Website update goodness - Random babblings of a fiber-obsessed nutcase

hello, can i use you again? ;)

i think i want to buy a new loom, i don't know how to use the one i have- but i am having a hard time finding a small one i can afford. is something like this worth it or is it crap?
http://www.worldknit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=hv_394&Category_Code=ws_flp

If it's still available - GO GET THIS ONE (if you have the funds, that is)!!! BIN was around $50, and it's either the same as you're looking at, or the larger size (I think it's the same one, as a matter of fact, and it looks like it's all there):

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harrisville-Easy-Weaver-Loom_W0QQitemZ8225735299QQcategoryZ57741QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's one on Ebay that looks pretty good (and cheap! :-) )

http://cgi.ebay.com/1970s-ERICA-Weaving-Frame-Loom-Complete-Kit-MIB_W0QQitemZ8226959767QQcategoryZ57741QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Cheaper, looks a little older, but has the instructions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-WOODEN-FRAME-LOOM_W0QQitemZ8226859785QQcategoryZ57741QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


This one's a little bit more, but it looks good:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Weaving-Loom-wooden-18-inches-Avalon_W0QQitemZ8226431577QQcategoryZ57741QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


There were a lot of RH looms/Frame looms on there, but either the pictures sucked and I couldn't tell what was there, or they were mostly plastic things from the 70s and 80s. (And, added bonus, I got to avoid studying by trolling Ebay - Thanks! *g*)

thanks for the tip- that first one looks great, but she says there is no instruction book with it, which i would sorely need. i emailed her to be sure. basically, i want to make scarves- can i use a flat-type loom for that or do i need a table loom?

A flat-type loom can weave scarves; you just have to make sure you don't use too-thick yarn for the heddle (the book will help with that.)

I didn't notice the no instructions part. Sorry...but I did find a copy of "Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving" for....$8, I think. Plus a couple copies of Ashford's RH book - I haven't seen that one, but their other books are pretty good.

if you think that easy weaver one is decent- i would almost rather spend the extra $$ and get it brand new- then i know everything is on the up and up. what does heddle mean?

The "heddle" is the plastic comb-like thingy that you thread the yarns thru. The "teeth" (look at a hair comb to see what I'm talking about here) have a hole bored in the middle of them; to "warp" it (or thread it), you put 1 yarn thru the slot (or space in between the teeth), then 1 yarn thru the hole in the tooth. Keep doing it until the yarns are as wide as you want the piece to be (or you've filled in all the holes and slots).

You then attach all the yarns to the back dowel (or "beam"), wind them up on it, tie the other end of the yarns to the front beam, and start weaving. You lift up on the heddle, poke the shuttle thru the "shed" (the space between the 2 layers of yarn - looks sorta like a roof),put the heddle back where it started and use it to "beat" (or shove *g*) the yarn from the shuttle into place, then push the heddle down and poke the shuttle back thru the shed - this time, you're going over the threads you went under before, and beat the "weft" (yarn from the shuttle) down again.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. Once you get comfortable with the process, you'll be banging out scarves and runners like nobody's business. *g*

i will have to find someone around here to teach me if i ever do order one, because i got lost just reading this. lol

*grin* Seriously, when you have the loom in front of you, it'll start to make sense. It's hard to visualize when you haven't done it before.

Just keep in mind - my 5 year old has been weaving since he was 3.5. I didn't "teach" him - I just warped up a loom and turned him loose. If *he* can weave (and teach people!), so can you!

Weaving has been done for thousands of years - so it's not as hard as it sounds.

i sorta shouldn't buy/start another hobby, but i think weaving would be fun. i have tubs and tubs of yarn that i would love to use up, and i could always give the scarves away as gifts or maybe sell them on my website if i ever got good at it. maybe i will ask my husband for it for my birthday. i appreciate your help/advice- i am sure i will need much more when i get my mini loom! :)

one more question-
if i am going to buy this one
http://www.worldknit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=hv_394&Category_Code=ws_flp
should i just spend the exyta $45 to get this one
http://www.worldknit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=hv_424&Category_Code=ws_flp
? i know the difference in width, but is the more expensive one better for any reason? and if the loom is 10 or 18 inches wide, can you weave something that wide? i am sorry to keep bothering you. :(

It's not a bother - so don't worry about it!

Usually, you can weave about an inch narrower than the width - but that's on a floor or table loom. I haven't measured the width on the RH we have - but it looks pretty close to the actual width.

10" wide, you could do scarves, narrow table runners, and things like that. With 18", you could do those plus place mats, shawls (a little narrow, maybe, but you can always hem 2 or more together - you can do that on the 10", too).

Plus, it says the 18" has a "shedmaker", which is quite useful. With it, you don't have to have 1 hand holding the plastic heddle - it's probably 2 sticks, 1 on each side of the loom, with notches cut in them. You lift the heddle, stick the ends in the notches, then poke the shuttle thru. Remove it from the notches, beat the weft, push it down, put it in the lower notches, poke the weft.....easier on you, because you can poke the shuttle with one hand and grab it with the other. On the smaller loom, you'll poke the shuttle, let go, use the shuttle hand to hold the heddle, use the other hand to pull it thru....not hard, just a little more work.

Now, as to which one to buy....I'm always for getting the largest whatever you can afford. You have more project options right off the bat (you can weave narrower than the full width, by the way). But - do you have space to set up the larger one? 18" wide will take over your table..you can weave on the floor, but it's uncomfortable if you're over the age of 6. I try to keep ours set up on a card table...but the boy keeps pulling it down onto the floor.

Either way, you'll be able to see if you like weaving; you can weave scarves on both. Plus, either one will eat up all your excess yarn, and then you'll start looking at spinning, and then your fall to the darkside will be complete. *eg*

i hope i get addicted to it, instead of buying it and then never/rarely using it, which seems to be the track record for many other craft items i have. thanks for the advice- my husband said he would buy me one for my birthday!

Ooooooh! Harrisville's Easy Weaver is a GREAT loom to start with - easy to use, small enough you don't get overwhelmed, yet large enough to actually *make* something with.

That's a good price, too. :-)

If you need more detailed instructions than are usually included with things, go to Amazon and grab a copy of Interweave Press' "Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving" (I think that's the name of it); it's very good, very clear, and lots of photos. (Ebay might have it, too - haven't looked.)

I'll badger my son to finish up the project on "his" RH loom, so I can get pictures of how to re-warp it.

Holler if you need any help - I like spreading the joy!

Holler if you need any help - I like spreading the joy

Typhoid Mary of the Fiber Arts... ;p

YuP! That's me!

And there's no vaccination for me....bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Yeee! It feels good, doesn't it? Go You, indeed!

It does feel good...until I realize how many more pictures I really need to take, upload and code. *g*