Floor looms are amazing things. If you have never had the chance to take a tour of a weaving loom, today is your lucky day! My Schacht 4-shaft 36″ floor loom is empty at the moment, which means it is a perfect time to show you around. And as impressive as the loom is now, just wait until there’s a weaving project on it – that’s when it really shines! Happy Weaving! (I have a few show notes for you below!)
Show notes
Floor loom – loom that sits on the floor, versus a table loom that sits on a table
Schacht Spindle Company – based in Colorado, they make my favorite looms!
Beater bar – moving piece that tightens the yarns in a weaving project after they are fed into the loom by a shuttle. The beater bar also holds the reed which keeps the width of the project consistent.
Shafts – frames that lift and lower the warp yarns, which are threaded through the heddles.
Treadles – pedals on the loom that are connected to the shafts
Front beam (also called a breast beam) – sturdy beam in the front of the loom that the woven fabric will travel over before it is wound around the cloth beam
Heddles – long, slender metal pieces with an eye in the middle to hold yarn. Heddles do not have to be metal, but that is what I use in my loom.
Dressing the loom – the process of setting up a loom
Back beam – sturdy beam in the back of the loom that yarn will travel over before moving through the heddles
Related Articles
Art, Dressing the Loom, Planning a Project, Weaving, Weaving Fabric, Yarn
