Tip of the Month: Braille for the Feet

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​I have long used rubber bands on my treadles to mark my path and help me treadle without peeking.  It is a great tip.  But I go through rubber bands like they are water because they dry rot very quickly.  And they are hard to roll up and down the treadles between projects.
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​Enter my student Jane Hunt.  She told me she liked my idea so much, she went to Target and bought a handful of ponytail holders!  She found that they slide up and down the treadles easily, and they are bulkier than the rubber bands. Bonus: I am sure they will hold up much longer too!  Thank you, Jane!  Why didn't I think of that??

As it turns out there are dozens of kinds of ponytail holders.  I picked the ones that I could double up and would fit well over my treadles.  Hence my unabashed ad for Goody.  These are nice because they have no metal joins on them that could scratch the wood.
 

BEFORE: Rubber bands on the treadles, ready to walk the treadles for a point twill

AFTER: Ponytail holders in place. The blue and green ones have been pulled down where my feet can feel them. I will walk this pattern from the center out, just as I did in the photo to the left.

​Walking the treadles:
I tend to walk my treadles from the center out whenever my pattern allows me to do so.  When I do that, I will put bands on the two center treadles so I can find my way back to center without peeking.  I also place bands on every other treadle going out from the center.

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​Treadling straight across:
On the rare occasion that I tie up my treadles straight across, I simply put bands on the odd treadles and leave the even numbered treadles naked.

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​Treadling pattern with tabby
If I have 2 tabby treadles and a group of pattern treadles, my personal preference is to have the tabby treadles on one side and the pattern treadles on the other.  If the tabby treadles are on the left, I will put a band on tabby a and leave tabby b naked.  I will then put bands on all of the odd numbered pattern treadles and leave the even numbered pattern treadles naked.

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