When things don't feel right....

they're usually not right. This morning, I finished the tea towel I had started last night, and it just kept fretting at me. I had carefully written down the treadling sequence and made a little cheat sheet, which I tape so I can see it easily when weaving, and I checked it 4 or 5 times with the treadling indicated in the pattern, but it just didn't feel right.

For one thing, there were an uneven number of shots in a full repeat. The threading pattern is for a 70 end repeat, but the treadling showed a 69 end repeat. Hmmmm. What that means, to my small brain, is it takes two full repeats of the treadling to end up on the side I started on. Seriously, that's how I see things. Very basic. This is a muscle memory problem. As I learn the treadling, it sinks into my subconsious which side I am supposed to end up on at certain points in the pattern, and if I get off, things start feeling hinky. This was not lending itself to learning that muscle memory at all.

Overshot patterns start out, work to a mid point, and work backwards to the finish. The first part of the pattern mirrors the second part. So I started looking, and found a treadling error. Here's the treadling from the book, with the offending area marked:




It may be difficult to see, but the right leg of the bracket shows three shots on what we'll call Treadle 1. The bottom leg shows only two shots on Treadle 1. The entire part bracketed is actually the very center of the pattern. So these shots on Treadle 1 should be exactly the same: 3 shots in each place.

Here's the first tea towel, with the offending area marked. The arrow is actually pointing exactly at the problem. You can see there are two shots. Scan down the pattern and you'll see the three shots on the other side of that center-piece-looking-thingy.



And here's the towel I wove with the treadling error fixed.


Interestingly enough, the incorrect sequence didn't really make a difference on the diagonal, since it was not a single shot. There were two shots there instead of three, but still enough to drag that diagonal along.

With the fix, the treadling sequence mirrors itself perfectly, my shuttles are on the correct sides at the right times, and it feels so. nicely. balanced.

I started another tea towel, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I worked out in the yard this afternoon, pruning for a couple hours, and I be tired. And tomorrow is a long day at work. Maybe I'll get to weave a bit in the evening.



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