My rigid heddle loom was the first semi-grown up purchase I made with my first semi-grown up paycheck when I started dispatching. I got it from Halcyon Yarns here and once it came, spent hour after hour trying to put it together. I couldn’t find any videos that were of any help, anything I did find looked like it was shot from outside the house, the loom was so out of focus. Sitting there cursing at it like ‘my bum it’s a ‘beginner’s loom, suitable for children’, this semi-grown up can’t figure it out’. Eventually, I managed it.
Everything was smooth sailing from there, until I moved out of my parent’s house, bought my own place, and managed to lose my warping hook in the process. It’s possible to warp a rigid heddle loom without a hook, but it’s a pain in the bum and I lost the weaving mojo because of it. Finally, I ordered a new one, and the doors of woven fabric were open to me again!!
Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom by Syne Mitchell is a book I wish I’d known about when I started.
Not only does it go into extensive detail on how the loom works, it also takes you through the process of weaving from start to finish. She tells you how to fix the inevitable warp issues when you’re first starting out, and takes you all the way from a basic weave to patterned weaves. Syne gives us advice on color theory and the unique way it applies to weaving, and moves on to practical projects that spotlight her techniques. There is so much in this book that I never even considered could be woven on a little loom like mine, such as wire bracelets, tartan table runners, and even full size blankets! Totally possible, as long as you don’t mind a little sewing at the end. Now, back to those bags from earlier….
Pick it up on Amazon here…