And it's done. I am pleased.
I ended up with about 42 repeats (at 16 turns per repeat), about 160 cm long (64-ish inches), about 3 cm wide (1.25-ish inches). There was about 4-5" of waste at the beginning and about 9-12" at the end. I might have been able to eke out one more repeat, but decided that it was too aggravating. The last few repeats were already aggravating and didn't look as clean and even as earlier in the band. I can't remember how long my initial warp was, but I think it was in the 2 meter range. It was probably a bit longer than that if I assume that take-up was roughly 10-20%.
The above photo shows more or less what it looks like. I think it's striking even with the imperfections. I have no idea what I'll use it for! I will need to sew it to something, though, since in a few places near the beginning, the weft is showing on the bottom of the band. I think it was either near where I was unweaving a mistake or when I was catching bottom threads above the shed and hadn't realized it yet.
By the end of the band, I'd gotten into a nice rhythm. I'd make this again, probably with 28 rather than 24 cards. I'd love to get some plastic cards in different colors to make it easier to move cards into the proper packs (forwards vs backwards). I counted carefully with the monochrome cards, and that was a wise thing to have done.
Things I learned: Well, I already wrote about the main thing. It's important to clear the shed properly. Otherwise, you risk catching the lower threads in the upper part of the shed, and that affects the clean diagonal lines of the pattern.
I tried using chip clips to hold the warp after the warp got too short to handle in my usual way, which is to tie all of it into a knot and hang the half-full gallon milk jug from the knot. The chip clips were so-so. Sometimes they'd hold the tension and sometimes threads would slip. It did keep the threads separated so that the cards were able to turn even in the fairly tight space that was left as I neared the end of the band.
I like doing diagonal-type patterns. They're pretty straightforward and very satisfying. Using multiple packs requires a bit more room than one-pack patterns, but that's OK. It might be easier to do a few more repeats with smaller cards.
On to the next pattern! Whatever shall it be? I guess I'll find out when Inspiration strikes.
