The biggest mistake we see new tapestry weavers make is not weaving at the right sett. This means that the spacing of the warp threads on the loom is incorrect by either being too far apart or too close together.
You saw a gorgeous weaving on Instagram. Your sister just took a tapestry class. You grabbed some knitting yarn and a picture frame and made a tiny weaving. You’re hooked. You did some research and found Mirrix, but now you’re feeling a little bit intimidated. Shed? Sett? What’s that device that turns? Heddles? Help!
This post is part of our "Intimated by a Mirrix Loom? We're Breaking It Down" series. You can find links to all of the posts in the series thus far here
One of the biggest mistakes we see new tapestry weavers make is not weaving at the right sett. This means that the spacing of the warp threads on the loom is incorrect; either too far apart or too close together. When your sett is incorrect, you run into a variety of problems: your warp threads may show, your weft may "squish" down too much, it may be difficult to weave.
We have a great blog post that goes over what sett is, why it’s important and how to determine sett here: https://mirrixlooms.com/blogs/mirrix-blog/what-is-sett
On some looms, the warp threads are spaced in a certain way and you need to adjust your warp and weft to work with that predetermined sett. On any Mirrix sold today, there are ways to change what sett you are weaving at, which allows you to weave with yarn of basically any thickness from sewing thread to roving!
On a Chloe Pocket Loom:
The Chloe Pocket Loom has 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 dent combs available. You can purchase the loom at only one sett and add on individual sett combs, or purchase a package (like this one) that comes with multiple sett combs. How do these sett combs work? It’s simple! The tines of the combs are spaced differently, which spaces your warp thread differently once the loom is warped. A smaller number (like 8) means warp threads are spaced further apart, generally better for thicker weft. This post goes over how to choose a sett comb for your Chloe Pocket Loom.
On a Classic Series Loom
Mirrix's Classic Series Looms have what we call warp coils, these are springs that attach to the top of the loom (and can also attach to the bottom if you have a Bottom Spring Kit.) Looms with shedding devices typically come with four warp coils, 8, 12, 14 and 18 EPI and looms without shedding devices typically come with one 14 dent warp coil. (There are also various loom starter packages that come with different warp coils.)
If you need a different sett, warp coils can be individually purchased at 4, 5, 8, 10, 12,14, 16, 18, 20 or 22 Dents Per Inch.
A Classic Series Loom can also be warped using Shasta Combs, which are similar to the sett combs on a Chloe Pocket Loom and come in a variety of setts.
Both warp coils and sett combs can be warped every other or every third dent/tine as well. This means you can use an 8-dent warp coil to warp at 4 epi or an 18-dent coil at 6 epi.
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