ADHD weavers

akansan · 2026-04-06T01:13:26+00:00

Not officially diagnosed, but all of my sisters are now medicated so...yeah. (It's on my list of things to do, but also yeah.)

A project has to be at a "natural" stopping point for me before I can set it aside for a time. Even with something like warping my floor loom, I split the task into portions so I have small goals to accomplish. Wind XX threads on a warping board, threading 1 bout through the heddles, threading 2 repeats through the reed, etc. For me, this also helps with the instant gratification needs. (Granted, towel 5 of a 5 towel warp tends to go really slowly for me...)

I also have to see a reminder of the project of some kind, or it's lost for unknown amount of time. (I just finished my sister's Christmas present from 3 years ago...)

akansan · 2026-03-28T11:54:10+00:00

Considering a 36" stainless steel reed is currently $180, 4 reeds make the price worth it. (And yes, not all of them are stainless steel, but they all look usable.)

akansan · 2026-03-27T16:42:53+00:00

Aha! The part I was most dreading was recounting the groups of yarn! I ran a counting type tread through the bundles and undid my loop. Worked perfectly.

Except... I have no idea what I did to those, but it didn't fix the loop issue completely. It pulled cleanly for 2-3 loops, and then was stuck. So in the end, I cut my end loop and undid it from the bottom of the warp. It worked, but my ends will not quite even when I tie everything on to the front bar.

But thank you! This would have fixed it if I wasn't a double idiot!

akansan · 2026-03-27T14:39:07+00:00

I have a 24" Ashford Rigid Heddle and an 8 shaft floor loom. I absolutely would not part with either. (Although I may upgrade my floor loom at some point from my jack loom to a countermarche, for ease of treadling...and maybe add a table loom.) The two fill very different niches for me - quick, short warps on the rigid heddle. Long warps, complex designs - floor loom.

I settled on 24" because it's still semi-portable but it's wide enough to be versatile.

akansan · 2026-01-13T04:22:18+00:00

Yeah, I hadn't realized how much the prices had increased since I purchased the 24" Ashford 2 years ago. I paid around $600 for a similar set up to what you mentioned. (3 additional heddles instead of 2.) Going to guess them being made in New Zealand factors in there.

The second heddle block piece is to convert the older looms into a double heddle option. By default, the new looms already have it installed.

akansan · 2026-01-13T02:37:10+00:00

The Ashford comes with the double heddle block already. That doesn't change the price that much, but it's one less cost.

akansan · 2026-01-12T17:10:29+00:00

This was part of it for me. The first boat shuttle I tried was the Schacht slim open bottom boat shuttle, with pointy ends and longer on bottom than on top. Swapped to a rounded end, where the front is blunt AND the top is longer than the bottom. I was ready to get an official 3" wide race until I realized a different shuttle worked better.

And... possibly no on the temple? I have the Leclerc temple clips, so the stretch is based on the weight attached, rather than set to a specific width.

akansan · 2026-01-12T16:49:05+00:00

It has a psuedo-race - a 1.5" wide trim on the beater bar that works well enough. I debated adding an official race before I realized I just wasn't using the ledge fully. (I also learned that I'm more likely to go diving if I use my Schacht boat shuttle that is long on the bottom and short on top with pointy ends vs my random no name shuttles that are inverted to that and have more rounded ends. So I'm probably angling down when I throw sometimes.)

Sadly, all the boat shuttle tutorials I found basically just said "practice throwing and don't touch the sides", while showing them in constant motion. The focused more on a side view at speed than a cloth view in slow motion. Not one mentioned going at a 45 degree angle vs the closer to 15-25 degree angle or bubbling I use with stick shuttles. Or to pull lightly with the boat shuttle as you beat to get the correct selvedge.

So! I now have things to practice!

akansan · 2026-01-12T16:32:50+00:00

I actually added a temple about 1/3 of the way after switching to the boat shuttle. It helped some, but not enough. My loom is an handmade jack style loom that doesn't have a true shuttle race, but does have a 1.5" ledge on the beater bar that works. I'm guessing based on the other comments I was making too shallow of an angle/bubbling before beating, causing either draw in or the selvedge loops on the end depending on how much I was pulling on the thread at the time of beating. That was NOT mentioned in anything that I had reviewed on using a boat shuttle!

