I don't use a warping board *at all*. 

If you like using the warping board, you don't need the pirn setup - you just do your warp on the board like usual, then tension the warp as you wind it on ... just like usual, only you wind directly onto the back beam. The only thing you'd need is a mini raddle of some kind to spread the threads across the 2" section - just a board with some nails sticking up, clamped to the back beam of the loom, that's all you need.

The pirn setup means I don't measure out my warps at all (well, just by how many turns of the back beam I do to wind on). I have room for about 12 pirns, so if I want 24 epi I will wind 2 threads per pirn, they seem to tension fine. I just fill the pirns up, and wind until they are empty then reload and wind the next section. I often have a bit of waste but I find uses for it.

If you google "spool rack sectional warp beam" you'll find all sorts of pictures for how this is done - that's what I did, then I just modified what I had on hand to give me something sorta like that.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Thanks! Honestly, I have never used a warping board- but have one, so it's a use what you have idea. That sounds easier, though, so I will take a look.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Here, great info from a wise weaver named Laura Fry on sectional warping.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I took a picture of me doing a sectional warp section today - I wound this warp on a warping-board-equivalent (two chairs spaced apart at the distance I needed for my full warp!) and then used the little reed and c-clamp to spread the threads over the 2" section, and wound it on.










I draped the chain up and over a partial wall that's behind my loom and weighted it with a basket containing another cone of yarn to provide tension, but I could probably just tension it with my hand and crank the beam with the other hand.

This is my Beethoven warp - that, believe it or not, is the first bar of the Ode to Joy.

Off to wind more colours!


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

Editing to add: read your blog on Ontario- how wonderful! Thanks for sharing the pics of the beautiful wheels, and how special was that to sit next to Gord Lendrum, who skeined your yarn. (love my Lendrum wheel, here- hubby traded in his gold class ring from Bible college to buy it for 25th wedding anniversary)
so about Mira....
So did you put a cross in your warp? love the ingenuity... 
Thanks for the pic- my sectional beam is in the mail...
I was wondering how you got tension. If you did not have pirns, what would you use? Nevermind- just ordered 10 pirns off ebay- they are super inexpensive, and work with the bobbin winder. Planning on using milk crates with something poked through to hold bobbins (whatever that may be- not pvc, too expensive) 
Laura Fry is great, on her blog she uses jugs for tension. I am using lease sticks to warp today- a first to try that. 
I looked at tension boxes- yikes! You can really rake up the expenses on "tools"!
I have a weaving friend who does beautiful silk work, she told me yesterday that she mostly just ties on to existing warp, which makes adding a new warp so much easier. 
Loving your work on your Mira!


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Hi!  Glad you liked the blog - I had a great time, and now, as I type, I'm at Olds for Fibre Week!

I do not bother with a cross in the warp, no. With the sectional beam, it's such a short distance that it's really easy to keep the threads in order with how they are taped down.

I mostly get the tension by holding the incoming threads off the pirns with my hand as I wind. That plus the little reed + c-clamp doohickey seems to do a reasonable job.

You want your pirn holder to go "up" so that your strands all come down towards the tensioning thingie (picture frame with pegboard works well as a step one, then into the little reed right on the back beam for step two) - I have two wooden 'uprights' with knitting needles poked through holes drilled in the uprights, kinda like a ladder. That works pretty well.

Weaving is awesome, isn't it?


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