Closeup (before wet finish)

Finished project

Before wet finish / fringe trim.

Today's finish -- a clasped weft (my first) table runner for the coffee table.

Ashford 16" rigid heddle. 7.5 dent reed, 91 ends. Finished size 11"x55.5". Shrunk a little more than I expected with wet finishing, but still fits the table, and the fringe will be less tempting to the cats this way.

I still need to add the inch or so with warp thread as weft at the end like at the beginning, and then finish it off so that it does not fall apart off the loom and take it off and see how it came out.

I am thinking to try to crochet a similar one to have for comparison how tapestry weaving compares with crochet. I am better at crochet so I may be able to finish the second one before Christmas if I crochet it.

I was wondering if some of you marvelous rigid heddles loom owners would be kind enough to measure your Schacht, Ashford or Kromski 16” rigid heddles for me.

I found this Frankenloom at a thrift store and it seems to be based on the Schacht Cricket. It only has the one heddle and it is an odd dpi of 9. It really weaves nicely, even if it’s a troll to look at. The heddle on mine measures 16” across the reeds and the bottom piece of wood is 20”. That said I need one that is at least 18” to fit in the shed grooves securely.

I’d really like to know what the Schacht, Ashford, and Kromski heddles measure at these same two points to see if I can find a good match for my loom. Any assistance you can give is appreciated.

I'm looking to upgrade from a vintage 15" Dorothy loom. I've used it for a couple projects, but I'm ready for bigger and better. I've also used a vintage Artisat LeClerc floor loom in my local studio, but unfortunately they only have a few open hours a week, and the times usually conflict with my kids' schedules. They only have a handful of old floor looms, so I unfortunately I can't try out a newer model.

I'm deciding between a new 8-shaft Louet Jane 27.5", a used 8 shaft Ashford 32" table loom (on marketplace for $1200, includes stand and I would buy the shuttle race separately), or a used 4-shaft Baby Wolf (on Craigslist for $1200). I realize that these are all quite different, with different price points.

Considerations: I have the space for any of them, but my home "studio" is a shared family space, so the ability to fold up for storage or move into a corner is a plus. I mostly want to make towels, scarves/shawls, or table linens, and I have no desire to go beyond 8 shafts, but even 4 is perfectly suitable. If I would ever want to make rugs or anything very large like a blanket, I'd go to the studio. I'm in my mid-40s and don't have any particular physical limitations apart from being 5'1".

Any thoughts on these options, or another model I should consider?

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a 4 harness, 36 inch Harrisville loom that is due for a couple upgrades that I'm wondering if they're worth the money. First off, my warp beam brake seems incredibly tight. Every time I go to release the back brake, it takes quite a bit of strength to press the pedal, and when I do, my cloth releases so quickly that it almost jumps forward with slack on the cloth beam. It is currently on the older style of ratchet brake system from Harrisville, as opposed to the newer "friction" style ones. So I'm wondering if this issue I'm having is due to the older ratchet brake, or if it's something else? And if anyone thinks the "friction" style brake is worth the almost 300 dollar upgrade?

I'm also due for a new back beam in general since the rod on mine is so chewed up from the previous owner that the crank handle no longer grasps onto it. Right now I'm just using a pair of vice grips to hold on to the bar and turn the crank. It's a functional fix for now, but upgrading eventually would be nice. A totally new back beam is about $200.

And now this brings me to my final question, given all these potential fixes, would it be worth spending upwards of 500 dollars to get this loom in tip top shape? I've been considering upgrading to a 8 shaft loom eventually anyhow, so should I just skip the Harrisville upgrades and save my money for a larger loom? Or would a new friction brake be worth it? If that's even the issue in the first place lol. I have found an AVL for $1000 in good condition in my area, but am hoping to find a more compact 8 shaft loom eventually since I am slightly limited on space. But if you guys tell me that the AVL is a good loom and a good deal, I might consider it despite the size.

Thanks for any advice!

Edited to add a picture of the AVL loom in my area I could possibly upgrade to.

https://preview.redd.it/s0jz2q9n9o4e1.jpg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd6011ce8a64a00d2c0f3ce5f5081f2d2934081e

I have Deborah Chandler’s book in front of me and have searched online and I still can’t find an answer. It’s entirely possible I am overthinking it but I just can’t visualise this.

I would like to make a double weave sampler. I’m very curious about double weave especially double weave pick-up and figured it wouldn’t hurt to just try it on 4 shafts. But I can’t seem to figure out how to put two warps on the warp beam…on top of each other? I warp back to front.

I take the warp, spread it through the raddle. Ok. Take the second warp, same thing. And then? How do I make sure the end loops of both warps are alternating perfectly? Or am I missing something?

I am using a Melissa and Doug loom my MIL found at Goodwill, but I don’t think the dowels came with it. Would anyone know what size dowels I would need for this? Here’s a dime for scale

https://preview.redd.it/cocm42vhjn4e1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c716c9059e1dd3c3c90e1aa4a6d0f10c84807efe

https://preview.redd.it/aswhvp4whn4e1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fab098ec7ea8106760d66b6a7effa6549e5e141

https://preview.redd.it/21ykvhhxhn4e1.jpg?width=2856&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff818ddbe77dc2004af3f5edd2424f8739553ca1

https://preview.redd.it/w7idnlycjn4e1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1197bf1b60f54bdc4e91c532d3fdc4e393bda44

Hello,

I am looking to buy a used tapestry loom medium size. Do you know of any online marketplace in Europe, preferably Norway where I can look for one? Thank you

Just sad because halfway through warping I ran out of one of my colours and it’s too late to get more….anyone else get into the groove of things and then this happens. It’s taken about a week to start and now I have to wait…

No advice needed. Just annoyed. I think y’all will get it.

