How to Add Floating Selvedges After a Placemat Warp Is Already Beamed

A floating selvedge gives the weft an outside thread to turn around when the weave structure does not consistently catch the edge warp end. Check the complete treadling repeat, including any twill reversals, rather than deciding from one open shed. Plain weave and properly interlacing plain-weave borders generally do not need this addition. See Handwoven’s explanation of when floating selvedges are useful.

For your check, open each shed in sequence and follow the shuttle’s intended route at both edges. Does the weft turn inside the last warp end on any pick? That is the problem a floating selvedge can address. An edge that is caught correctly but pulls inward needs attention to weft allowance as well.

Keep the existing pattern ends in their heddles when adding separate floating selvedges. Peggy Osterkamp distinguishes adding new ends from converting existing outside ends, noting that conversion can disturb an edge design. Her “Floating Selvedges Part One” supports adding separate threads when preserving the threading matters.

Gather matching warp yarn, a reed hook, two small bobbins or pencils, clips to hold the wound yarn, and two adjustable weight arrangements. A practical starting choice is the same yarn and color as the placemat warp, so the added edge ends blend into the cloth.

Wind each floating selvedge separately. Osterkamp recommends making these threads the length of the warp, winding them on a bobbin or pencil, and suspending the supply in a weighted bag. For an already beamed warp, using the original measured warp length is a straightforward conservative choice if that measurement is available. See “A New Idea for Floating Selvedges.”

If the original length is unknown, measure what the added thread must cover: the remaining cloth to be woven, the route through the loom, the hanging section behind the back beam, and attachment allowance. Do not cut only the planned finished placemat length; the thread must also reach its front anchor and rear supply.

Keep the left and right supplies separate and able to release yarn individually. Secure their windings so they cannot spill off the bobbins while hanging. The following setup uses weighted supply bags; you can release a little yarn from each bobbin whenever the hanging supply approaches the back beam.

Work with the shafts at rest. Trace the whole route before attaching weights so you can see whether an added thread crosses a neighboring warp end.

1. Find the next empty reed dent immediately outside the existing warp on the left.
2. Sley one new thread through that dent, leaving enough yarn at the front for attachment.
3. Lead its rear section through the shaft area without passing it through any heddle eye.
4. Carry it over the back beam and down behind the loom to its separate supply.
5. Repeat on the right, keeping that thread outside the existing right edge.

Osterkamp’s instructions route separately made floating selvedges through the castle, through no heddles, and into the outside reed dents before tying them to the cloth apron rod. This is the basis for the route above. “Floating Selvedges Part One”

Viewed from the side, each thread should run from its front attachment, through the reed, past the heddles, over the back beam, and down to its weighted supply. It stays separate from the yarn already wound onto the warp beam. Open every shed once and watch for accidental catches on heddles or shaft frames.

Before weaving begins, tie each added end to the front apron rod. Position the attachment so the thread continues toward its outside reed dent without crossing the neighboring warp. The existing warp can remain beamed while you make these two additions.

Put each wound supply in its own small bag and add enough weight to keep the thread steady during weaving. Osterkamp reports using about three ounces per selvedge in her example, but describes the working requirement as enough weight for the thread to stay in position. Treat that figure as an example to test, rather than a specification for every placemat yarn. “A New Idea for Floating Selvedges”

Check that both bags hang freely, with room to rise as yarn feeds into the cloth. A bag resting on the floor cannot apply its intended hanging tension. Adjust the supply length before proceeding.

If cloth is already woven, choose the introduction point deliberately. For a set of placemats, the scrap-yarn divider before the next mat is a useful place to make the change. Handwoven describes securing a separately supplied replacement end by pinning it to woven cloth. Apply that approach in the waste divider, keeping the attachment outside the finished mat. This placement is a practical adaptation of its separate-thread repair method. Adding threads now will not change earlier weft turns.

Use the same relationship to the floating selvedges on every pick: enter over the near floating selvedge and exit under the far one. On the return pick, enter over from the opposite side and exit under again. Gist Yarn demonstrates this convention in “How To Weave with a Floating Selvedge.”

Weave a short scrap-yarn sample through one complete pattern repeat. Pause after each pick to inspect both turns. The test should establish three things: the weft wraps each floating selvedge, neither added thread follows a shaft, and the rear supplies remain free to feed. This sequence combines the routing and shuttle instructions into a check you can repeat after adjustments.

If a floating selvedge is difficult to reach because it sits near the bottom of the shed, first locate it with the catching hand and lift it enough for the shuttle to exit underneath. Handwoven explains that this low position can occur on jack looms. Where necessary, a string loop attached to stationary loom framework can support the thread higher; attach it to the framework, not a moving shaft. See “Raising the Height of Floating Selvedges.”

The main warp advances from its beam, while these two ends come from their separate supplies. Check both systems whenever you move the cloth forward. Handwoven notes that after-added floating selvedges require repositioning their weights as weaving advances. “When Do I Need Floating Selvedges?”

Use this routine:

1. Check how much travel remains below the back beam.
2. Support each supply bag and release enough yarn from its bobbin to restore hanging room.
3. Secure the winding again and let the bag hang freely.
4. Advance the main warp and restore weaving tension.
5. Recheck both edge threads and the next shuttle passage.

If an edge becomes loose, inspect the supply before adding weight: the bag may be supported by the floor, caught on the loom, or unable to feed. If the edge draws inward or the thread abrades, check that each pick has enough weft angle or curve. Handwoven connects excessive draw-in with insufficient weft allowance and cautions that doubling a floating selvedge creates a visibly thicker edge. “Two Ways to Wind Floating Selvedges”

Continue the placemat once the full-repeat sample catches both edges and the supplies feed freely. Keep the same over-entry, under-exit habit through the mat, and make the two hanging supplies part of every warp-advance check. That gives you a repeatable way to manage the added ends throughout the remaining warp.

• Ask Madelyn: Two Ways to Wind Floating Selvedges — Handwoven
• Ask Madelyn: When Do I Need Floating Selvedges? — Handwoven
• Selvedges And More, Oh, My! Floating Selvedges Part One — Peggy Osterkamp’s Weaving Blog
• Peggy’s Weaving Tips > A New Idea for Floating Selvedges — Peggy Osterkamp’s Weaving Blog
• How To Weave with a Floating Selvedge — Gist Yarn
• Ask Madelyn: Raising the Height of Floating Selvedges — Handwoven