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Can we talk about choke ties?
From the first time I wound a warp and dressed my loom (many years ago), I read about tying “choke ties” every few feet on the warping board. I wasn’t super clear if choke meant really choke — at any rate, I never could tie anything that managed to stop the warp threads from slipping about as they liked, even where tied.
This month, winding another warp on the warping board, I happened to have a bunch of bag clips lying about from another project. So, I used them in place of choke ties on my 8/2 unmercerized cotton warp.
Oh.
Winding the warp on was a lot smoother than ever it has been, not the least of which was because I could check, every few feet, that all the threads were even (and not twisted — flat clips meant flat warp!) before popping off the next set of clips.
I don’t imagine these clips would work on every warp — when warp threads are too thick, or too thin, or too delicate. So I find myself wondering: how do people tie choke ties that actually do hold the warp threads in place?
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14 Replies
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I use choke ties and have no problems. What I do is wrap the choke tie twice around the warp, pull it tight, and tie it into a bow. Wrapping it twice before pulling it tight seems to be the trick–it doesn’t work if I only wrap it once.
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I also use choke ties – be sure to tie them in a bow so they are quick and easy to remove. I’ve never had a problem with the ties.
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Maybe I need a string-tying class ????????
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I only tie an actual ‘choke’ tied near the cross – about 18″ away. The rest are just gathering ties, and they are every couple of yards at most, just to keep the yarns from being too ‘fly away’.
My ‘choke’ tie is tied using a thicker coarse yarn that I bundle up to make it quite thick. I then divide the warp chain into 3, and push the string up and down through the chain, then bring it back but where I had gone under I go over, and vice versa. PLUS, I twist the yarns around each other so that the chain has a 3 fold ‘handcuff’. Then I pull the choke string *tight*, tie a half knot, then a bow.
Using a much thicker yarn with some coarseness to it makes it ‘grabby’, and because it is thick it holds onto more of the chain than a skinny thread. It is also easier to see to removed.
The gathering ties are tied in the same way, but not tightened to that degree.
I might have a photo in my book. I can check later and post if I do.
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Thanks — that description of how to choke is very helpfully clear! (I didn’t see a photo, or that detailed description, in your book; the closeup of a tie I see is the counting string). But, I think I should go and re-read that section…
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You’re right, we didn’t get a photo of the choke tie, but it is formed in the same fashion. Thick, coarse string to tie, divide the warp chain into sections (three for the choke tie), tie firmly, then complete with a bow. Page 28 for anyone who has the book. The rest of the gathering ties, including the counting string, are not tied *tight*, just secure to keep the warp in reasonably good order.
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Love your book and all your sage advice that you share so generously.
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If anyone has All Access to Long Thread Media, Laura Fry’s warping method is in her video. I had been tying chokes in 20 different places on my chains til I saw that. But I do like the idea of the bag clips holding the threads flat too.
Since I warp front to back, sleying my reed first, and then the heddles. so by the time I get to winding on the back beam, I have a mess. I do like how Laura winds on too. But it’s such a big change from how I have done it, I am almost afraid of trying it.
HOWEVER I did set up my warping board at the height Laura recommended in her video, and my last warp was not tied a million times. I did not use a death grip on my threads and I used a counting thread with success for the first time. I slowed down and took my time. It’s to be a painted warp so my next day off it gets painted. lol I have had lots of time off due to Covid, dang it hits hard and hard to be conscious of what you are doing.
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I’m so sorry you got hit with Covid. :( Hopefully you will start feeling better soon.
Yes, take your time. Think through the process so that you know what to do ‘next’ (no matter which way you dress the loom).
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I hope you are on the mend!
Taking your time is definitely a good thing. I find that when I am in a rush, I tend to make more errors, and those cost me more time to fix than I would have spent in the first place, if I had simply slowed down at the beginning!
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My takeaways so far are:
– the really important thing is to have a choke firmly in place such that the whole warp bundle is properly lined up when beaming the warp. For front-to-back warping, that means the choke has to be on the front side of the reed when the warp is tied on to the back beam. For back to front warping, the choke is in front of the raddle.
– choke ties really mean choking :-) Sheila Roberts recommended double winding the choke. Laura Fry had a detailed explanation of how to grab the warp in small chunks in the choking. Both recommended bow ties.
I expect I’ll play some more with the bag clips, but as secondary chokes. the solidity of a well tied choke seems like a better plan for all types of warp thread :-)
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LOL As Laura Fry would say, threads under tension are threads under control. Did I get it right? LOL I think of this each time I look at the mess in my warp and say ” it’s not under tension and it’s not under control. OH Laura I’m sorry I try. “
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I use choke ties made of 9″ lengths of T shirt yarn. Its slight stretchiness means it grabs onto itself really well. I tie a lark’s head knot and pull it tight roughly every yard. I never have them come loose or any warp slippage.
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I warp front-to-back and have been using choke ties since I started weaving. Before I take the warp off my board, I loosely tie a thick contrasting yarn around the X of the cross; I then loosely secure the threads to the left and right of the cross in four places: the upper-right, lower-right, upper-left, and lower-left bundle of threads. With linen warp I tightly tie the most important choker around a spot that will allow me to sley the reed, thread the heddles, and tie onto the back beam without removing the choker. With a wide warp, this means that I don’t try to wind all the threads into one thick bundle. It also means that I when I am warping, I don’t make the cross close to the place where I am going to cut all the threads apart.
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