So I just ordered a new Glimakra Julia - small countermarch loom. 

I was waffling about which type of raddle stick to get for it when the lady taking the order told me I didn't need a raddle, but to get a reed stand instead and do what she calls "rough sleying".

Having never warped a loom that way, i went and looked it up and apparently it consists of taking your warp to a big long table, laying it out, sticking the sticks through the cross, and then running the threads through the reed - with a string across it and some warp threads put through the reed below the thread and some over.  I more or less get what they are doing, except the thing with the two levels on the reed - but this is not going to work for me, regardless, because not only do I not have a table like that, I don't want to have to get one.  But mostly, there is just no way I am going to be able to do that on the table and then carry the whole mess over to the loom without dropping something or pulling threads out or tangling the warp threads or otherwise screwing something up.  I need to do my warping ON THE LOOM.

Is there some reason why just warping onto the loom from the back the "normal" way won't work on the Julia?  I know its not a very deep loom ... but surely that isn't going to preclude just doing the warp on the loom as usual?  In which case - wouldn't a raddle be a good idea after all?

Comments

pammersw

You can make a raddle with a smallish, long board. Drill 1/2" deep  holes every inch, insert finishing nails. Done. Glue the nails in for greater security. If your woodworking skills are up to it, you can shape the bottom so it will fit where the reed goes, and slide the top piece that normally holds the reed, down so that it holds the raddle. I can't imagine it would cost as much as the commercially made one.

ZenSojourner

Once upon a time my woodworking skills were MORE than up to the task.  But these days the equation is:

Power tools + me = Bad Idea

LOL!

Its not the expense.  Its the idea that the recommended way to warp the Julia by at least one company representative is to do it away from the loom.  I'm wondering about the reason for that - if there is some reason why warping on AT the loom won't work, or is more difficult, or something.

Sara von Tresckow

Our shop Julia warps just fine using my 48" raddle - same one I use for the larger looms. Any raddle stick will do just fine.

CelticCats

I learned how to weave/warp on a Julia. It is very easy. First I tried pre slaying the reed on my very large desk with a reed holder and the lease sticks inserted into the cross. Second and future warps were done by taking the bouts to the loom, putting in the lease sticks, preslaying the reed at the loom, putting some tension on the bouts with weights and warped the loom, followed by slaying the headles and then the reed. Very easy quick and all done at the loom.

CelticCats

I warp my Julia at the loom. No reason not to. You will love this loom. It is a great little loom.

ZenSojourner

Thanks to the both of you.  It didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I wanted to check with people who have used the loom or who know more about looms than I do (which is probably nearly everybody on this list, LOL!) 

A raddle it is, then!

kerstinfroberg

Rough-sleying is easier done on a table - but there is no reason whatsoever to have the whole warp laid out on a very long table. I chain my warp, with a choke tie some metre from the lease cross loop, take it to a (small) table, put in the lease sticks and weigh the warp chain with a heavy book. Place the reed in some kind of holder (can be improvised with books, too - I want it to "stand up"), proceed to rough sley the loops according to the cross.

My (or, should I say, The trad Swedish) method is described here, on my blog. (I have never used a raddle, so I can't comment on that)

barleycorn

I rough sley right at the loom using a reed. Congrats on the new loom!

ZenSojourner

Thanks, Patty, but at this point I am exerting every effort to stick to my guns and not fall victim to creeping elegance.  Prices go up July 1 so there is that pressure on top of regular ol' loom-lust.

I got to looking at the 2014 price list yesterday really closely and discovered that the Ideal loom is no longer listed AT ALL - so now I'm thinking that between the Julia (a tad smaller than 27" weaving width of the smallest Ideal) and the introduction of the 39" Standard, they are going to discontinue the Ideal.

So they are probably only going to sell off existing stock - which seems to be reflected in the current version of the 2013 price list, where they specifically state which Ideal looms are in stock and only list those on the price list.

And even with the wooden cover they make for the Julia's warping beam, you still (apparently) can't mount sectional beam pieces on that.  So no sectional warping on the Julia for me, and sectional warping would be a real boon for reasons of my functionality, or lack thereof ...

So maybe I should go ahead and get the Ideal 27" which is $2000 more than the Julia - but stronger, so better for rugs, and you can add the sectional warping beam parts to it.  And it's just a leetle bit bigger than the Julia, footprint-wise.

But if I do that, why not get the next size up, the 39" size - it is just a little bit bigger than the 27" Ideal, and even less limiting.  OK, it's $600 more, but that's not THAT much more for the increased flexibility.

But if I do that, then why not get a 39" Standard, which is even stronger and only a little bit bigger, footprint-wise, and only $150 more than the Ideal of the same size, and better conformed for an 8/10 countermarch setup (the treadles and lams are smaller on an 8/10 Ideal).  Plus you can get them in the vertical version and maybe add a drawloom someday ...

But heck, why not just go on up to a 47" Standard, because that's only a little more floor space than the 39" standard, and its only a couple hundred dollars more ...

Ad infinitum, until the next thing you know I have a $6k floor loom with a 5'x7' footprint (instead of 32" square) and I'm sleeping in the closet - except that's probably full of yarn ...

ZenSojourner

UPDATE:  So the Ideal HAS been discontinued, and Glimakra US does NOT have any more in stock.  So that's one temptation removed, LOL!

barleycorn

The Oxaback Lilla is a very nice countermarch loom in smaller sizes. 

pammersw

I've fallen prey to the "might as wells" before, too!