Looms and tools for every type of handweaving including braid and band weaving, tapestry, rigid heddle, plain and complex weaving, as well as computer aided weaving. The simplest weaving looms include tablet weaving cards and the lucet, progressing to the more substantial inkle looms and rigid heddle looms. The larger and more complicated looms incorporate mechanisms which lift and separate the warp threads to provide an easier route for the weft loaded shuttle, and offer the weaver options for intricate weaving patterns.
If you are beginning weaving, it can be difficult to decide what type of loom to start with (see our Blog Post on Choosing a Weaving Loom). We recommend finding a weaving course which will introduce you to the basics and give you the opportunity to use a loom before you invest in one.
The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers (www.wsd.org.uk) is a good place to begin searching for an appropriate course, and many experienced weavers offer weaving workshops from their studios.
There are a large choice of weaving tools in this section designed not just for the weaving process but also to assist in the warping up of a loom. A Heddle Hook is used for entering the warp threads through the heddles. A Reed Hook is used to pull the lengths of warp yarn, one at a time, through the dents on the reed. This process is known as sleying the reed. The Auto-denter has been designed to ‘walk’ from one dent to the next without having to remove it from the reed, and once mastered can save a great deal of time when preparing the loom.
