Hankering for Yarn

Small looms I love- Rigid Heddle loom

by Noreen on January 23rd, 2008

All of the other looms that I’ve written about in this series cost less than $100.

I’m going to go over that price point with this entry…..

Rigid heddle looms are classified  as small looms, but they are at the ‘large end’ of the small loom scale.

Rigid heddle looms offer tremendous creative potential.

You can warp up several yards  at once.

You can weave fabric of various widths  from narrow bands, right up to the full width of your loom.

You can weave patterns that are surprisingly complicated if you’d like to, or just keep it plain and simple.

If you’re going to invest in a rigid heddle loom, definitely buy ‘Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving’ by Betty Davenport.  It’s the Bible of rigid heddle weaving.  It’s worth it’s weight in gold.

My rigid heddle loom is a 24 inch wide Bergere from LeClerc looms. I have had it for ages……… (and love it)

I really like the metal ratchet and pawls. It’s a good sturdy loom. I bought extra rigid heddles for it to give it more versatility.

The downside of this loom is that it doesn’t come with a floor stand.  A floor stand anchors the loom and makes weaving much easier.

My mother gave me one of her embroidery stands that she wasn’t using anymore. I was able to putz around with it and adapt it to make a perfectly acceptable floor stand for my loom.

It needed a little embellishment, so I added wooden ‘paper dolls’ to the sides….

The scarf and shawl on the loom are just a couple of the guzbillion things I’ve woven on this loom over the years.

I’ve only woven on a few of the rigid heddle looms that are available, so I can’t offer personal opinions on most of them.

BUT…. from what other weavers have said, it sounds to me that the currently available rigid heddle looms are all well built and very satisfying looms.

One word of warning: Most people find that 24 inches is the maximum optimum width for the rigid heddle looms.

There are 36 inch wide ones available, but it can be very difficult to maintain even tension across the span of the loom.

Besides, when you look at most pattern pieces for garment construction, very few of them are wider than 24 inches, and if they are, then piece them!

Some people like weaving with several rigid heddles warped up all at once.  I’ve tried it, but found it cumbersome.

I much prefer  to work with shed and pick up sticks in combination with a single rigid heddle.

Lots of ‘big loom’ weavers turn up their noses at rigid heddle looms. They see them as mere stepping stones to ‘real’ looms. I heartily disagree.

Rigid heddle looms are great looms and are a joy to work with.  Thumbs up for rigid heddle looms!

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