LOOM ADVICE:

Beginning weavers are always asking us for advice on purchasing their first loom. The first thing we tell them is not to make the mistake of getting a large loom that you think will serve your every need. Wait until you find out whether or not you are going to like weaving. If you do want to continue weaving you are probably going to want two looms anyway, and your second loom can be the big one that will be just right for you. I've always found that beginning loom buyers always tend to buy a loom that is much bigger than they will really use, and with at least twice as many harnesses as they will ever use.

Here are the 3 types of treadle looms to choose from and what each of the advantages and disadvantages are:

Countermarche: This time proven loom was designed in Europe many years ago to achieve perfect sheds with very complex structural weaves requiring 8 harnesses or more. It is the right choice if you will be weaving such fabrics and you also want good warp tension for rugs and tapestries. It is good for all types of fabrics, but has the disadvantage of a complex tie-up system. Fast, quiet action.

Jack: The jack loom is a more recent design aimed at compactness of size and ability to achieve perfect sheds for complex structural weaves with a simple tie-up system. Excellent for lightweight fabrics of this type, but not good for tightly packed rugs and tapestries because of the limitation of the tension that can be achieved. Not good for close-sett warp face weaves and sticky warp yarns. Slower, noisier action.

Counterbalanced: This historic loom with simple action and tie-up has been used in many countries for centuries. It is unsurpassed for simple weft-face weaves such as tapestries and rugs, for close-sett warp face weaves, and 4-harness weaves of balanced treadling, such as 2/2 twills. It is okay for 4-harness unbalanced treadling required by double-width and double-face fabrics. Not good for weaves requiring un-balanced treadling on 8 or more harnesses. Fast, quiet action.

NEW SPORT YARN: We have added a beautiful Sport yarn to our line of apparel yarns. This is replacing the Perendale which is pictured in the catalog of supplies. It is a 3-ply fine wool yarn with 1500 yds. per pound. This is in all of our apparel yarn colors including tweeds. Put up is 4 oz. skeins: Tweed are $17 per skein and Solids are $12 per skein. Knitters are very enthusiatic; knits up on size 3, 4, or 5 needles.

DOUBLE ENDED TAPESTRY FORKS: Al Snipe is making us many nice forks in various sizes as well a double ended tapestry forks that have been giving the official approval of Jean-Pierre Larochette. They are $15.

NEW TAPESTRY YARN COLORS: We've taken out Persimmon and added 3 new colors...Ruby, Marigold (a previous color), and Logwood (an old favorite from the past).

NEW! SWEATER KITS: Please check out our sweater kits page. It features seven sweaters specifically designed to be knit with our hand-dyed yarns.