Rigid Heddle Loom Brands

[FreedomLover]

I'm looking at an Ashford and a Kromski 16 inch loom. Any thoughts from anyone who owns one of these?

[Char]

I am learning on the 24” Ashford, and it is great. :-). My husband says it is well made, and I have had no issues (except for user error lol)

I noticed the new ones now come with the attachment for a double heddle (which is useful as we get more experienced), and the warping holes at the bottom of the loom (need pegs, though).

[Kathy7661]

My very first loom was an Ashford Rigid Heddle loom, 24". I was completely satisfied with it and thought it was well constructed. Fell in love with weaving because of that little loom!

[rkennell]

I have a LeClerc Bergere, which works, but probably wouldn't buy it as a new one for a couple reasons, one being the height of the loom and the other being the design of the heddle block and the cog wheel which tends to vibrate loose from time to time, but I will say I think I would not want anything smaller than 24" unless you have the wherewithal to purchase a wider loom as well as the storage room for multiple looms. Most fabrics lose a bit of width, so anything you make on a 16" loom is going to be less than that, around 10-15% average. But if that's all you can afford, I'd say go for it and get started weaving! Used looms are often a nice option. Check FB marketplace or Craigslist.

[FreedomLover]

Thanks everyone! This is so new to me, I'm grateful for the input.

[FreedomLover]

I'm thinking of ordering an Ashford 24 inch loom to start with which comes with a 7.5 Dent Heddle. I plan to practice with the worsted cotton kitchen yarn I have and then order 10 Dent and 12.5 Dent Heddles and 8/2 yarn when I can, probably a couple of weeks from now.

[Char]

This is exactly what I started with (the 7.5), and have been using the thinner 8/4 cotton to warp, and worsted to weft. The warp doesn’t show as much, and I’m ok with that.

The patriotic towels I just finished I used 8/4 doubled for both the warp and weft (actually made direct warping easier) on my 7.5. They aren’t as soft as the I love this cotton, but that’s ok.

I am now warping a full width warp, and I’ll do my towels width wise - More towels on a warp. :-)

[Kathy7661]

Very exciting! Another new weaver!

[FreedomLover]

Thanks for your input, I'm really excited about this, but in a calm sort of way. I'm sure this may sound strange, but it's like I'm supposed to be doing this. I love making things to use in my kitchen and and this will take that to a new level.

[crosstitchlinda]

I have the Kromski 32" rigid heddle loom. I bought it at the Woolery. I was undecided between it and the Ashford. The built in warping board was the deciding factor for me. However, I'm now considering buying a stand alone warping board. I like to do very long warps so do not do the direct warp on this loom. I also have the 15" cricket loom for smaller projects.

[FreedomLover]

Its here! This is a 24 inch Ashford and it was easy to assemble.

[FreedomLover]

Thanks everyone, I'm so excited. This is such fun.

[Carlota]

Nice! That came pretty fast.

[FreedomLover]

I certainly thought so, their website says to allow 4 - 14 days for delivery and they were awaiting a new shipment from New Zealand. I'm very impressed with the Woolery and will be ordering from them again.

[Rose the Rebel]

I'm getting serious about buying a rigid heddle loom but The Woolery is out of the 24" Ashford. I was thinking maybe the 32" wouldn't be too bad but I don't want to get overwhelmed and end up quitting before I get started. Hopefully, they will get more in soon!

[Carlota]

While you are waiting, you can check out Liz Gipson and Kelly Cassanova on YouTube - maybe you have already! I think you made a good choice of looms, and will be up and running in no time.

[Rose the Rebel]

Carlota I have not been digging into videos yet because I know I will just forget. I figure once I get the loom then I will sit and learn hands on and watch the videos as I go. It is how I learned to knit as well. I love that I can stop, rewind, and figure things out at my own pace. Thanks so much for the tips, I am going to bookmark everything!

[Bettymo]

I Started on 10" Cricket and then got a 32 inch Ashford and then got a floor loom. I like both of my rigid heddle looms still but I don't use them as much. I don't know why because I could do nice kitchen towels on on the Ashford while I do something else on the floor loom. Either the 24 or 32 would be good for you. I don't think you would be intimidated because you just might wind up wish you had a wider one one you get going.

[Rose the Rebel]

Ok, I sat here this evening and put my new loom together. It wasn't that hard but I wanted to wait for my husband to go work out of town so he didn't try to home improve it. Now, it's learning time!

