And I’ll take “Heddles” for $400…

The project is cooking so far! I’ve finished the planning, measuring the warp yarns and sleying the reed. Next up, placing the reed in the loom and threading the yarns through the heddles. In the first photo below, you’ll see a profile of the loom once the reed has been tucked into the beater bar. The long bunches of yarn dangle off the front of the loom, while the short ends face the back so I can get at them easier.

I have a Schacht loom that I love for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that I can collapse the back and sit comfortably close to the heddles – makes me happy! My loom is stocked with flat, metal heddles. They are thin, metal strips with an eye in the middle that run along a top and bottom rail in each shaft of the loom.

In the pictures below, you’ll see 4 rows of heddles. What I tried to capture is a view from inside the loom where you can see the 4 shafts – each with it’s own set of heddles. (A shaft is a frame that lifts up. So, when I raise shaft #2, all yarns threaded through it will lift, too!)

Because of the build of the loom, I typically start in the middle and work my way out. I pick up a yarn from the reed and thread it through the heddle on the appropriate shaft. In this case, the yarns were placed in the shafts in consecutive order 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4, etc. After each yarn has been given it’s very own heddle, I’ll begin winding it on!

Profile View with the Reed & the Warp

Each Shaft has its own Heddles

Back of the Loom (notice my nifty bench!)

The Heddles are Done!