Rigid Heddle Loom Brands

[PurlgirlButtons]

I am thinking about stimulating the economy with a 16" Ashford Rigid Heddle (not the SamplIt). What do you think FreedomLover and Rose the Rebel ?I think this would give me some good versatility for a beginner. I was looking at a Schacht Lilli lap loom, but I'm afraid I'd get bored with it and never use it.

[crosstitchlinda]

I will also recommend the 24". The 16 is just not wide enough as you get more involved with weaving.

[Carlota]

A few more things to muddy the water. Considering the pros and cons of a smaller loom, I have the 20" Schacht Flip RH loom and love it. But, I could have done most of my projects so far on a 16" width loom, when I consider a list of my finished projects. Here are a few: a set of napkins, 3 sets of place mats, several scarves, two set of dishtowels, a set of linen lace facecloths, a table runner, all less than 16 inches wide. (Actually the dish towels were a little wider than that, but could have been narrower). I could NOT have done my hearth rug, but I could have done a rag rug type table runner or place mats in the same style. I am currently warped for some mini-rugs that will be like mouse pads or could be folded to make envelope-style bag. The lovely thing about a smaller width loom is that it is so much easier to handle the heddle when you beat, and that can be tiring because you beat every pick. Why beat with a very wide heddle when mostly doing narrow projects? These are just a few justifications for your thoughts. To be fair, I did not stop with the Schacht Flip, as weaving seems to cause one to be on Craig's List quite a bit just cruising for bargains (funny how that works), and so when I saw a floor loom last year,I nabbed it and can now go up to 36 inches if I want to work on a shawl or baby blanket. Other than width, another consideration is whether it can accommodate two or more heddles - but it is very hard to judge that as a negative if you aren't there yet. My flip accommodates 3 neddles but after one project I decided it was too fiddly to try to do on it what the 4-shaft loom was made for - all looms have limitations.

[PurlgirlButtons]

Thank you for your input, @carlotta and Char and @crossstitchlinda. I am participating in Jillian Eve Fibers spinning class/ community for the next 3 mo., hoping the discipline required will take my spinning up a notch, and I will keep “ shopping.” Maybe I will find something serendipitously in the meantime.

[PurlgirlButtons]

Well, I don't think I would have room for anything bigger than a 16" and it fits my budget (if I had one.) I wanted a way to use handspun, and also make small rugs, table runners, etc. Not too sure about it, so will probably put it on the back burner for a bit and put the time into spinning. Maybe take an online interactive class. I need to concentrate on getting my yarn to be soft and poofy. Also, I got some big hand cards with my wheel, so might try making some mini rolags.

[Char]

Make sure you check out Carlota ‘s post.

Also - if you stop and think of it - the difference of the two widths is approximately the length from the tip of your pinky to the tip of your thumb stretched out.