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There is a variety of diagonal weaving practiced by the Navajos which produces diamond figures; for this the mechanism is the same as that just described, except that the healds are arranged differently on the warp. The following diagram will explain this arrangement. If this order is departed from the figures become irregular.
Suppose the woman begins by weaving in the lower shed. She draws apportion of the healds towards her, and with them the anterior threads of the shed; by this motion she opens the shed about 1 inch, which is not sufficient for the easy passage of the woof.
When the weaving is nearly done and it becomes necessary to remove the healds, the rod is drawn out of the loops, a slight pull is made at the thread, the loops fall in an instant, and the straightened string is drawn out of the shed. § VI. In making a blanket the operator sits on the ground with her legs folded under her.
Lying between the threads of the warp is depicted a broad, thin, oaken stick, l, which I will call the batten. A set of healds attached to a heald-rod, m, are shown above the batten. These healds are made of cord or yarn; they include alternate threads of the warp, and serve when drawn forward to open the lower shed.
I will number the healds and sheds from below upwards. The following diagram shows how the threads of the warp are arranged in the healds and on the rod. When the weaver wishes the diagonal ridges to run upwards from right to left, she opens the sheds in regular order from below upwards thus: First, second, third, fourth, first, second, third, fourth, &c.
When the warp is laid she ties a string around the intersection of the sheds at e, so as to keep the sheds separate while she is mounting the warp on the beams. She then places the upper beam of the loom in the place of the stick b and the lower beam in the place of the stick a. Next, the upper shed is supplied with a shed-rod, and the lower shed with a set of healds.
In Plate XXXVIII the weaver is seen bringing down this instrument "in the manner and for the purpose described," as the letters patent say. When the lower shed has received its thread of weft the weaver opens the upper shed. This is done by releasing the healds and shoving the shed-rod down until it comes in contact with the healds; this opens the upper shed down to the web.
The end of the warp that one that goes on to the beam last contains the weaver's lease, and when the completed beam is removed from the beaming or winding-on frame, this single-thread lease enables the next operative to select the threads individually and to draw the threads, usually single, but sometimes in pairs, in which case the lease would be in pairs, through the eyes of the camas or HEALDS, or to select them for the purpose of tying them to the ends of the warp in the loom, that is to the "thrum" of a cloth which has been completed.
When the warp is transferred to the loom the rod which was placed in the upper shed remains there, or another rod, straighter and smoother, is substituted for it; but with the lower shed, healds are applied to the anterior threads and the rod is withdrawn.
The above is a description of the simplest mechanism by which the Navajos make their blankets; but in manufacturing diagonals, sashes, garters, and hair-bands the mechanism is much more complicated. § VII. For making diagonals the warp is divided into four sheds; the uppermost one of these is provided with a shed-rod, the others are supplied with healds.
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