Shed & Heddle
Once the warps have been added, as part of the foundation, setting up the shed and heddle sticks is the next critical part of the weaving process.
A mechanism called a heddle stick is needed to facilitate the intertwining of the warps and wefts. It will keep the warps separated so the wefts can pass through them. The stick below serves as the natural shed separating the right and left wefts.
The shed stick creates natural shed as it separates the right (white) warps.
Note: For demonstration purposes, I will use white and blue colored warp yarns in some pictures to represent the right and the left warps, respectively. This is intended to help viewers recognize each knot is tied on two warp strings.
Strings shown below are placed on the heddle stick which separates the left (blue) warps.
Below is how the shed and heddle stick look on the loom. The four “extra” warp yarns on either side are bundled to be wrapped later, to protect the edge of the rug (known as the selvedge).
When the shed stick is pushed downward, it pushes the right (white) warps forward, allowing the weft to be run in between the warps and across a row of knots.
When the shed stick is pushed upward, it allows the left (blue) warps forward. These are being pulled by the heddle strings, allowing the weft to be run across in between the warps and the row of knots. The shed stick is moved up and down to allow access under right and left warps.
Video:
If you are curious to learn more, my eBook The Art of Oriental Rugs - A Weaver's Perspective shows you: 1) how to identify a weave** and how different techniques produce “recognizable” variations in different regions, 2) maps with geographical views of where rugs are woven in the country of Iran and how the regional weaves influence each other, and 3) 750+ close-up pictures of weaves from 170+ rug-weaving regions in Iran and around the globe. I’ve written a book I wish I had when I first started in the rug business. This, I humbly hope, will be seen as an indispensable addition to any library.
Shed & Heddle
As part of the foundation, the shed and heddle sticks are a critical part of the weaving process once the warps have been added.
A mechanism called a heddle stick is needed to facilitate the intertwining of the warps and wefts. It will keep the warps separated so the wefts can pass through them. The stick below serves as the natural shed separating the right and left wefts.
The shed stick creates natural shed as it separates the right (white) warps.
Note: For demonstration purposes, I will use white and blue colored warp yarns in some pictures to represent the right and the left warps, respectively. This is intended to help viewers recognize each knot is tied on two warp strings.
Strings shown below are placed on the heddle stick which separates the left (blue) warps.
Below is how the shed and heddle stick look on the loom. The four “extra” warp yarns on either side are bundled to be wrapped later, to protect the edge of the rug (known as the selvedge).
When the shed stick is pushed downward, it pushes the right (white) warps forward, allowing the weft to be run in between the warps and across a row of knots.
When the shed stick is pushed upward, it allows the left (blue) warps forward. These are being pulled by the heddle strings, allowing the weft to be run across in between the warps and the row of knots. The shed stick is moved up and down to allow access under right and left warps.
Video:
If you are curious to learn more, my eBook The Art of Oriental Rugs - A Weaver's Perspective shows you: 1) how to identify a weave** and how different techniques produce “recognizable” variations in different regions, 2) maps with geographical views of where rugs are woven in the country of Iran and how the regional weaves influence each other, and 3) 750+ close-up pictures of weaves from 170+ rug-weaving regions in Iran and around the globe. I’ve written a book I wish I had when I first started in the rug business. This, I humbly hope, will be seen as an indispensable addition to any library.