Hanna

A Lofty Warm Blanket

in 6/2
Swedish Blanket Wool
42” x 54” finished size
26 in weaving width,
You need 480 heddles,
four shafts and four treadles
(table loom not recommended)
woven in double weave to give you
double width.

Total # of warp ends 480

Reed 10 dent reed
24” Weaving width in the reed
20 Warp ends/inch
Accessories needed: Long boat shuttle,
5 or 6 inch quill or bobbin, lease sticks,
24 beaming sticks, sley hook, tape meas-
ure.

Warp length 76 in
Weave structure: plain weave
1 thread / heddle, 2 threads / dent
4 bouts (chains) of 120 threads
Swedish blanket wool yarn is spun and plied Yarn count in one warp
specifically for weaving blankets, so your blanket will bout (chain)
turn out just right. Select this red blanket with natural Narrow stripe, 8 ends
gray stripes, the gray blanket with black and white Wide stripe, 44
stripes, or select your own colors from Glimakra USA. Narrow stripe, 16
Wide stripe, 44
Narrow stripe, 8
If you warp your loom back to front: Total: 120
To pre-sley the 10
dent reed, put four Treadling
threads in one dent
and then skip a dent.
Raddle with 1/2 inch Treadle tie-up
Counterbalance and Bottom layer
spaces, alternate 8 Top layer
countermarch looms:
and 12 threads in tie up the Xs so that
Top layer
each space. Bottom layer
those shafts go down Start here
For warping and the other shafts
instructions, will rise.
Jack looms: tie the
we recommend the empty spaces in the tie-
book, up draft to make those 4 3 2 1 A
Threading
shafts rise. Tie-up
Learning to Warp your Loom, $20.
For more information about this kit, shuttles, reeds, warping equipment, or if you want to purchase this
blanket yarn, ask at the shop where you purchased this kit. For more information about using a temple, read
about them at the FAQ on the website: www.glimakraUSA.com
 Spreading and beaming the warp The closely How the warp looks at the back of the loom while beaming
sett yarns tend to spread out on the warp beam. Use
about 20 beaming sticks on the warp beam, more if
your beam in small.
THREADING NOTE! When you get to the last
inch of warp on the left side (facing the loom), drop the
last red yarn before threading the last 8 gray. The warp
needs to have an odd number of warp yarns. Begin
threading the final gray stripe on shaft 1. The last gray
warp yarn will be threaded on shaft 2.
NOTE ABOUT SHEDS!
Take a yard stick or a beaming stick at least 26 inches
long and place it in the shed formed by raising shafts
1&4, using treadle A. Place it between the beater and
the shafts. This will prevent weaving mistakes which
would lock the two layers together.
Jack looms
If you are weaving on a jack loom, you may have warp
threads sticking to each other. It can be helpful to prop up a
mirror at the side of the loom so that when you first start to
weave, you can look to see if your sheds are clear. Keep your
tension as tight as possible.

Photos show the gray blanket woven with a boat shuttle

with a 5 inch quill, on a 26 inch counterbalance loom.

Shuttle and quills

Do not fill the quills too full. When putting a new quill
Red blanket being woven with a long damask shuttle into your shuttle, advance the warp to give you a larger
with a 6 inch quill, on a 39 inch loom shed.
Clear your first sheds
Weaving your double width blanket Use your hand to clear the first four sheds as they will
If you tie on in small bundles, there should be no need to be sticky. Check for threading and sleying errors.
weave in waste threads. Start with the wool weft, on the Weave a nice fold and avoid skipped threads
right side, following the treadling diagram on the front Keep the tension very tight. Leave the weft angled in
page. The fold will be on the left side. Beat once the shed, then close the shed and beat. Keep the temple
lightly to get a soft blanket. Weave 1 inch and then put close to the fell. Each time you remove the temple,
the temple on. press on treadle A and put you finger into the fold to
Length of your blanket check to see how it looks. If there is a doubled warp
The final length of your blanket will depend on your loom thread, you have forgotten to drop one thread. See
waste. This varies from one loom to another and one weaver THREADING NOTE above and remove the extra
to another. Back to front warping has less loom waste. Your thread.
tie-on method should use only the length of warp needed for If the fold stripe is narrower than the other stripes
your fringe (about 6 to 8 inches). (warp yarns bunched together), you are pulling the weft
Beaming sticks As the sticks fall out of the warp beam, put too tightly. This can be the result of using a plastic bob-
them on the cloth beam so the blanket has a smooth surface to bin. Try using a paper quill Instead.
wind onto. See http://www.glimakrausa.com/faq.html for in-
structions for making paper quills.
NOTE! Weave approx. 10-11 wefts per inch. Count Advance your warp frequently. Weave only 2
frequently. If you beat too hard, you will have 13 to 14 wefts inches before advancing the warp. If you weave too
per inch. Your blanket will not be as soft and you will run out long before advancing or if you advance the warp too
of yarn, giving you a shorter blanket. far, the lower layer will have an uneven beat.
2.
 Temples
What does a temple do? 1. A temple holds the woven material.
We recommend you use a temple to get a perfect When you weave without a temple, the natural nar-
fold in your blanket. A temple is a traditional weav- rowing of the blanket causes the warp yarns at the
ing tool, with evidence of its use going back many selvages to be too close together. This causes the
centuries. A temple will improve the quality of your weft to rise at the sides and it is seen clearly when
blanket as well as make the weaving easier. A tem- the blanket is off the loom.
ple will hold the blanket out to the full width, give
you a more even beat, increase your speed and make 2. Using a temple keeps selvage yarns from
the beating physically easier. As a result, your blan- becoming loose.
ket will be wider and your selvages will be better. Using a temple will prevent draw-in, so you can
make snug, even selvages. There is no need to pull
yarn from the shuttle before throwing it.

