It’s been quite a while since the last time I posted anything, and to be frank I’d quite forgotten until a reader reminded me. I have been spinning, spinning, spinning! Here you see about 2,000 yards of handspun Merino singles that I will soon be putting on my loom. Until I gather the courage to do that, I have this sample to weave and unweave for practice:
My Loom
So today I thought I’d share my loom with you. Its been a while since I posted last, but the time off was spent getting married, collecting parts for the loom, and practicing.
From the top we have two bars, a warp beam and a roll up stick. Normally the warp would be attached only to one of these bars, but I have an extra for really long warps. Below them is a thin wire. In my setup the warp actually goes around this wire which is then lashed to one of the back beams.
Next is a cross stick (I need to make another one but for now this serves to keep the shed stick in place) followed by the shed stick. Right now I’m using a flat stick, but eventually it will be replace with a thick piece of bamboo.
Then I have four heddle rods. I usually only use one, but I cut a few extra in the event that I need them.
Next is my sword for propping open the shed and beating, followed by two thin sticks as shuttles.
This is the next piece, a tenter made from bamboo. I have several cut to different lengths, and they are used to keep the weaving an even width. It has thin spikes carved on each end that are poked into the selvedge. Its moved up every inch as the weaving progresses.
Finally there is another wire and two beams like before.
Beside the loom I have a roll of red thread:
This is a fine silk cord tied into loops for heddles:
To make them I wrapped the cord around the little template and ran a sharpie accros the top, marking every cord. Then I tied the cord into an overhand knot about a half inch below the mark, over and over, eventually making over five hundred knots. I did this to save time later when setting up the loom, and the cord can be used over and over again.
The other tools I have are a pair of scissors, a ball of cotton twine for lashing, some rubber bands (I don’t know why though yet) and two pointed sticks for picking patterns.
Next I’ll share my set up, bit for today I think I’m done 🙂
Something old (but new to me)
These are “osa”. They are loom reeds from Japan, made from very fine and perfectly planed strips of bamboo, bound with fine silk cord. Just look at them!
The top reed is actually heavier than it looks. It has a dent of 38 per inch, while the reed on the bottom is quite light, with a dent of 20 per inch.
I bought these during an online auction a few days ago and just received them today. They are beautiful. The skill that went into making them is astounding. When I hold them I think of the people who owned them before me, the person that made them, and what threads passed through them to clothe a family.
They’re smaller than I thought. Each one is about 16″ long and just shy of 3″ wide-too small for my other looms but perfect for my backstrap loom! I can’t wait to see these threaded and full and happy! Soon to follow: a tutorial on how to thread them for backstrap weaving!
Edit:
I just finished re-papering the reeds with lokta paper I bought from Nepal. Looks pretty good right?
And so it begins…
I’ve been contemplating starting a blog post for some time. Just a few minutes ago I was sipping my second cup of coffee and staring at my well used spindle and I thought”what the hell” and here we are! I plan on documenting my new life (I’m getting married this Saturday) and writing about all the things I love! For the past few years I’ve been teaching myself to spin and weave, but alas, I still haven’t made anything useable but a scarf and some table runners. Maybe this will keep me on track!
