Adventures in Weaving

So many looms, so little time

I need to warn you, this is a rather nerdy post about looms with lots of specific weaving nomenclature. Nevertheless, welcome!

In her book, On Weaving, Anni Albers¹ tells us that using a complicated looms does not mean one will weave superior fabric. Some of the most intricate and beautiful examples of weaving in the world were/are made on the simplest of looms. I own two lovely floor looms, and enjoy each for different reasons. However, I also really like weaving with smaller, less complicated looms.

THREAD AND TIME

Time is the element that figures into every weaving decision. It has always been that way. Weaving itself has not changed. Woven fabric is created by interlacing threads at right angles in a repetitive pattern. Warp threads need to be held under tension to facilitate the insertion of wefts threads. Over the decades, as fabric became more important to daily life, humans have invented tools that enhance efficiency.

Loom technology has developed inconsistently around the world and through time. The earliest ones, ground looms and warp weighted looms, gave way to mechanized (but human powered) floor looms. The modern floor loom, for home use, is a wooden frame that can be used to make yards of cloth relatively quickly compared to the older style looms.

A recent adventure has me thinking about the history of looms in homes and what that has meant over the last 100 years. If you would like to delve into the home-grown looms that pre-dated the 18th century check out Marshfield School of Weaving.²

The textile trades are built on a continuous cycle of repetition. From small acts like drawing in and throwing a shuttle, to the rhythms of warping and finishing, cloth making is a little microcosm of the revolving seasons, of comings and goings, of life and death. These ancient looms are a quiet reminder, witnesses to generations of weavers who’ve found purpose in their stalwart frames, themselves once seedling trees.

From the Marshfield School of Weaving homepage

THE WARPING BEE

Recently, I spent the better part of the day in Denton. I went there to help set up a loom that had been in storage, moved, and sold many times. Now it lives with Naomi, whom I met through Delaney Smith-Vaughan.³ The hours flew by as we put together the puzzle of the heddles, attached the lamms, and worked to balance the counter-marche sheds. There is still a lot for Naomi and her house-mates to figure out but they are well on their way to weaving!

THE NORTH TEXAS - EUROPEAN FLOOR LOOM CONNECTION

The loom is called Varpapuu and was originally made in Finland, and is probably about the same age as my Glimåkra Standard⁴, which was made in Sweden.

This is my wonderful girl, whom I call Freya. She takes up 80% of our living room and weaves like a dream.

Both looms have been in North Texas for decades. I have a lot of documentation for my loom, and I suspect both looms traveled similar routes. First, they were ordered from Europe in the 1980s by a Dallas weaver, then changed hands among local weavers until both landed in the Weaving Department⁵ at UNT. I checked with Sarita Westrup⁶ who spent time working with the looms while she was completing her MFA in Textiles, she remembers both looms and liked them a lot.

This is the Weaving Studio in Squire Art Cottage at Silver Bay YMCA Camp, Lake George, New York. I volunteer here most summers for a week or two. I have wrestled with every one of these old loom! The wonderful

I have developed a preference for weaving on Scandinavian looms. I first wove on a MacComber, have set-up and operated Harrisville’s, Schacht’s as well as lots of Frankenstein Looms⁷. I spend time every summer that we can go, helping in the weaving studio at Silver Bay YMCA Camp. There are an eclectic collection of looms to try out in the studio, I have some favorites.

I learned from someone, most likely Norm Kennedy, that there is a distinct difference in looms built for home weaving (for centuries) in Scandinavian countries and looms built in the 19th- 20th C for American hand weavers. Many of the 20th c looms are modeled after production looms used in factories. They can be more efficient, and are relatively easier to set up than a Scandinavian Loom.

The Scandinavian looms are quieter to use because the heddles are made of wood and sturdy cords rather than metal frames with metal heddles. Treadling is smoother because the treadles are hinged at the back. The Scandinavian Looms are require less tension and are easier on the warp (and the weaver!). One thing that I really love about my Glimåkra is that I can climb right inside to sley the warp.⁸

The tie-up for Scandinavian looms is usually counter balance or countermarche. Which does limit the weaver to balanced patterns. When one heddle goes up another goes down, creating a shed for the shuttle to pass through. In contrast, most American looms are jack looms. The jacks raise each heddle independent of the others, and have a wide range of possible treadling patterns. I am thinking the metal heddles that go with jack looms facilitate this characteristic.

These heddles and tie-up cords are all made from Tex-solv, a miraculous invention that takes the pain out of setting up a counter balance or countermarche loom.

LOOM SHOPPING?

So, what is the best loom for you? The one you can get your hands on! I almost never say no to a free loom (unless it is a MacComber, just saying). And there are so many in circulation among weavers, you probably don’t need to buy a brand new one unless you like the idea a fresh new tool.

Mark your calendar for the next Community Craft Circle: Friday March 1st!

1. Read the first chapter of On Weaving for a beautiful time-line of loom construction history. No one says it better.

2. A national treasure. Lots to learn on the Marshfield School of Weaving website.

3. I have worked with Delaney on more than one collaboration. She has introduced me to so many cool people and ideas. Check out her Studio!

4. You may have already heard my story about finding my loom. In 1980, I was fresh out of college and I wanted to find a loom. There was a Glimåkra available at the local weaving store but it was beyond my teacher salary to even consider. A guild member, Betty Davis (check this) bought the loom.

In 2020, a Glimåkra Standard turned up for sale on the UNT Weaving FB page and I was quick to contact the seller. I looked through the binder that came with it (thanks to the conscientious UNT Weaving department) all the paper work that had followed the loom around North Texas was still with it.

I realized that it was the very loom I have passed up 40 years ago. I call her Freya and she takes up 80% of my living room. But, what a loom!!

5. You may be surprised to learn that UNT once had a thriving Weaving Department. Sadly, that is no longer true. All the looms were sold starting around 2020 to make room for an expanding Art Program.

6. Many of my readers have been in one of Sarita’s workshops at Oil and Cotton. We all know her as a skilled weaver, natural dye expert and also a great artist. She will soon be moving to North Carolina for a Year Long Residency at Penland. Before she goes, check out our work, at the Bath House Cultural Center. She is represented by Erin Cluley Gallery and will be part of a magnificent group show that opens on the 17th of February.

7. I know, of course, that Frankenstein was not the Monster, he was the doctor who pieces the bits together. But, a loom (or spinning wheel) made from bits of other looms (and wheels) are generally called by that name. This term is one of affection and occasional frustration for weavers. Maybe I should go with Frankenstein’s Loom.

8. Weaving has so many fun old words. To sley the warp is to insert each thread into the eye of a heddle in proper order thus establishing the pattern for the fabric.