which way do you.....?

How many of you readers warp Front to Back or Back to Front? How many of you don't know which you do?

Here is a picture of a rug warp I just wound onto one of the looms in my studio using a Back to Front method. Notice the RADDLE on the back beam. The beater is pushed forward against the Front Beam and the reed is still in place. The Lease Sticks are hanging from the Castle so I can thread easily. I used both corrugated and paper to separate layers on the warp beam. And my preference would be paper as opposed to corrugated because of the length of my warps. Typically I use 18 - 25 yard warps especially for rugs. For cloth, I wind 12 - 18 yards. This particular rug warp is 25 yards.

Long warps are not difficult to deal with if wound AND chained off correctly. I am a "TIErant" at the Weaving School when it comes to taking off a warp whether it is wound on a frame or a reel. Correct handling of the warp at this stage will ensure ease of beaming. I call the ties "choke ties" because one needs to choke the threads into a tight, unmoveable bundle, for effective beaming. The first choke tie AFTER the lease is the most important as this is where you will hold your threads to "pony" or shake the warp "reins" to even them out for your first round of beaming (in the Back to Front method) or where you will secure the threads to "paint the reed" in warping Front to Back. Either method is acceptable.

With a 3 -5 yard warp the threads are more forgiving and are what most people use. But back to my main question, What is your preferred method of warping -- Front to Back or Back to Front?