3. Using a temple prevents selvage warp

yarns from breaking.
If you don’t use a temple, draw-in at the selvages
and the narrowing of your blanket will cause the sel-
vage warp yarns to be worn by the beater, fray and
eventually break. A temple cannot correct this prob-
lem, but it will prevent it.
Temple on the blanket kit.

When should I use a temple? How do I place the temple on the web?
A temple is necessary to produce good quality weav- Place the temple right side up near the fell (last wefts
ing. If, after you start to weave, your warp in the woven) of the weaving. Set the teeth into the last
reed is wider than at the fell (where the last wefts warp yarns of the woven selvages, first on one side,
were woven), you need to use a temple. then the other. Push the temple down slowly and
slide the metal holder to the center to keep the tem-
How do I set the length of the temple? ple flat. You should be able to see the last few wefts
Take the pin out of the temple and place it up side that you wove and the reed should not touch the tem-
down on the warp at the reed. Extend the temple so ple when you beat.
that its length is the same as the width of the warp,
with the wooden ends extending just beyond the sel- 1
vage yarns. Replace the pin where the holes line up.

Check your temple placement

Pull the beater to the fell, with the temple in place. 3
The selvage warp yarns should not be pulled out or
in by the reed. Adjust the length if needed. Advance
the temple after about an inch of weaving.

3.
 Checking your blanket for errors
Unfold your blanket and check for any errors. You will easily see them as small floats of weft or
warp and they need to be repaired before washing your blanket. These can be repaired by thread-
ing a short yarn on a needle. Stitch through the area, putting the needle where the weft thread
should have gone. Use a tapered strand of the wool. Then cut out the floating weft yarn.

Twist your fringe after taking the blanket off the loom, but before
washing. Trim a long fringe to about 6-8 inches. Start by twisting the
fringe from the narrow stripes. There will be eight threads in each stripe.
Selvages will have four stripe yarns, so add a couple of the main color
with them to make 6. Divide into two parts and twist each part to the
right. Place the two parts together and twist them in the opposite direc-
tion.
Tie a knot in the end. For the 2 inch color stripes, divide
them into three parts to make three fringes of 6, 7 or 8
yarns in each. Do not twist too tightly. A little looseness
will allow the fringe to full so that it will not untwist after
it is finished.

Finishing your Blanket Your blanket will

be softer and more dense (fulled) when washed.

Washing by hand Your fringe needs to be fulled enough so that when you trim it, it will not untwist. Fold the blanket so
that both fringe ends are together. Be sure that all the fringes are twisted and tied. Place the fringe end into a sink.
Dampen the fringe with lukewarm water and put about 2 tablespoons of hand dish washing liquid or liquid laundry deter-
gent on the fringe. Adding water as needed, rub the twisted fringe for about a minute to full (make the yarns felt slightly),
making a stable fringe. Add more lukewarm water and gently wash the whole blanket. Use 3 tablespoons of vinegar in the
final rinse. Squeeze the water out, or use the gentle spin cycle of your washing machine. Hang until nearly dry.
Wash by machine Pre-wash your fringe to full it as described above. Use your machine’s gentle cycle to wash the blan-
ket using warm wash and warm rinse. If your machine does not have that warm water rinse setting, use cold wash and cold
rinse. Use 3T vinegar in the rinse. Hang until nearly dry.

Brushing makes a fluffier, softer blanket. When your

blanket is nearly dry, gently brush it using a hair brush or Finish the Fringe
a hand card used for carding wool. Place your blanket Brush the fringe
flat on an flat surface. Hold the blanket down with one well. Using a scis-
hand and use a press down, then lift motion. You will sors, trim the fringe
very quickly see and feel the difference it makes. even.
Pressing If you want a smoother finish, you can also
press the blanket, using wet pressing cloths and a press
down, then lift motion.

If you have a wide loom, you can weave this blanket in one layer rather then as a double weave. There will be 9 stripes
instead of 17. For plain weave, it requires a 50 inch weaving width (warp width of 48 in) and a 32 to 51 in temple. To
weave twill, you need 42 inch weaving width (40 in warp width), a 12 dent reed (12 ends per inch) and a 28” to 43” temple.

4.