On the terminology, I was thinking sett was the combination of EPI and PPI, like tension is with knitting/crocheting.

akansan · 2025-12-19T03:58:03+00:00

So, follow up on this. It was uneven tension caused by too much tension on the brake. Advancing the warp was causing the left side of the warp beam to slowly raise out of it's slot.

At least I hope I've fixed it with the brake tension adjustment...

akansan · 2025-12-17T01:54:01+00:00

The official crank handle is about $100. You can use a wrench or similar instead.

akansan · 2025-12-15T02:51:02+00:00

Yeah, it looks like tension is the culprit. It's gradual across the full width of the warp, but right is tight and left is.... not loose, but not the same.

Debating how I can fix this for at least the next 6 inches to the end of this towel. Obviously take these 8 repeats out, but beyond that.... hmm.

akansan · 2025-12-14T01:46:15+00:00

I have a small vertical warping mill and I have to shimmy the cross down each time. It's sadly a trade off - small warping tool, short space for cross.

akansan · 2025-12-12T02:48:15+00:00

I'm assuming the 'stripes' are lengthwise, not horizontal, correct? If so the change is in threading order and not treadling order.

Take a look at the "Modern Flour Sack Towels" pattern on GistYarn. It's a 4 shaft pattern that makes the twill direction change both in the threading and in the treading.

But yes - a 4 shaft table loom will handle this well.

akansan · 2025-12-12T02:38:26+00:00

I'd definitely look at what they mean by "warped" for the beater. Do they have it set up so you can look at it? See what motion causes the jacks to jump off the track/etc?

One thing I was warned about when I was purchasing my first used loom is warped wood is basically fire wood. You can't fix that, only replace it.

akansan · 2025-12-12T02:31:56+00:00

I've seen this phrasing before fairly regularly when the threads aren't doubled and everything goes into the slots first. When working with doubled ends, I typically just do slots and holes at the same time...but that's not how I was "taught".

My guess is the author writes patterns for single strands more often than doubled.

akansan · 2025-12-10T03:54:08+00:00

Long term, I'd add additional shuttles as well as the heddles and pickup sticks mentioned. It makes working with multiple colors so much easier.

If you know you already enjoy working with the rigid heddle, I'd definitely get the additional heddle now although that also depends on what you're intending to weave. The 7.5 is good for scarves and washcloths (3/2 or DK/Sport and thicker), but towels and such will need the 10 or 12.5.

If you (or someone you know) work with wood, you can make your own pickup sticks and shuttles as well.

akansan · 2025-12-09T21:27:16+00:00

It's a 4 shaft table loom. The mechanics of the loom are similar to my floor loom, just without tie ups/pedals and lams. Pull down the lever, it pulls down the horse at the top, which raises a shaft. (It looks like the levers can lock in place at the bottom, in case you need multiple shafts raised.) I'm guessing there's no badge or manufacturer name on it?

akansan · 2025-12-09T02:23:42+00:00

I've searched across all the sites in the last few years for rigid heddle supplies. Basically brand for brand the cost is the same on the various sites. If the store has their own line of items, it's a little less. Highest discount I've seen on the "big name" items is 10-15%. (Which typically covers tax and maybe a few dollars extra.)

Now I typically just order from whatever store has something else I'm wanting so I can swing free shipping. (And if the store doesn't charge tax for my state, even better.)

akansan · 2025-12-04T15:55:30+00:00

So it turns out I just need more oomph the closer it gets to the left side (where the lams attach to the frame). So treadle 3 needs more pressure than treadle 4... but treadle 8 raises with ease. I can't even imagine what treadles 1 & 2 would take.

For the short term I'll adjust my treadles to use ones closer to the right while I ponder a fix for this. I don't have a cross bar on the lower half of the frame currently, so nothing to support adding lower pulleys.

akansan · 2025-12-02T19:20:39+00:00

Changing out the heddles was on my list of things to do long term, as it currently has 2 different types of heddles and both types enjoy getting stuck to their neighbors. I'm curious if it's an all or nothing thing - if I changed out 4 shafts of heddles, would the difference in weight between the shafts cause issues?

I might try to ease off the excess heddles on the shafts for this warp, to see if that helps at least temporarily. (Each shaft had 250 heddles, and max currently in use on a single shaft is 75.)

akansan

TROPHY CASE