Table Loom Weaving

The loom is in motion! A little about my loom, it's anatomy, and it's history:

This is a 4-shaft table loom, "Dorothy" made by Nilus Leclerc. I got this as a gift from my partner last year, who discovered it at a rummage sale-- she paid $30 for it. Today this loom sells for approximately $750. It came with a bag full of weaving supplies and teaching materials. This loom, manufactured in 1981, was in perfect condition and was very gently used-- judging by the other materials, I believe it was under the care of a very mindful elderly fiber arts teacher who worked for a small school or church. It is likely to have reached the donation pile after this person passed away-- at which point, I was fortunate enough to receive all of their notes and research materials.

In a way, I was her last student. I learned to loom weave based on the books and notes she left behind.

In prep for this project, I needed to change the reed. The reed is the wide piece with metal bars through which the warp thread passes. The reed is measured in "dents per inch"-- that is, how many threads pass through the gaps between the bars. The original was a 12 dent reed-- that's 12 dents per inch-- but I like to use larger yarn, so I purchased a new 8 dent reed. Look at the difference in manufacture from the 1981 factory reed to today's. Mild steel, wood, brass caps and pins, versus aluminum, plastic, and epoxy. This is likely the first time the reed has ever been changed in its 39 years of life, judging by the pristine interior of the beater bars and screws.

With the new reed in place, the warping and dressing process continued! Now that the loom is dressed, weaving is ready to begin. What could it be? 🤔