Lighting My Loom and other Weaving Goodness

Want to know a great way to light the bottom of your loom? It was suggested to me by a loom repair man. His name is Bob Shepherd and he not only weaves wonderfully colorful rugs for your wall, he also makes house calls to fix your loom. I highly recommend him for time spent making it right, also his friendly, kind and understanding manner.

Now my loom wasn't broken, per say, but I wasn't getting a good shed when using all 8 shafts. My Golding Loom is an expensive piece of equipment and I knew I wasn't adjusting something correctly, I just could not figure out where I was wrong! I said that Bob is an understanding soul! Well, for me that was especially important because I had the wrong tie ups under the loom and they had to be measured accurately or it wouldn't work. Bob showed me how to make the tie ups the exact length and how to heat them so they wouldn't Frey and then he showed me how to keep the shafts raised to the optimum height for each shaft. It works like a dream now.

One of the photos above show a small, out of the way, fixture to light my pedals for accurate treadling. Or for those unfamiliar with the lingo, correct order of pedaling. I found this light in the lighting department at a hardware store. It is used and marketed for lighting pictures without ruining the frame. It hangs over a standard 1/2 inch lip of a picture. It also happens to fit the lip under my loom that is the piece of framing in front and over the pedals.

I am much more confident weaving when I can clearly see the numbers of my pedals. This is particularly important if I have a complicated weave structure and numbers to push such as 1+7, then 9+6, then 4+7! I didn't want to count each time either, so my husband devised a system that uses a rainbow colored set of reading tabs with the numbers written with a sharpie. They stick to the pedals but can easily be removed and won't mare the wood. I use a different color for every other number so that I can buy one four pack and save. They do wear off and lose their stickiness after a while. But they couldn't be easier to replace!  This is also shown in one of the photos above.

The final handy dandy invention, (I've heard of different ways to do this) that makes the pattern for my weave structure easily legible and helps me keep my place when I'm interrupted, is a place card that is hovering at eye level and still looks nice. It is easiest for me to have it at eye level so that I don't have to look down at a sheet of paper or a book. So I typed, in a word processing program, the sequence with large, bold numbers in a line down the side of the paper. The bigger the better so long as it fits, when cut out, on one of those pick up sticks used to weave tapestry. Then I use a strong one inch piece of velcro to attach to the loom on the first heddle. Since the first heddle only moves up and down and has nothing in front of it, there is nothing to get in the way of the stick. I can see it over the top of the beater bar if I adhere it down at the bottom so most of it is up in the air. A mini clothes pin keeps my place. I just move the clothes pin as I beat, one hand to beat, one hand to move the pin. It's an easy, smooth motion that doesn't slow me down. I have mine on the far left so I can reach it easily and because I am left handed I prefer that. It really doesn't matter where it is placed so long as it is convenient for you. The picture shows it on the right as most people would prefer it there.

All of these fixes to my loom are made with the thought to keeping it looking nice while I weave. Also I do these things to make weaving as simple as possible to leave room for me to try difficult patterns. To put it another way, if my weaving motion is something I don't have to concentrate on then my brain can tackle a more complicated weave structure. I have found these few adjustments to be worth the time and effort to make them because it makes a world of difference in the weaving process.

If you have tried and true methods of organizing your weaving using handy tips such as these, I'd love to hear from you. Community is part of the fun of weaving.

Post pictures too. We'd love to see what you're up to.