Behind the Scenes

A couple of months ago I went up to visit our upholstery mill on the Isle of Bute. It is a pretty special place - made all the more exotic by the excitement of a ferry journey.

On the trip I took lots of scenic views of island and seascapes, but my favourite images were from the weave shed at the mill.

On the top left here is the little spool which makes the leno selvedge threads at either edge of the fabric - you can see another of these spools on the bottom right image. Above centre is the rack which transfers the yarn from the warping frame or creel onto the warping drums. And above right you see rows of cones set up on the creel ready for warp winding.

Above left is the tail end of an orange warp ready for the next warp to be tied on. You can see the rows of steel drop pins which automatically halt the loom if a warp thread breaks. Above centre glowing pink is a control panel for one of the looms, and above right and below left are are a series of threads running from the creel through the rack.