An Inkle Weaving Experiment

One of the FAQs inkle weaving newbies always have is how to figure out how wide their finished band will be. The advice given generally is that it varies from one yarn to another and one weaver to another. You’ve got to keep records to see what works for you.

I recently saw another person ask this question and this time I got inspired. If different weavers used the same yarn and the same draft, much variation would there be between the width of the finished bands? So I designed an experiment to try to figure that out. I’m looking for volunteers to participate!

How to Participate

  1. You must weave your band with #10 crochet cotton.
  2. You must weave the draft below.
  3. You may use any 2 colors you wish, as long as you use #10 crochet cotton.
  4. Please measure the WPI of the two colors you are using and write down your results.
  5. Measure the width of your finished band.
  6. Take a picture of your finished band on a ruler showing the finished width.
  7. Complete the survey on this Google Form.
  8. You may weave more than one band, if you wish to experiment with different brands of #10 crochet cotton or different colors of the same brand.
  9. Complete the survey once for each band you finish.
  10. All results received by April 25, 2019 will be compiled to determine the extent of variation in band widths.

Weave This Draft

Submit Your Results.

I’ve created a GOOGLE FORM to collect results.

Read the Results

Approximately 1 week after the deadline, I will post the results here on my blog.

I hope you are as curious as I am and decide to weave a band or two!

6 thoughts on “An Inkle Weaving Experiment”

  1. What a fun idea! I will definitely do a band. I wonder if there is some variation in the yarn based on different colors–I have had a couple of knitting yarns where one color was noticeably different.

    Reply
  2. This is a great idea! I’ve shared it in a few places and hope you get many willing participants. I’d like to get clarification on one thing. In #4 you say to measure WPI which, in my way of thinking means “warps per inch”. But that would be after weaving, which is step 5. So, I am wondering if by WPI you mean wraps per inch? Thanks, Annie

    Reply
    • Hi Annie! Thank you for sharing! When I say WPI, I do mean wraps per inch. I also weave on rigid heddle and multi-harness looms. In those contexts, the number of warp threads in a project is measured as ends per inch (EPI). Since I started inkle weaving after I learned to weave on larger looms, I carried the larger-loom terminology over to inkle weaving, so I say Ends Per Inch (EPI) rather than Warps Per Inch. Thank you for asking! That was an important clarification!

      Reply
  3. Is the border meant to have 3 threads on the left and 6 threads on the right? I’m warping for it right now 🙂

    Reply
    • I think I already answered you on FB, but I’m going to answer here in more detail! Yes, it is meant to have 3 on the left and 6 on the right. When I designed it, I was basing the width off an estimated WPI for #10 Crochet Cotton which I found on the internet. My intent was to design a band that was 1 inch wide. So far, it seems like the estimated WPI that I found was probably wrong, as none of the bands completed to date have that WPI or finished width. But that’s just the very preliminary data. We’ll see how it works out once all the bands are submitted!

      Reply
      • You did answer on FB, I didn’t realize you were the original poster till after I left the question here LOL

        Wow, my band was almost 2 inches! Now to decide what to do with it 😀

        Reply

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