Hello all :)

I'm a brand new beginner. I've played around with a child's flat loom (39 warp threads, shuttle, stick, and cardboard beater) until I can make a piece that is straight on the edges and looks decent, and I'd like to start really weaving on a real loom. In looking around I found a promising book ("Weaving Made Easy" by Liz Gipson) that teaches how to use a rigid heddle loom. Does that sound like a good way to go? I don't want something that will take up my whole room (at least to begin with) - something small is more my speed. A couple of reviewers mention a Flip Folding loom, is that a good one? Which size? How many dents?

I have so many questions...

Thanks for your patience :)

Comments

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 05:33

sarahnopp (not verified)

Rigid Heddles are fun looms to work with, but you might look for a small, multi-shaft floor loom if you are looking to really diversify the variety of weave structures. They really do no take up that much space if you find a smallish one. For example, I have a four shaft Bergman counterbalance floor loom which measures 29 x 29 inches of floor space and if only 49 inches high. And as someone who is currently moving my studio into a different room, the loom is not the thing taking up space! LOL I have no idea how I have so much stuff. For comparison, my rigid heddle table loom measures 24 x 27. Also, I have to find a place to store it, as it doesn't enjoy the dedicated space a more furniture-like floor loom has. Take a look at Craigslist and your area weaving guilds and organizations, you may be surprised at the affordability and variety.

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 11:00

NancyHassel

A rigid heddle loom is small and stores easily. You can carry it around the house and support the front end with a coffee table while you watch TV with the family (etc). You will also need a warping board for measuring the warp, and stick shuttles (at the simplest, cheapest). My rigid heddle loom has rigid heddles for 8 ends per inch (EPI) to weave with knitting worsted weight yarn (including Lily Sugar N Cream), 10 EPI (sport weight), and 12 EPI (fingering weight). There are a lot of happy rigid heddle weavers. If you start out with a rigid heddle loom you may want a multiple-harness floor loom pretty quickly. I started out with a 4-harness floor loom that was (fortunately) upgradable, and I upgraded to 16 harnesses by the end of the first month.

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 11:58

endorph

rigid heddle loom and still love it. I like the portability and storability! I do not use a warping board with the RH loom but do direct warping instead. I wanted to make sure I really enjoyed weaving before investing in a larger and more expensive floor loom. Only took me a few months to take that plunge. Welcome to the wonderful world of weaving!
Fri, 06/14/2013 - 13:24

Kade1301

can be hung on a wall for storage, even with a warp on it. And I think it's a very nice, solid-looking piece of equipment at a reasonable price. The rigid heddles are also very reasonably priced, so I bought a complete set (unfortunately I have a Leclerc Bergère, which is rather flimsy, and anyway, no longer made. But the Ashford heddles can be made to fit.)

If you are concerned that weaving with a RH loom might bore you too quickly, have a look at Jane Patrick's Ideabook for Weavers. It's written specifically for RH looms and has lots of different patterns in it. Betty Davenport's Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving is also great. I'm not a fan of the Ashford book - for me it's too many pictures, not enough content and the projects not too my taste. I'm also happy that I learned from Davenport how to wind a warp (if you don't want to buy or build a warping board, C-clamps will do), tie it off and beam it - very helpful for the switch to a floor loom.

I'm also very happy that I started small and simple - I'm pretty sure I'd have been discouraged if I had begun on a 4-shaft treadle loom. The transition from two to four shafts was still difficult enough.

Regarding shuttles: If you can afford it, buy low-profile boat shuttles (Glimakra makes one specifically for RH looms - no idea how it differs from e. g. Bluster Bay's Swedish style shuttles). They make weaving much nicer and faster compared to a stick shuttle! And you can continue to use the accessories (shuttles, warping board) if you ever switch to a bigger loom, so they are long-term investments. Though you may never feel the need to switch to another loom - I had certainly not exhausted the possibilities of my RH loom when the 4-shaft counterbalance loom dropped in (a free loan from a friend - who could have said no?)

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 15:19

Spurfy

Thank you all for the very specific help. I found an Ashford 24-inch RH loom with stand on eBay for a good price. That along with a couple of books from Amazon and extra heddles in different sizes ought to get me started pretty well. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions along the way. This is exciting :)

Fri, 06/14/2013 - 21:54

sarahnopp (not verified)

Don't forget YouTube for your how-to questions. One of the reasons I love using rigid heddle is the super fast direct warping that allows me to start weaving quickly. There are lots of great videos which will help you along.