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How to get a light beat with merino and silk
I have just put on a warp of fine merino (18/2 set at18 epi) and have a silk for the weft. The pattern indicated a light beat for a balanced twill weave. I am struggling with getting a even light beat. Any suggestions as to what might help me? (I typically beat on an open shed and get decent selvedges.) Thanks!
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3 Replies
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You’ll get fewer PPI if you add more tension to the warp. You don’t want to add so much that it’s hard to open the shed or there’s undue stress put on the warp threads, but increasing the tension by a little will make the same beat not pack the weft in as much.
You might also try beating on the closed shed. The increased friction will reduce the impact of the beater.
Good luck!
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Don’t think about beating it. Think about placing it. I’ve found that if I don’t think about “beating” when I just want to gently squeeze the weft into place it works a lot better.
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Thanks, Sheila and Janet. It is going better now. I am closing the shed/changing treadles just before I get the beater to the fell line (helps me with selvedge). And I am keeping the fell line so that the beater is not closer to the front beam than vertical, so I am in control of placing the weft rather than the weight of the beater doing it. Slow but okay.
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