Right From The Start

Information provided by Marcy Petrini

Things You Need to Start Weaving
(in order of use, not of importance)

• Loom. 36 inch or 45 inch wide, jack or counterbalance floor model (see article for details).
• Warping board or reel. It does not come with the loom. Boards are relatively easy to make by a good woodworker. Make sure that the pegs are sturdy and will not bend.
• Thread for winding the warp, and a project sheet with the number of threads and the length of each to wind (see weavespindye.org for details on project planning).
• Warp (back) rod. It is generally part of the loom. If lost or bent, it can be replaced with a dowel, but make sure that the dowel is sturdy enough. Metal specialty stores can sometimes cut metal rods to size.
• Lease sticks, if warping from the back toward the front and, in some cases, lease stick holders. Lease sticks usually come with the loom.
• Replacing them can be hard, because they usually require holes on the edge to hold them together. Readily available lengths of finished wood, like yard sticks, do not usually work well because they can splinter when holes are drilled in them.
• Assorted cords, shoelaces, and key chains to hold lease sticks, raddles, etc. They do not come with the loom, and they are easy to assemble, but make sure you have them at hand before starting to warp!
• Raddle, if warping from the back to the front. It does not come with the loom and is generally easy to make, but make sure that the spacing is consistent throughout the raddle. If making the raddle, also make sure that the wood used does not splinter, and that the finish is smooth enough so that warp threads will not snag.
• Corrugated cardboard roll or paper to separate layers of warp on the warp beam. Some people use sticks. Do not use newspaper, because it is messy. Brown paper bags work if nothing else is available.
• Threading hook, if you use oneÑusually necessary with metal heddles. It may come with the loom. Relatively easy to replace, but make sure you have one handy.
• Enough heddles for the project. Count ahead of time, and center them. Be particularly careful of weave structures that require an unequal number of heddles per shaft. Make sure that the heddles are not rusted.
• Sleying hook. It may come with the loom. Some use the threading hook for sleying as well.
• Reed. Stainless steel is best, and a must in humid places, as they can rust. Rusted reeds can be cleaned, but the task is not pleasant and a minor oversight can ruin a fabric. Start with a versatile 12 ends per inch reed. One reed usually comes with the loom. Threads in the reed can be doubled, and even tripled, or dents can be skipped to decrease the sett. The next reed to get is 10 ends per inch. These two together cover a lot of setts. For those who like very open weaves or textured warps, a 5 or an 8 is a good next choice.
• Cloth (front) rod. Same consideration as the warp or back rod. Usually comes with the loom.
• Treadles correctly tied, and tied for efficient weaving.
• Bench. It does not normally come with the loom, but one is absolutely necessary. A stool or piano bench may work. Chairs can sometimes work. Make sure that the height and clearance is right for you, or backache or hip pain can result.
• Weft thread. This, too, should have been decided when project planning.
• Shuttles. One may come with the loom. It is good to have an assortment of shuttles, and the right type and size makes for smoother weaving (for more on shuttles see Right from the Start, 102, Spring 1995). A bobbin or boat shuttle requires a bobbin winder.

Happy Weaving!