Hello - (Sorry if this is a double post looks like the first one was removed)

I have just warped a baby blanket (with very expensive yarn) where the pattern calls for short fringe. I do not want fringe for a newborn, and would rather crochet around all sides instead. Any suggestions how to secure the warp ends so it doesn't fall apart? I am thinking maybe I should hemstitch, turn it up, machine stitch it down, trim the ends, then crochet. Has anyone tried something similar that would work? Thanks.

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Traveling for the holidays and I'd really love to be able to move a WIP with me. Has anyone moved their rigid heddle from one place to the next and been able to maintain tension?

Barring wet finishing and cutting the neckhole, of course. If I’d planned ahead I probably could’ve woven the neckhole in, but I hadn’t decided on a style then. It’s coarse, but 8-12 threads per inch was the style back then! Woven to 19 inches wide and approximately 54 inches long.

The style is speculative and not a reproduction of a specific garment, but it’s pretty plausible with the technology of the time. The fringes will be braided, and might be beaded if I’m feeling really fancy.

Wool was Briggs and Little Tuffy wool, acquired on sale as ‘seconds’.

Hello! It's the time of year where, historically, the sub gets a lot of questions from well-meaning friends of family who want to give a gift to a weaver. I thought it would be nice as a sub for us to crowdsource a pool of information to help everyone out.

So... what do you like to weave and what do you wish for? Where do you like to buy supplies? Do you have any recommendations for tools or books? When you were starting to weave, what did you wish you had?

Feel free to shout out local sellers/your favorite Etsy/etc-- just note where you're located. It would be especially helpful if folks located outside of North America could contribute places they like to shop for supplies, since we also get a higher volume of those requests at this time of year. :)

Rules note: please keep self promo in the self promotion thread. :)

I'll contribute my thoughts in a comment (in a few hours, day job, lol).

I've kind of gotten hooked on the basic elements of weaving as I've taught myself to darn wool socks. Something about watching thread turn into fabric just brings me joy.

I'm pretty much decided on picking up a rigid heddle loom to start developing my skills in a way that has more uses than just mending. I'm leaning toward the Ashford 24" rigid heddle loom.

As a real beginner, I'm hoping some of you here with more experience might be willing to advise me out of your expertise. Are there reasons to consider a different make/model/manufacturer that I'm unaware of? Also, unless I'm mistaken, Ashford looms are available through distributors but not from Ashford directly. Can anyone recommend a reputable distributor that I should consider buying from? The price seems to be about the same everywhere I look ($299 USD). Besides the tools that come with the kit, are there any other accoutrements I should consider essential to add right from the beginning? I already have a yarn ball winder.

Any and all advice and guidance will be much appreciated!

I bought a 32" 8 shaft loom back at the peak of my weaving phase about 3 years ago... And haven't used it once. I'm trying to downsize my craft hoard and the money would be a big help

So should I sell it on eBay or Facebook marketplace?

My hesitation with eBay is having to do the whole rigamarole with the post office to ship it since it's fully assembled, and I've never sold on eBay before. But I feel like I'm more likely to get a buyer, there is someone selling the same loom and it has 35 watchers.

Also how should I price it? When I first bought it years ago it was about $900 taxes and shipping put it just above $1000, a new one sells for $1165, the one on eBay is listed as $1400. I've never used it so it's basically new , so I was thinking 1000 + what ever shipping would be. But is it slezzey to sell it for more than I paid?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

*Spouse

Hi everyone,

I'm purchasing a couple of unwieldy, long 45" Leclerc lease sticks for my wife as a Christmas gift. I wouldn't know where to start as far as local vendors, if there are any, that carry Leclerc, and the shipping cost doubles the price of the order at both Gather Textiles, the Leclerc website, and The Woolery. No chance I can make a day trip anywhere, we have two young children. We live on the east coast of the US - is this typical? I'll obviously do it if it's just the way things are, but I don't want to get fleeced because I'm (admittedly) ignorant.

I’m a fairly novice weaver and trying to weave a table runner on a rigid heddle loom using 10/2 cotton. I am loosely following a pattern from Weaving Today and using a 15 dent reed. I’m a little surprised by the size of the gaps between my threads. Is this to be expected with this kind of fiber or have I done something wrong?

(The red in the photo is scrap, green is the start of the actual pattern.)

I’ve used this loom for a long time but the few projects I’ve started with it I ended up scrapping because I let them sit for too long and the tension got too loose, or the cats pulled at it. This is the one I will not give up on.

I plan on this being a landscape sort of weaving. Using all these crazy yarns I’ve hoarded for too long.

Is there anything here in the first few steps that looks off or looks like it could be improved? I’m happy with it so far but would not want to ignore a problem for too long when I’m halfway in. I have some colored roving I plan on using for clouds/bushes/etc and am excited to finally use it.

Can new looms still be purchased directly from Macomber? I'm specifically interested in an 8 shaft baby mac. Just curious if anyone knows before I dig deeper into it!