I getting ready for my first ever draw loom warp, and have been viewing Becky Ashenden's video "Dress you Swedish Drawloom" - over and over.   It's a GREAT video, by the way!  I took her class in the spring.

Anyway, I have long eye heddles which I know go in front, but I just noticed that she is using what she calls "pattern heddles" for the shaft draw harness. I went to her web site and discovered that the pattern heddles she sells are 54 cm long.   In the interest of not buying even more heddles than I've already got, why can't I just use regular heddles for the pattern heddles?  I don't see why I can't just hang the lingos on the regular (11") heddles that I have already.  The pattern shafts can be hung at what ever height I need, so I don't see the need for these pattern heddles.   Or am I missing something?

 

Comments

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 09:42

Dawn McCarthy

Sally, the eye in thos pattern heddles is set at a different height, regular eye heddles would have the eye set way too high.

Dawn

 

 

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 14:06

SallyE (not verified)

My draw loom is home made, and since I've only woven on a draw loom at class last spring, I made EVERYTHING adjustable, drilling rows of holes in every piece of wood that needed holes.   And, I put a 34" extension onto the back of the loom, so I have a lot of ajusting that I can do.

I can set the eye at any height by setting the height of the heddle stick / the height of the shaft holders.   I can also set the heddle sticks to raise various distances by adjusting how the pulls are mounted at the front of the loom and how long the pull lashes are.  So, given all that, I still don't understand why I can't used regular heddles for the pattern heddles.

 

 

 

 

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 14:25

sally orgren

but can you just try it as is, since you have all these adjustment points? What are the consequences if you try it and have a weave-fail? Can you make string "pattern" heddles and add them as needed?

This sounds interesting! Let us know what you end up doing—

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 14:38

SallyE (not verified)

I could make string heddles, but that is tedious.  (Unlike building a draw loom, LOL!)  I think I will pull a couple of threads between the breast and back beams and try it.   And I will, of course, leave the lease sticks in when I put on the first warp.   That way if all else fails, I can remove the warp and store it while I make adjustments.

Well, back to construction!

 

 

Fri, 07/27/2012 - 16:06

Joanne Hall

Hi Sally,

The reason that the pattern heddles are so long, is that the shed they make in the center of the loom has to be large enough to give you a nice size shed where you are weaving.  This distance is greater than for ordinary weaving. That means that if you are weaving with 10 pattern shafts, the shed is about 4 to 5 inches.  Considering the thickness of the pattern shaft, you would probably need a minimum of a 12 or 13 inch long heddle.  But as you add pattern shafts, the shed gets bigger.  Even with just 20 pattern shafts, that shed probably gets to be nearly 6 inches and then, even the 13 inch heddles would not be long enough. 

Joanne

Sat, 07/28/2012 - 02:22

SallyE (not verified)

The shed is so large that the heddle bars are in the way.  So what do people use for more than 20 pattern shafts?   From what I can tell, the standard 540 mm heddles are the longest available.

 

Sat, 07/28/2012 - 02:26

Joanne Hall

The 540 is what is used.  They are the longest available.

Joanne

Tue, 07/31/2012 - 19:05

Sara von Tresckow

With 50 pattern shafts the 540 heddles work well. 

Drawloom weaving needs the right equipment - even if home built, and skimping on pattern heddles or using cheap substitutes for lingos can result in very disappointing results.

Tue, 07/31/2012 - 22:42

Dawn McCarthy

I have found I can make long eye heddles fom 12/6 seine twine however the pattern heddles I buy as the heavy twist of the seine causes the longer heddles to rotate.  I have in the past used sandbags for lingoes successfully, however all parts were carefully made by comparing steel lingoes and texsolv heddles.  Dimensions and weight are important.  I currently have mostly bought heddles/weights but have several hundred hand tied long eye heddles.

Dawn

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 00:17

SallyE (not verified)

Over the weekend I was looking at the regular heddles that I was thinking about using, and suddenly realized that the place I bought them from had sent me a different size than I'd ordered!   Lucky accident!   So I returned them and ordered the real pattern heddles from Joanne.

As for the lingos, I found a local place that sells a size of steel wire that is 2 oz for about 26".   Their normal customers are landscapers, etc.  I bought 50 pounds of wire and had them cut it into the size pieces I need - which they did for no additional money.  I made a little jig to bend the wire, and so I can now make lingos for 27 cents each.   I can make 10 lingos in 6 minutes, including putting paste wax on and rubbing it off and bending the lingos.  I got something like 400 of them for just over $120.

BTY, there are plastic zip ties called "ladder" ties.   These have a series of little holes just like mullions.   Using a sissors, I can cut about 7 mullions (8 holes each, 2 for the strings and 6 for the warp threads) out of one tie.   200 ties were about $12 - more than I will ever need!

For chords and pulls, I found a wholesale drapery supply place.  The pulls are really nice turned hardwood and cost $20 for 100 of them - more than I need. And the spools of chord have something like 10K yards on them.  I bought one size for the shaft draw pulls and a finer size for the single unit draw chords.   Both are nice strong nylon chord.

This afternoon I finished up my damask pulleys - each one will handle 8 shafts.  I also bought some elastic and sewed it into loops with a "D" ring in each loop.

The loom is pretty much done.   The only thing I'm not doing right now is making the parts for a lashes setup, but I did plan that into it and have the holes, etc. that I'll need to attach those parts once I do it.

I've also made 21 pattern shaft heddle bars so far, but the setup will hold 50.

As soon as the pattern heddles arrive, I'm ready to warp!  YA!

Thank you all for your help and advice - it's wondeful to have someone to ask.  My husband, despite being an engineer, is no help with this stuff, LOL!

 

 

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 00:24

Thelma

What kind of loom is this and what is the approximate age?  The manufacture is unknown; the rear iron brake is like an inverted C around the wooden rear beam with a strong spring for the tension.  The breast beam is advanced with two iron ratchet arms. A new castle needs to be made, as the one that came on the loom is a makeshift. What are the  eight wooden pieces called?   Should they be on wooden dowels or iron rods? Should the pieces be placed crosswise on the castle like the direction of the lamms or should they be going lengthwise with the loom? All advice is appreciated.

Thank you….Thelma

 

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 00:32

Dawn McCarthy

Looks like an old LeClerc Colonial, the 8 short pieces are upper jacks - for countermarch action, the Colonial (if indeed that is what this is) comes with counterbalance and/or countermarche.

Dawn

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 01:22

Joanne Hall

Your shafts are heavy, so it would be a jack loom.  Go to the Leclerc website and read about the Colonial loom, which is a jack loom using jacks like these on the top of the loom.

Joanne

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 01:25

Joanne Hall

The wear marks on the jacks indicate that the loom was woven on.  However it is most likely a hand made loom, so you really have to explore the loom's possibilities carefully.  A handmade loom with no history or information has no guarantees.

Joanne

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 02:20

sandra.eberhar…

It has several hallmarks of Leclerc looms; the brake, the spacers between the treadles, the harnesses; all look Leclerc.

Sandra

Wed, 08/01/2012 - 09:51

Dawn McCarthy

Thanks Joanne, now I remember - the jacks are on the top but only one set of lams!  = jack - but they also can have parts for counterbalance using the pole system, I used one of these looms briefly.

Dawn