MATT]IF.\Y> 



FORMATION OF WARP. 379 



On these poles the warp is laid in a continuous string. It is first 

 firmly tied to one of the poles, which I will call No. 1 (Fig. 43) ; then it 

 is passed over the other pole, No. 2, brought back under No. 2 and over 

 No. 1, forward again under No. 1 and over No. 2, and so on to the end. 

 Thus the first, third, fifth, &c, turns of the cord cross in the middle the 

 second, fourth, sixth, &c, forming a series of elongated figures 8, as 

 shown in the following diagram — 



PoleNo -\^M Shed " = * | Shed ^^)PoleNo.l. 



Fir,. 43. — Diagram showing formation of warp. 



and making, in the very beginning of the process, the two sheds, which 

 art kept distinct throughout the whole work. When sufficient string 

 has been laid the end is tied to pole No. 2, and a rod is placed in each 

 shed to keep it open, the rods being afterwards tied together at the ends 

 to prevent them from falling out. 



This done, the weaver takes three strings (which are afterwards twilled 

 into one, as will appear) and ties them together at one end. She now 

 sits outside of one of the poles, looking toward the center of the frame, 

 and proceeds thus: (1) She secures the triple cord to the pole imme- 

 diately to the left of the warp ; (2) then she takes one of the threads 

 (or strands as they now become) and passes it under the first turn of 

 the warp; (3) next she takes a second strand, and twilling it once or 

 ofteuer with the other strands, includes with it the second bend of the 

 warp; (4) this done, she takes the third strand and, twilling it as before, 

 passes it under the third bend of the warp, and thus she goes on until 

 the entire warp in one place is secured between the strands of the cord; 

 (5) then she pulls the string to its fullest extent, and in doing so sepa- 

 rates the threads of the warp from one another; (G) a similar three 

 stranded cord is applied to the other end of the warp, along the ou r side 

 of the other pole. 



At this stage of the work these stout cords lie along the outer surfaces 

 of the poles, parallel with the axes of the latter, but when the warp is 

 taken off the poles and applied to the beams of the loom by the spiral 

 thread, as above described, and as depicted in Plate XXXVIII and Fig. 

 42, and all is ready for weaving, the cords appear on the inner sides of 

 the beams, i. e., one (PI. XXXVIII and Fig. 42, h h) at the lower side 

 of the yarn-beam, the other at the upper side of the cloth-beam, and 

 when the blanket is finished they form the stout end margins of the web. 

 In the coarser grade of blankets the cords are removed and the ends of 

 the warp tied in pairs and made to form a fringe. (See Figs. 54 and 

 55.) 



When the warp is transferred to the loom the rod which was placed 

 in the upper shed remains there, or another rod, straighter and smoother, 



