When winding a warp, it’s very helpful to use a stand to hold your cones or tubes of yarn upright so that you can pull the yarn off the cone smoothly and at an even tension. However, these stands can run fairly steep in price, and even more economical alternatives aren’t always readily accessible.
Solution?
Locate an empty CD spindle.
Next, remove the lid and plonk on your yarn.
There are a few disadvantages to the Spindle Solution, but nothing too dire. First, there’s no built-in tensioning device for the thread, but holding it carefully seems to work reasonably well. In a pinch, I imagine that you could feed it through some sort of freestanding hook, but so far I haven’t found it necessary. Second, a CD spindle is very lightweight, and can be dragged around if you’re not feeding the yarn straight upwards. A couple of clamps can take care of this, or (less elegantly) something heavy– like a weaving book– laid across one side. Of course, if you’re working with more than a couple of cones at a time, further creativity might be called for.
Also, it’s kind of ugly.
Decoupage, anyone?
—
Update! Update!
Since I posted this entry, I came up with another option:
It’s an expanding mug rack, intended for wall use, just lying flat on the table. I’m considering screwing it into a flat piece of wood for even better stability, but even as it is it’s pretty decent.
The Fibermouse 
Ingenious!
LikeLike
I purchased a cone holder from fiber artist supply company (http://www.fiberartistsupply.com/). Was a fraction of the cost of the usual holder, but probably still expensive. I have lots of cd spindles lying around and it never occurred to me. Its surprising how many solutions are just lying around our own homes 🙂 I did use two candle holders as a reed stand until I got real ones…
LikeLike
That’s the cone holder I’m planning to buy eventually. There’s just so much else to get, too!
So you warp front to back? How do you like it? I don’t mind sleying at the loom– what gets me is threading the heddles. I’m too tall from the waist to thread without bending over awkwardly, so I need to find some sort of short folding chair that will fit over the treadles. (Maybe a hammock?)
LikeLike
Yes, I’ve only done front to back as that method was covered extensively in Madelyn’s Warping Well dvd (a lot of weavers love the first method they try)…but also because I don’t have a raddle and not very familiar yet with back to front.
I enjoy every process except threading the heddles. So we share that in common 🙂 Its funny because on my last heddle threading I remember looking around and wondering if I had an ottoman or something lower I could sit on… Or I have to find a way to raise the loom. You can’t, but mine being a table loom, there might be something extra I can rest it on or something. A hammock might work though but it will tempt you to have a nap 🙂
Oh and if I can, I much prefer to sley sitting down at the table and then bringing it over. Ive started doing that on my rigid heddle projects too, more comfortable for me.
I’ve gotten fairly good at warping but my last project had a lot of heddle threading errors that drove me mad. Before that I just had crossed wires in the reed, but this time it was three crossed wires in the heddles. Never having seen that before, it was driving me crazy trying to figure out exactly what I did and why it happened 3 times ;)…but now…I know 🙂
LikeLike
Michael’s carries these wooden clock faces for $5.49. I bought one and am repurposing a wooden flag (to be shortened) to make my own wooden spool holder. I could also go out and buy a dowel, but repurposing is more fun. http://www.createforless.com/Walnut-Hollow-Pine-Round-Clock-Surface-Small-6-3/4-in/pid129426.aspx. I then plan to put a thin layer of cork on the bottom so it slides easily and keeps the dowel in place.
LikeLiked by 1 person