
Warping the TC2 Digital Jacquard Loom in Launchpad’s Fashion + Textiles Studio
This past month, Helen Weston, Creative Studio Manager, and Emily Moffet, Studio Technician, set up shop in Artscape Daniels Launchpad‘s Fashion + Textiles Studio window to prepare 15 metres of black, mercerized cotton thread to dress the TC2 Digital Jacquard Loom. The process uses a rotating warping mill to the thread.
After our members used up the white warp, studio regulars collectively decided to switch to black, 2/16’s Mercerized Cotton, giving 1980 warp threads a width of 44″. Each warp thread was knotted by hand onto the end of the white warp on the loom.
It was a spectacle for the members who frequent Artscape Daniels Launchpad’s studio space.
“Unlike industrial looms, the TC2 is designed to be operated by the creator/designer/weaver, physically throwing the shuttle back and forth and engaging at all times with cloth production,” explained Helen.
The TC2 Digital Jacquard Loom is used frequently by textile artists and weavers, but it can also be used by designers in the sampling, prototyping and product development stage.