I thought I would need a special loom or special heddle to weave bands. I made a strap for a bag using my rigid heddle, a butterfly wrap instead of a shuttle, and the handle edge of a dinner fork for a beater.

When looking at the photo, I could see the weave was still a bit loose. I need to draw in more. Pulling the weft thread draws in the warp.

Band weaving on a rigid heddle

 

 

Comments

Wed, 10/05/2016 - 19:38

Sillylittlebear

Most inkle looms or bandlooms are basically two-shed unless you hand-manipulate your fiber, so a RH is just fine. It may get a bit "off - balance" feeling if you have a wide loom and a narrow band, but it shold work just fine.

 On inkle looms, it's common to:

  1. Open the shed
  2. Pass/throw shuttle
  3. Close the shed
  4. Adjust the weft
  5. Beat
  6. "Rinse and repeat"

That means the loom can "take what it wants" from the weft, and adjusting with an un-beaten but closed shed means it behaves better. (Mostly)

If you want to maintain a common width, an easy thing to do is to take an index card or something similar, (one lady uses clear Con-Tact) snd mark it with the width you want. You can even put a single or double slot in it so it can just ride the band. It helps you eyeball as you go. Not quite a temple, maybe just a "chapel?" Wink

 

Nice work!