I'm writing this post now from my new, box-filled home office which is just down the hall from my equally new, and equally box-filled, weaving studio. Fortunately for me, even though I cannot find my collection of bobbins, much less the bobbin winder, I can still weave. Even though I have guests arriving next week for Thanksgiving and I have to unpack several other rooms before I can even think about unpacking my studio, I can still weave.
While much of my weaving supplies are currently located in around 900 boxes all labeled simply with "weaving," my rigid-heddle loom and associated supplies were in a box labeled "rigid-heddle loom and supplies." Huzzah! Even better, though I do not know where my yarn stash is (probably in a box labeled "weaving") I can go to any yarn shop in town and pick up a suitable yarn this weekend. Thanks to my handy-dandy warping peg I can then be ready to weave in around 20 minutes. How great is that?
In honor of my lovely little rigid-heddle loom I have composed this list of the top ten reasons I love rigid-heddle looms.
They are usually small enough where you can take them just about anywhere. They fit easily into the car, you can carry them on an air plane, and they are easy to just plain carry for that matter. If you don't have a lot of room in your home this also means they are easy to store; I used to hang mine up on the wall when I wasn't using it.
ADVERTISEMENTYou can get yarns perfect for rigid-heddle weaving at pretty much any local yarn shop.
If you use the direct warping method you don't have to spend an hour or more winding your warp and threading the heddles before you can weave; instead you just pull the yarn through the slots and around the warping peg and you can be up and weaving in no time.
Not only is it quick to warp, but if you're using thick "knitting" yarns you can weave up a scarf in a leisurely afternoon.
There are no treadling patterns to remember so if you're just weaving plain weave you can socialize or listen to podcasts while you weave without losing your place or your patience.
Finger controlled weaves are so much easier on a rigid-heddle loom.
hen you're tired of weaving in your box-filled house you can take it out on the patio and weave in front of the chiminea, to a park and weave on a picnic table, or to a coffee shop and weave on a regular table.
Quick warping means you feel better about experimenting with color and texture; it's great fun to put on an entire warp devoted to "what if?"
Next to no loom waste means you can use all those luxury knitting yarns you thought were off limits to weavers. (Although I've found that if you can just figure out the right use for it, there's no yarn that is actually off limits to weavers.)
They're perfect for teaching friends and family of any age who want to learn how to weave. I know I can't wait for my neice to visit in December. I'll have the rigid-heddle loom warped up with her favorite color yarn so she can join me in the studio as we drink hot cider and weave up something fun.
Happy Weaving!
Christina