Beginning to Weave the Inkle Band

When you’re weaving an inkle woven band, be sure to beat consistently. Unlike other forms of weaving, beating is a sharp, hard motion rather than squish. With yarns that have low elasticity I often beat twice to make sure that my designs come out as crisp as possible.

Step 1: Push the unheddled threads up to open the first shed.	Step 2: Pass the shuttle through the shed leaving a long tail (a little more than 6 times the band width). It doesn’t matter whether you start on the right or left.	Step 3: Pull the unheddled threads down and push the heddled threads up to open the second shed and beat.
Step 4a: Pass the shuttle through the shed in the opposite direction, leaving a loop at the edge of the band (this loop will be tightened on the next pass).	Step 4b: Tuck the end into the shed from the other side leaving a loop behind.	Step 5: Open the first shed and beat.
Step 6a: Pull the loop from the previous pick until it is flush against the edge of the band. Then do the same with the end that was tucked in in step 4b	Step 6b: Pass the shuttle through the shed, leaving a loop at the edge of the band.	Step 6c: Tuck the end into the shed from the other side leaving a loop behind.

At this point, you’ll set the width of your band: when the band is narrow enough that you don’t see any weft threads between the warp and wide enough that the warp ends aren’t squished, you’ve found the right width. You should be able to see the weft wrap around the edge of the band as you weave.

Step 7: Open the second shed and beat.

Step 8: Repeat step 6. Repeat steps 5-8 once more.