Best products from r/weaving

If she's just getting into it, does she have an electric bobbin winder? I happened to get mine second hand on the cheap, and it's a life-saver, really. They're sort of expensive, I mean I think a new one from schacht is nearish to $300, but there are a few on eBay for about $150. That aside, a warping mill is another item that I got off of craigslist for dumb-cheap that I'll never regret having, it's great for longer warps and like the bobbin winder is easier on my arms & wrists. I'm pathetic.

Other stuff that's neat is seeing what reeds she has for her loom-- they're again, something that people have and use but having a few more options doesn't hurt. There are generally numbers on the end of them marked 4/8/12, etc, and they have to do with the density of the yarn in your warp.

Aside from those types of gifts, books that are good and I enjoy for reference are:

The Big Book of Weaving - I like this one because it's very simple in it's pattern suggestions, haha.

The Weaver's Companion - This was actually my first weaving book. It's SO CUTE. It's legit a coil bound book that is probably 4x6 inches, and it has all these little numbers and reference guides to glance at. I keep it in my bench because it's just handy to have.

& just for fun: Woven Shibori - I like woven shibori a lot. It's really fun and is a sort of mix of weaving and tie-die. Shibori is a Japanese technique that involves a lot of intricate knots on already-woven fabric, woven shibori calls for a secondary shuttle. The yarn on that secondary shuttle is used for "pattern picks"; when the fabric is off the loom, you use those pattern strings to fold the fabric very tightly, then you essentially dip it into a dye bath. It's all very fussy but depending on where she is, she might be itching to explore a new technique, and what's nice is that she can play with it no matter what type of floor loom she has. B)

I live near-ish to Webs, which is the storefront for yarn.com; they have a TON of stuff available online and I recommend poking through their weaving section if you haven't already. :D

Not sure if she's into tablet weaving, but this is a pretty good resource.

Lots of patterns in here that are applicable to not only card weaving but other weaving as well. This one is huge in my circle, has a bit of culture, lots of patterns, and has German text, too! It mostly focuses on weaving in Tibet, Burma, and Tunisia, but is pretty applicable to medieval styles, too.

I don't do inkle weaving, but this one got my mom started and it's been tremendous help. I think this one's a safe bet too- even if she doesn't already do inkle loom weaving, the material cost to start is pretty low! Lots and lots of patterns in here.

I personally don't own this one but I think she might be very interested in getting into dyeing. It's pretty addicting and adds a whole new dimension when you can say you dyed the materials yourself! There's also a decent chance she doesn't have this one already.

Hopefully one of these will work for you; regardless, I'm sure she'll love whatever you get her!

I'd probably use 12/24 seine twine (I'm not sure of the best stockists in the USA but Glimakra stocks it.

If you're using 4ply yarn for weft, consider using several (maybe 4?) strands of wool together or it may take a long time to weave. You can certainly use the medium cotton warp that you've already bought in your pile - technically you can use anything that bends, tho you might not like the feel on your feet. Some yarns unravel more than others so do a few tests first. Experimenting is fun.

To determine the sett (spacing of warp threads) of your warp, twist your intended weft together lightly and it should sit neatly between the warp threads. I'd just guess the 12/24s could be sett at 3 or 4 per inch - just a guess though. I'd definitely advise sampling first - 10cm/4inches wide should be fine.

Also look for rug weaving books to read through and follow first - Peter Collingwood's Techniques of Rug Weaving is often considered the best.

Good luck, have fun and enjoy :)

Two clamps from a hardware store should be about $4 -- total. Cheapie metal clamps are about $2 a pop. If you have 8$, you could even get two of these ones from Amazon

If you really can't afford clamps, simple warping on a backstrap loom requires 2 pegs. Have a chair with two arms? That just became your warping board. Have two pencils? Use those to preserve your cross. It's a short warp, sure, because it's the span of your chair arms, but it's a warp. Or use two chairs side by side -- the arms that are closest together are for your cross, and the arms farthest apart just hold your yarn. Stick pencils to preserve the cross right before you remove the yarn from the chairs. Have a walkway railing? Same thing - use the railing arms as your end pegs and use your dowels/pencils/tree twigs to keep your cross. You don't need a lot of tension on the warp, you just need to make sure it's even. Heck, if it was warmer out, you could probably even stick two spikes in the ground (metal spikes, wooden dowels, tree sticks even) the distance you want your warp to be and create your warp on that (again, using pencils/dowels/twigs for your cross)

We've been weaving for thousands of years. You don't need fancy equipment to create a warp - especially for a backstrap loom. Get creative, go slowly, BREATHE, and you'll get there. :)

Generalizing grossly, for undergarments, you'll want undyed linen woven plain. For top garments, you'll want wool either natural sheep colors or dyed with madder or woad and woven in a twill pattern. Wool yarns should be worsted spun and 2-ply (I think? I want to say 3-ply happens, but isn't as common). I don't have setts in my head anymore, but they're finer than is typically used for modern weaving.

