Hello,

I am a brand new weaver. I have been given an old Douglas Andrew Canterbury UK table loom but I can find nothing about it on the internet. The loom was in an attic for over 30 years. The string heddles were perished so I have cut them all off, cleaned the loom and had a go at making some heddles and warping 32 lengths, all through Youtube demonstrations. Not perfect by a long way but it's given me a rough idea of basic weaving.

I have been spinning for over a year, hence the joy of weaving to use some of my yarn and I am in a spinning and weaving guild so will be able to ask for help but not until the next meeting and I just can't wait. Any comments, ideas, things not to do would be much appreciated.

Regards

Sue

Comments

Fri, 03/24/2017 - 20:12

Gone

You say you've warped 32 lengths. I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you threading? Regarding warping and weaving, keep your warp under good tension while winding on, double check your threading before proceeding to another group of threads - check them again while sleying in the reed. Tie on and readjust your tension so all the bouts are as close to equal tension as possible. Therow a couple shots of a fat yarn or cloth into the plain weave sheds and you should be spread sufficiently. While weaving , try not to pull the weft to tightly. Leave a triangle or an inverted V in the shed before beating. I beat on an open shed, change the shed then beat again. Then just enjoy the process.
Fri, 03/31/2017 - 19:07

susanlois

Hello Tom,

Thank you for replying, I hadn't realised that anyone had.

By lengths I mean ends, still learning the terminology.

I have made 32 string heddles and tied 4 heddles to each of 4 frames. I have then treaded 32 warp ends through the reed and heddles and tied onto the beam. I have had a go at weaving on the loom but the shafts are sticking in the runners and the ties and springs need replacing so it is all very slow and laborious but giving me an idea of how it should work.

I am going to replace all the ties and springs and wax the frame runners.

I would like to know how to make satisfactory string heddles, what sort of thread to use.

Ideally if there is anyone out there who has renovated an old table loom I would love to hear about your experience.

Thank you Tom for all your help and advice

Sat, 04/01/2017 - 05:07

Queezle

Hello Susan, and welcome! What an exciting find, and it sounds like you have a great start. I have never tied string heddles, but I have heard that people make a jig - a board with nails where you tie the knots - so the heddles are uniform in size. However, many people also replace heddles using texolv (e.g. from The woolery). (http://woolery.com/texsolv-heddles-qty-100-5-7-8-8-8-5-8-9-3-8-10-1-2-11-12-7-8.html) I purchased additional texolv heddles for my band loom, and didn't know the size to order. These people were very helpful, and helped me to figure out the right size. Good luck, and keep posting!
Mon, 04/03/2017 - 18:21

susanlois

Hi Queezle,

Thanks for taking the time to answer and for your encouragement.

I love the idea of bringing an old loom back into use and intended keeping it as authentic as possible hence the string heddles. I made some using a nail jig following instructions on line. I googled string heddles and hey presto there was the answer.

However I've decided that life is too short to make hundreds of heddles so will take your advice and get some texsolv ones.

First I am going to work on the shafts and get them moving smoothly, they keep jumping out of the runners.

I've booked myself on a weaving course at Farfield Mill later in the year, looking forward to that.

I see that you've been a member quite a while and wondered what sort of weaving you do?

Anyway thanks for your advice.

Tue, 04/04/2017 - 20:42

Queezle

Dear Susan, It is true that I have been a member for quite a few years, but there are many who have been here much longer than I. I might call myself an experimentalist. This is true in my professional life (biologist), and I like weaving that tries out an idea (experimenting). I lean towards modestly fine thread (I love 10/2 and 20/2), cotton, and love the interaction between structure and colors. For years, all I did was to weave samples. In retrospect, this was probably really good, but I did it because I always want to see the first three inches of weaving, and I want to see it as quickly as possible. I have not been posting as many projects recently because of problems with this site, but here is a link to one project: https://www.weavolution.com/project/queezle/boulevard-weave-walk-down-white-lane I look forward to hearing more about your loom progress.
Tue, 05/02/2017 - 06:01

Gone

Sorry for the delay. Haven't been on much lately. Regarding string heddles, most folks opt for texsolv, and I've use it also in the past. It's a very good product. However, don't underestimate the string heddle. I have approx 1000 on my CM loom. They came with the loom. Once I began using them, I actually like them more than texsolv. They slide very easy, then tend to be more 'eye-friendly' and they're equally quiet if not more so. If you have the opportunity to try them, do so.  Also, making them is not difficult if you have a simple jig.

Here is a link with a jig to make them.

https://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/3i4p42a.jpg

It's really basic in terms of woodworking, but the final product is a perfectly good sting heddle.  Google, 'string heddle jig', you'll see several photos. Also Edward Worst's book "How to Build a Loom", P. 10 has a dimensional drawing.

Sometimes, the difference between the 'old ways' and the 'new ways' is just time. Many of the old ways still work fine -  Temple's for instance. Peter Collingwood said there is a stained glass window in a church in Europe from the 13 century which clearly shows a weaver using a temple. With the exception of the roller temple, we haven't improved on it.

Hope your loom restoration is moving along. Enjoy the process!!