Design process - Step 3 - threading the warp

Today I am grateful for navel oranges - so sweet and juicy and in the middle on winter no less.  Fresh fruit is the best.

It's time for step 3 - threading the warp.  I use a dummy warp that stays threaded all the time, so I just tie the new warp onto the dummy warp.  This makes it easy to design as I go.  I start with the yarn that I have the least of.  I want the two halves of the shawl to be evenly balanced although they may not be exactly the same.  So an equal number of the the ends of the yarn go on each side.

I gradually build up the layers of color as I add each yarn.

Some are evenly distributed and others are closer together to make stripes.

I try to alternate fluffy with smooth to avoid yarns sticking to each others during weaving.  Sometimes they stick together anyway.

The last yarn gets put wherever there is an empty space.  I shake the tied yarns to get the loose dummy warp threads to hang down so I can tell where to put those last few yarns.

Because I have lot of small warp chains instead of one large chain,  I just hold the cross in my hand and pick out the next thread to tie on.  I have to be careful, but if one thread gets out of place it isn't that big of a problem.  The warp threads are all mixed up anyway.

Tomorrow - winding on the warp.