Buying a Warp-Weighted Loom

UPDATE: You can now buy my modified version on Etsy HERE.

A few months ago I decided I wanted a warp-weighted loom (abbreviated WWL for the rest of this piece). I have no carpentry skills, though, so I wanted to buy one. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of options out there.

I found this upright frame loom from Fiber Paintings Studio on Etsy. The maker, Jennifer, was happy to work with me. I ordered the loom without the nails for the warp, and got extra heddle holders so I could have four sheds. This allows me to do four-shaft patterns.

Here’s my version, warped up, with only one heddle bar. (I was giving a hands-on demo, and doing four shafts would have made it more difficult for the audience.)

I added a roller bar to the top, as you can see. I went to the hardware store and bought a 1/2″ square dowel. I cut it to fit, then drilled a hole at each end. In each hole I put a 2″ piece of round dowel, then hung the completed rod from the top bar of the loom. I used twine for that. This gave me a roller bar with “brakes” to wrap fabric on as I weave. The round dowel pieces act as a brake. To roll up the fabric, I slip the bar out of the twine loops, roll on the fabric, then put the bar back in the twine with the brakes behind the top of the frame. This means I can make fabric longer than the height of the loom.

I also added a bar at the bottom of the loom, just above where the foot pieces connect. This lets me put half the weights to the front of the loom, thus making a natural shed. With it, I only need three sets of heddle holders to make four “shafts”.

I will say that the heddle holders Jennifer makes for the frame loom don’t work well when you turn the loom into a WWL. So she and I designed some that would work better. If you order one, I suggest you ask for my design. If you want to have multiple heddle bars, ask her to drill more holes in the sides of the loom for bolting on the heddle holders.

Jennifer makes a great product, and has been enthusiastic about my project to turn her loom into a WWL. If you want her to make you one, tell her you plan to use it as a WWL. She’s made a few more by now, and knows what to do.

If anyone has any questions for me, please ask. I’ll update this post with them as I answer them.