[Rose the Rebel]

So my husband has been eyeing my loom, I know he's thinking about ways to home improve it so I told him hands off and a f Bomb might have flown. Fingers will be broken! I watched some videos and joined in with some cotton yarn I had on hand. I thought I might get a couple dish towels out of a warp 4 ft long but it shrunk to less than 2 feet. I have lots to learn for sure.

[Char]

Rose the Rebel - a favorite around here is “not yours don’t touch”. Applied to the guys of all ages. Lol

I shoot for 6-8 towels at a time, usually end up with 4-6. :-). Best laid plans. Do you have a photo to share?

[Rose the Rebel]

Char I posted below. I can't post pictures in a comment just the original post.

[Rose the Rebel]

This is just off the loom. I see a couple spots that didn't weave in the right spot. This reminds me of one of those old rag rugs from the 70's. I plan to use it for a small table cover under my 4th of July stuff and I think I'll do fringe ends rather than hemmed. This took me longer to warp than to weave, 😋

[Char]

FreedomLover - I have a 16” Kromski that folds for traveling. It is to replace the cricket :-)

I like it better than the cricket, but not as much as the ashford. :-)

[FreedomLover]

I also love my Ashford.

[Kathy7661]

Nicely done, looks great!

[knitter131]

It looks good, and the colors are just right for your 4th of July decorations 😊

[Char]

Rose the Rebel I would double a fingering weight on a 7.5 dent heddle.

Have to us all about the fabric you want. :-)

[Rose the Rebel]

I bought a bunch of Loops & Thread wool like yarn in red white & blue that I would like to use up so maybe I'll do a scarf in red and white for my granddaughter who is going into 7th grade and those are the school colors, two strands will really help.

[Char]

You might find you like warping line that better - no threading through the holes - it is already done!

[Char]

Rose the Rebel - did you see this scarf I did? It is
with one hank of the yarn you won in the sock KAL

[Char]

Yes - I wanted to see what I could do with a 100 gram ball. I think this is on a 12 dent heddle.

[rkennell]

Char, this is beautiful! I am going to have to give this a try! Right now I'm busy prepping fiber for the Spin de Fleece, so my loom has been set aside, but I can't wait to try some of my sock yarns! My only concern is that I can't get a 12-dent. The highest the Leclerc has is a 10-dent. I could do a 1-1-2 sleying pattern, which is equivalent to a 12.5 dent, as long as I do a plain weave, I guess.

[pinesprairie]

That is quite pretty. I'm having fun watching the different outcomes as the changes are made. It looks very fine and tightly woven.

[Rose the Rebel]

Help! I'm thinking about placing an order for additional heddles for my Ashford 24" RH loom, it came with one 7.5 dent. I plan to buy one more 7.5 but would like advice on the next most common dent? It seems that I see 12.5 listed a lot, if I have two of the 7.5 and two of the 12.5 will that get me by for most projects?

[Carlota]

Not to throw water on your plan, but I'm very curious why you might opt for a second 7.5 dent when I believe Ashford offers a 15 dent. I'm not sure what advantage there would be in threading two 7.5 dents and having to manage them, when managing one heddle (to me at least) is easier. (Maybe you prefer the larger holes of the 7.5? But then if the goal is finer cloth, you would be using a finer yarn.) I have used my 10-dent a lot, and I have two 12-dents (I am in the Schacht brand, so dents per inch vary from Ashford a bit. I wish Schacht had a 15.) I know this doesn't answer your question - sorry. I was just thinking, if you want to broaden your range, maybe don't duplicate the 7.5 if the goal is finer cloth. These items are expensive and I like having a specific project lined up before adding another heddle to the line-up. Maybe others will chime in with their thoughts about planning for the best utilization.

[Khgknits]

Help! My mother is 91 years old, living in assisted living. We are not able to visit, except by phone since COVID. She is an artist, with a long time interest in textiles. She cannot see to sew any longer. She wants to try weaving. Her apartment is small. I am thinking she will need a portable loom. I will not be able to help her set it up or figure it out. Any suggestions on a starter loom for someone who just wants to craft? I don’t know that I can talk her through watching videos on YouTube, etc. It will need to be a simple set up/start process. any suggestions are appreciated.

[Khgknits]

Thank you. I will look that up. Also, I am going to contact the Community Director to see if there are any other weavers in her building who could help!

[Rose the Rebel]

I agree with Char, the Melissa & Doug loom is a good basic one, and you get a bigger bang for your buck than some others. There are books for basic weaving on Amazon as well. Also, the Nifty knitter looms would give her a huge variety of projects to do.

[Khgknits]

Thank you both. This weekend’s project: work on the Melissa & Doug loom and see if I can get some weavers in her building to help