Ask Madelyn: Catching edge warp threads with two shuttles

Hello Madelyn,

I just started to weave and I noticed that on the right-hand side, the first thread (shaft 1) in a straight draw is not catching. I am doing a log-cabin draft, so I am using two shuttles, dark and light. When I wove the header, using only dark, this did not happen, so I think it has to do with the two shuttles. What did I do wrong?

— Patty

Hi Patty!

This often happens with 2-shuttle weaves, especially ones that alternate two colors. There are two ways to handle it. As you weave toward the side where the edge warp thread does not interlace, take the first shuttle through the shed and set it down, and then take the other shuttle through the shed and cross it over the weft thread of the first shuttle. I call this the “crossing" side. I actually put a post-it with a x on the beater on that side to remind me to cross the shuttles there. As you weave toward the other side, do as you usually do, taking the first shuttle through the shed and setting it down, and then placing the second shuttle just beyond it. In my mind, I think of this as the “follow" side.

The other option is to use a floating selvedge and not worry about it at all.

Hope this helps!
— Madelyn

On the "crossing" side, the second shuttle with green weft crosses over the first shuttle's weft. These two photos by Madelyn van der Hoogt

On the "follow" side, weave as you normally do placing the second shuttle just beyond the first. In this photo, the green shuttle was placed to the left of the gold shuttle which was the first shuttle.