Hi

A few days ago, I just got a 39" Varpa Karelia probably from the 70's.  It has 8 shafts and 10 treadles.  I got a great deal and it is in very good shape.  The former owner hadn't woven on it in over 8 years, so it wasn't completely tied up.  It will be my first CM loom.  I'm a beginner who has been weaving on a 4 shaft CB loom.  I am going to only tie up 4 shafts and 6 treadles for a while.  It will be my only floor loom, so I hope that I can weave almost anything on it.

Does anybody have any advice for tying it up?  Would it be possible in the future to add any more shafts?  Will it work well for rag rugs?

Any advice specific to this maker or CM looms in general would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Candace

Comments

Tue, 12/06/2011 - 03:14

Joanne Hall

Hi Candace,

Do you have Texsolv cord and anchor pins on the loom?  This was not available in the 70s, but the loom may have had them added.  Do you have enough for the four shafts you want to tie-up? 

The first thing to do is to plan a warp and beam it on, thread the heddles, sley the reed and tie up the warp.  Then you check the upper tie-up to be sure that the shafts are held up where they are supposed to be.  When that is complete, you just need to check the tie-up of the lamms and then the treadles.

Read the files I have on our website that I put there for weavers who purchase used looms.  That will be very helpful.

http://glimakrausa.com/about-cm-cb-looms.html

Joanne

Tue, 12/06/2011 - 03:15

Sara von Tresckow

Varpa is nearly the same as Toika. The Karelia is a short footprint countermarche that will not take much more than  8 shafts - possibly 2 more - without an extension of the back beam. I nearly bought one back in 1980.

Just follow a good book on tying the countermarche loom and you should be good to go. This type of loom is not very brand specific - the Finnish ones are of birch that is very sturdy - well kept they should give nearly a century of service - and any new parts you need can easily be copied by a good wodworker.

Countermarche looms are very similr to counterbalance - the shed is nice on both. Both will weave rugs well.

"Big Boook of Weaving" and "Tying up the Countermarche Loom" should be all you need to get started.

Tue, 12/06/2011 - 04:46

celtinbirks

Hey Joanne,

The former owner replaced everything with Texsolv, but that was several years ago.  The loom came with a large spool of extra cord.