Double Weave on the Rigid Heddle update

The start of the rigid heddle double weave project was slow.   Figuring out the heddle and pick up stick sequence required thought.  I have a little book which I wrote the sequence in, to make sure I had it correct.  It's the same order as any other double weave joined at one side, but it just feels a bit different not using treadles.  I started from the right, as my left selvedge is my better one.  This puts the join on the left side, so theoretically it should be neater and more invisible.

The order was bottom layer A, which was the bottom pick up stick, top layer A, front heddle up, top layer B, top pick up stick , bottom layer B, back heddle down.  The 4th  pick with the back heddle down was slow as it made a very small shed, which didn't always separate, depending on where the fell line was.   The two top threads were no problem, but the second thread on the bottom, didn't separate enough to get the shuttle through.   Pick 4 became a hand picked shed, where I slipped my fingers under the cranky layer of threads and slipped a third pick up stick through them in front of the heddle, to make a shed where I was least likely to miss threads.   This worked really well.   It made a slow process even slower.   However, once I got used to the whole process, picking up that last pick of the sequence became quite fast.

I put in a small burgundy stripe near the beginning, but am not sure I'm going to put another at the end.   It looks nice, although maybe I should have put 2 or 3 stripes in.   The yarn isn't packing quite as nicely with the two heddles as it would do otherwise.  I don't know if this is do to my technique or the yarn sett.   It's a little looser sett than if I'd used the floor loom.  I would have used a sett of 9 on the floor loom and I had a 7.5 or a 10 dent reed to choose from for the rigid heddle.   I went with the 7.5, because the yarn is definitely too thick for a sett of 10.   (Sett is warp threads per inch).   

Anyway, because of this bit of looseness to the weave, I may weave a few extra inches, which means  I'm not sure of where to put in the last end stripe to balance the shawl.   The stripe is 2 inches wide and 8 inches from the end.    I warped a width of 25 inches (doubled).  Figuring out the drawn in and some shrinkage, I wanted it to be 45 inches x 60 inches long.    But it's weaving up at 23inches wide x 2, is 46 inches before wet finishing, so it will be a little bit narrower when washed.  Warp shrinkage though has varied with this yarn, depending on which loom it was woven on.   So it might be easier to just put a single stripe on one end that fuss with the second stripe.

The double weave is working well though.   One crossed thread, which will need to be snipped and fixed as it's holding the two pieces together in that one tiny spot.   Otherwise, the layers are working well and properly separated.  The left join looks very even and so far I'm happy with it.  I'll know for sure when it's wet finished though.   There are a few skipped threads here and there.  They're mainly at the beginning when I was figuring the process out.  I've fixed some of them, bu others looked to be easier to just spend a few minutes with a repair thread and fixing them manually, after the fact.   

I've woven 58 inches so far, so another  8 - 10 inches to weave.   I guess if I'm putting that second stripe in, it should go in soon. I'm still trying to decide if that 8 - 10 inches is enough to wet finish to 60 inches finished length.   That is the stripe dilemma.