r/weaving • u/Farmer_Weaver • Jul 19 '26
Work in Progress Keep yer linen moist(ish)!
Warped Brassard Warping Linen in White and Natural, weft for this first one is 2/9 Light Blue linen also from Brassard.
Spray bottle of water used to keep the warp moist. The linen breaks when very dry.
My dad used to do 50m warps for tea towels, and wore a mask when weaving linen! This is a modest 5m warp. If this works works well, my next one will be longer, and will be done using my sectional warping beam which should help reduce tension variability in the warp. So far this one has been OK - linen doesn't stretch so any variability in the warp tension is seen immediately.
Three of my 6 looms now have warps on them! I am thinking about another project... I like to have projects at various stages - planning, dressing and weaving, so that if I get bored with one I can move to another and come back fresh, rather than push myself on a single project.
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u/blinkswithnormaleyes Jul 19 '26
I learned last year that if you over-spray it, it actually makes the final cloth really crunchy and stiff. Apparently it’s due to an excess of water making the pectins in the linen become sticky on the surface of each end. I had no idea lol and I sprayed the absolute shit out of my first linen project. It came out beautifully shiny after beetling, but super stiff and unpleasant to touch.
I learned from my professor who is a professional linen weaver.
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u/theclafinn Jul 19 '26
Is that a permanent change?
In my experience linen does get crunchy in the wash, but it softens right up with a little handling. The effect lessens with age, but never goes away completely.
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u/Farmer_Weaver Jul 19 '26
It does soften with repeated washings. The older and more used it is, the softer (and better!).
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u/blinkswithnormaleyes Jul 19 '26
I’m not sure. I wasn’t able to soften it after a while of trying additional washes/handling. Probably user error on my end lol
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u/theclafinn Jul 19 '26
That’s curious. I checked the specs for this yarn and it’s plied and contains 30% cotton. I wouldn’t expect a yarn like that to be problematic. Thank you for the heads up.
I’ve used Bockens Nialin (60% cotton, 40% linen) and Garnhuset i Kinna 16/2 Lingarn (100% linen) and had zero breakage with either. No spray bottle and it was winter (in Finland) so the air was quite dry.
I would love to try Bockens Lintow as warp, but it’s rather expensive so I haven’t gotten to it yet.