Hi there,

I used to belong to Weavolution but lost my username and password, hence it looking like I just joined. I've just recently decided it's time to return to weaving after child-induced :-) hiatus. After a lot of thinking I bought a Jane loom - my first time with a new rather than just "new to me" loom. I took it out of the box today and it looks awfully flimsy -- honestly with all the plastic bits and dowels it made me think of Ikea furniture. So I'm wondering if people out there have had the Jane for any length of time and can assuage my fears? Maybe I'm just not used to new features?

I saw someone else get into quite a bit of trouble on the forums for complaining about a loom, so please don't take this the wrong way. I'm honestly just looking for feedback to feel better about my purchase or to make me decide whether or not I should be seeing if there is any way I can return this loom.

Thanks! Jennifer

 

Comments

Tue, 09/03/2013 - 20:12

chicago looms

Hi Jennifer,

I've used a Jane for some time now as my favored traveling loom.  I can understand your concerns about it feeling flimsy.  There are a few parts that are plastic that I really wish had been metal (i.e. the outside shaft supports).  I think they were trying to reduce weight for ease of transport, though, and I think they managed quite well.

I do have a couple of minor complaints about this loom.

First, the harness cords can "jump" off their upper guides on occasion, very annoying.  To fix this, I simply tied a short length of fishing line across the rollers to keep the cords in.  Solved!

Second, with higher tension, there is not quite enough weight to keep non-raised harnesses pulled down properly.  As a result, you can end up with small sheds when raising many harnesses.  You can tighten the elastic cords under the harnesses, but this will only get you so far.  As such, I tend to prefer projects using a lighter tension on this loom.

If you can deal with those two issues, I think you'll end up really liking this loom though...

Wed, 09/04/2013 - 13:49

JenS

Yes, the plastic parts, particularly the shaft sides, were what got to me too. I was also thinking that it might have been for portability. Hopefully if the shaft parts break they won't be too pricey to replace. Maybe I'm just too used to the old clunkers I used as a table loom in the past :-). It certainly looks great otherwise and has rave reviews.

I've finished putting together and I don't have a metal warping rod? It is shown in all the warping instructions, but not included or listed in the parts list? Do you get one with your loom? I'll have to call Louet.

 

 

Wed, 09/04/2013 - 14:30

chicago looms

Hm - I don't a metal rod on either beam.  I have two thick wooden rods instead, which do just fine for me.  Perhaps the instructions were not in sync with the parts they now provide?