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Have you ever been weaving a tablet pattern and noticed your tension tightening more and more with each pick, but you’re not sure what you’re doing wrong? If this sounds familiar, don’t fret—it could just be that you chose a pattern with unbalanced twist.
Too Much Twist
While unbalanced twist sounds a bit like a dance move, it refers to tablet patterns where you turn the tablets more in one direction than the other. For example, if you’re weaving a pattern that has you turn Forward, Forward, Backward, Forward, Forward, Backward (FFBFFB), you’re turning your cards forward twice as many times as you’re turning them backward. When this happens, twist builds up in your warp behind your tablets and will cause the aforementioned tension issue unless it’s released. So what’s a weaver to do?
Designer Angela K. Schneider used swivels to release the twist buildup while weaving her Jam Band Mandolin Strap. Photo by Matt Graves
Three Methods for Releasing Twist
Well, there are three options for dealing with twist buildup, one you can do at any point during the weaving and two you need to plan for ahead of time.
Reverse Your Pattern
Once you’ve reached a point where your tension is starting to cause problems, you can weave your pattern in reverse until the tension is released. Going back to our hypothetical FFBFFB pattern, this would mean weaving BBFBBF until you feel the tension has returned to normal. This is the easiest method for reducing twist because it can be done at any point during the weaving process.
However, because you’re reversing the pattern, it will look different. Some patterns look equally attractive when reversed, some look distorted. So while this technique works in a pinch, it’s not a method you want to rely on unless you’re sure you’ll like the result.
Warp-Weighted Weaving
A second method for dealing with twist buildup is to use a warp-weighted set up for your tablets. Instead of tensioning your warp on a loom, you tension them by attaching them to a weight and letting them hang. There are many different set ups you can use for warp-weighted weaving. Some band looms are designed for warp-weighted weaving, for example. I’ve also seen people use a rigid-heddle loom (without the heddle) where the tail of the warp is weighted over the back rather than tied on the back apron rod.
In warp-weighted tablet weaving, the warp ends in each tablet are tied to a weight. In this photo, we've used clear plastic bobbins to illustrate how the weights would be attached to the warp during set up. In actual warp-weighted weaving, you would need to use a heavier weight. The loom is then placed in a position, such as against the end of a table, so the weights can hang freely over the back and properly tension the warp.
With this method, when twist builds up behind the tablets, you can simply use your fingers to run it out down towards the weights. It’s a relatively easy method and the warp weights don’t have to be anything fancy; however, it is one you have to plan for in advance. If you’d like more information on this method and how to incorporate it in your own weaving, check out the article "How to Conquer Twist Buildup in Tablet Weaving" by Stacy Schlutsmeyer in the Summer 2026 issue where she goes over all the details.
While you can buy warp weights made for tablet weaving, you can also use other items as well. The examples shown here include (from left to right) ceramic insulators for electric fences, film canisters, wooden tama, and washers. How much weight you need will depend on the yarn you're using and the pattern you're weaving. Photo by Matt Graves
Warp Swivels
Our third and final method is to attach your warp to swivels. For this method, you’ll need fishing swivels and something to anchor the swivels, such as an S-biner. All four warp tails from a single tablet are attached to a swivel. The swivel is then attached to the anchor. More than one swivel can be attached to an anchor and more than one anchor can be used if the pattern requires more swivels than your anchor can comfortably hold. The anchor is the back of your warp, and you can attach it to a fixed point to tension your warp.
In the swivel method, the tails of the warp ends from tablet are tied to one eye of a fishing swivel. The other eye of the swivel is then attached to an anchor, such as the S-biner shown here. Photo by Matt Graves
As twist builds up, you can use your fingers to run it out towards the swivels which will turn to release the twist. Again, this isn’t a difficult method, although it does require some semi-specialized equipment unless you happen to have swivels and S-biners on hand from outdoor adventures. This method works best with a backstrap set up (I have seen it on inkle looms, but it requires a bit more fiddling). It’s lightweight and if you need to move your warp, you don’t have to dismantle your swivels and anchors—in fact they will help keep things organized. If you’d like more information on how to use swivels in tablet weaving, Angela Schneider goes over the method step-by-step in her Jam Session Mandolin Strap project from the Fall 2026 issue.
Which Method is Best?
So now of course comes the question I hear so often, “Yes but which method should I use?” The answer is, as you might expect, it depends! Your preferred loom or bandweaving set up, the specific pattern you’re weaving, and so on and so forth. I recommend doing a little more research on these methods and trying them out with some simple patterns to see how well they work for you.
Happy weaving,
Christina