My first test swatch woven on a Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom

Understanding that I have impulse control issues (read: I have no impulse control), it was only a matter of time - - a very short amount of time - - before I had to take the new loom out for a test ride. 

For my first foray into weaving I simply used the basic 8-dent heddle that came with the loom, and some 3/2 mercerized cotton fiber in garnet and red hot.  I tried to choose a fiber with a gauge that would work well with an 8-dent heddle, but the fiber turned out to be a bit finer than I anticipated, which resulted in a very airy piece.

Detail of my first test swatch - - lots of space between the fibers

After watching numerous helpful videos on direct warping a rigid heddle loom using a warping peg, I was able to warp my loom, after a fashion.  Although I knew that it was important to get the tension even across the width of the warp, I was a little hazy on the recommended knots to use to tie the warp to my front dowel and hence the front beam, and I also failed to ensure that my dowel was parallel to the beam - - as a result, the tension on my first piece was very wonky to say the least. 

What worked?  The general manner of direct warping the loom by running the yarn around the dowel and through the heddle slots around the warping peg.  Also, the general mechanic of passing the boat shuttle back and forth worked very smoothly.  Loading the bobbins using the bobbin winder also worked really well. 

What didn't work so well?  First and foremost, my tension was all over the place in part because the back dowel was not parallel to the back beam when I began winding up the warp, and in part because the knots I used to tie the warp to the front dowel and thus the front beam were raggedy ass bows.  This created very uneven tension as between groups of warp threads as well as huge lumps in the fabric as I began winding the completed weaving onto the front beam. I also was too tentative when changing colours of weft thread, and as a result I had huge loops on my selvedge. 

 The result?  A delightfully primitive test swatch that shows off my almost complete lack of technique, but also shows promise -- the piece is definitely smoother and more consistent the farther along it goes as I got increasingly comfortable with the loom.

Although it really looks like my 10 year-old nieceling wove this piece, I am quite proud of it.  I found weaving to be easier than I expected, and I figured out how to do several things that had puzzled me when I saw them on videos or in books. 

Working on this swatch also made me very keen to try something more tricky (but still simple) - - a houndstooth check.  But that is a story for another day.