Twill patterns depend on what period you're in, to my recollection.

There are also a ton of different kinds of narrow wares (ribbons, lacing, belts, garters, etc.) which are woven using a variety of different methods, but that is an entirely different barrel of monkeys.

OK, references!

Textile Production at 16-22 Coppergate (goes to a PDF; focuses mostly on 9th-14th/15th centuries) -- Definitely, definitely read this one. It's free and covers textile production from beginning to end.

Textiles and Clothing: c.1150-c1450, vol. 4 of Medieval Finds from Excavations in London

I also want to suggest Woven into the Earth and its partner book Medieval Garments Reconstructed, which are about the medieval finds in Herjolfnes, Greenland. However, the settlement in Greenland was cut off from the rest of Europe for a long time, so the finds don't really represent what was happening on the mainland at the time. You might find the weaving patterns useful, though. Possibly the clothing patterns?

ETA: There was also a recent discovery at a castle in Austria of a bunch of linen fragments of undergarments. Beatrix Nutz is the main researcher, but I'm not sure if she's published her findings yet. I lost track of the research. Here's a blog post about it with some thread counts for the linen.

It is a two harness counterbalance loom. That means that it pulls the harnesses (ie the two hangy thing) down. Looks like a Union loom but I'd really have to take a closer look to confirm.

Regardless, it is a basic rug loom. You will be able to do plain weave on it. Even if it isn't a Union loom, it has the same basic function so just loom look up Union looms and that will tell you how to use it.

Good luck and congratulations! Union looms are solid little work horse looms so even if you can only really make rugs, that loom will serve you well!

Also, a book I highly recommend and still reference quite often. Weaver's Companion by Linda Ligon.

I really like Rachel Denbow's weaving tutorials. They're easy to follow and help you learn different techniques. I also recommend her book. Good luck making wall hangings, they're so fun!

I don't think they send to USA, but you certainly should be able to find similar ones. This one on amazon is very cheap, but a bit smaller (9,85"/25 cm, mine is 11,81"/30 cm); There are also smaller shops like Kaliko that have multiple sizes, but are also more expensive; And finally Etsy has loads of stuff, just look for 'weaving loom' or 'frame loom'. Good luck!

You're in luck! Paradise Fibers sells on Amazon and they have great quality stuff. Here's a link to one of their Cheviot roving. If you click on the store link you can see a bunch more items.

link

I don't know anything about tapestry weaving, but would you be able to use a French curve ruler to help pack in the weft? I know I've seen similar things (Not sure what to call them) for floor looms used to give a similar result, so perhaps they'd help. I'm talking about the green rulers in a package like this - https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Template-Stencils-Templates-Journaling/dp/B073RR8LFY/ref=sr_1_4?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1549420374&sr=1-4&keywords=french+curve

The shed regulator can be added later but isn't really necessary. If they don't have them you can be fairly sure they are the original Fanny/Mira and not the II. Having 4 treadles instead of 6 on a 4 harness loom is less common and will make weaving some patterns a little more confusing since 4-harness tie-ups are often written for 6 treadles. That doesn't mean you can't weave them just fine, but it's an extra mental step for a beginning weaver. I'm not positive if that's something that can be changed... you might email leclerc to check.

Regardless, tie-up on counterbalance looms (which both the Fanny & Mira are) is a little different than on jack looms (more common in the US) so I'd recommend getting her a copy of The Big Book of Weaving over some of the other instruction books.

It does look like it's got some good extras (reeds, shuttles, warping mill) and is in good shape though.

Rigid heddle looms are amazing and low investment. I have a 28” Ashford knitters loom and I love it. Great portability for a larger RHL and a lot lighter to carry than tabletop looms, but much slower production. I can’t keep up with the demand just from local interest, so I’m shopping for a floor loom. I learned everything from YouTube vids and a few books. Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom is a huge resource on basic technique. If you buy the book in print, have it spiral bound at your local office supply store.
https://www.amazon.com/Inventive-Weaving-Little-Loom-Rigid-Heddle/dp/1603429727/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C6EBU0QEXS29&keywords=inventive+weaving+on+a+little+loom&qid=1572666910&sprefix=Inventive+%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1

So, I actually just got started as well (25" Schacht Flip Loom). Warped this weekend and started weaving a little last night. I can only answer some questions because I also have no idea what I'm doing! :D I've never knitted or crocheted.

Books: Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom

Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom: Discover the Full Potential of the Rigid-Heddle Loom, for Beginners and Beyond

I just ran across this as well and I'm just reading it, but it is shedding a little light on the process for me: Weaving: The Complete Process
From Thread to Cloth

YouTube: Ashford Wheels and Looms

Interweave Craft - There's a lot of jewelry making on there, but some good weaving ones too.

So, a little help, but not too much. :)

Get this one: http://www.amazon.com/Weavers-Companion-Linda-Ligon-ebook/dp/B00DH40RAE/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421857496&sr=1-18&keywords=weaving

Also congratulations on your new loom!