Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Rigid heddle weaving

Rigid heddle warping tips

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Warping your rigid heddle loom can feel like the most challenging part of weaving. But ith a few practical rigid heddle warping tips and some easy techniques, you can make the process smoother, faster, and much more enjoyable.

In this post, I’ll share my favourite methods for tensioning your warp evenly, preventing tangles, and getting your loom ready for beautiful, stress-free weaving.

    Don’t over complicate it

    Warping a rigid heddle loom using the direct warping method is really very simple. Yes, it will take you a couple of warps to start to feel more comfortable with the “newness” of it all (like anything!).

    But something I’ve realised, especially after using the more complicated and time consuming table and floor looms, is that direct warping a rigid heddle loom is fast and easy.

    Get the key ingredients for warping right and you will be well on your way to being a happy warper (if that’s a thing!)

    Over complicating the warping process will lead to frustration, it is so much better to narrow it down and take baby steps without the worry.

    Use a calculations sheet

    A calculations sheet will take all the guess work out of the project for you. It will give you a step by step process to follow and prevent you from accidentally forgetting an important step in the warp.

    If you struggle with the mathematical side of weaving, you don’t have to worry, as I think you only need a fairly basic maths level for weaving (hello calculator!) but the sheet will also help with ordering the numbers so that they make sense to you.

    I have a free rigid heddle calculations sheet for you to download and use, plus a free video on how to use it available here.

    Taking threads to the warping peg

    When you bring your threads through the slots in the warping process, keep everything straight and open. Keep the loop open and don’t twist your loop as you place it on the peg.

    Keep threads in order on the warping peg

    Place your loops on the warping peg one at a time and in order. Don’t just shove them on there willy nilly – there is a benefit to preserving order as when you come to rolling on the warp you will find a lovely, laid out warp that is well behaved!

    Each loop sits just above the last one on the peg, there is no need for bunching. Keep the loops loose enough that you have space to get a finger in behind them, this will make lifting the warp off the peg easy and trouble free.

    If you’re not enjoying warping, look at the reasons why

    This will help you to determine steps to take to make it better and easier.

    Try to make it a relaxing process, have a hot beverage or put on some music. If you make a mistake, it’s ok, mistakes are fixable! Take your time, no need to rush.

    Perhaps you need some help in the form of an online class? My best selling class is my Woe to Go Beginner’s Rigid Heddle course. This class will take the mystery out of the rigid heddle loom with simple and achievable steps.

    If you would like to view this post in video format, please watch here:

    The photos you can see in this post are from The Weekend Scarf project. This is a great beginner’s or newer weaver’s project and is also great for anyone who wants a fast and fun project.

    If you’re new to rigid heddle weaving, check out my free list of resources here.

    I hope this article was helpful to you and until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    *This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

    Rigid Heddle Loom Patterns: From Simple Weaves to Complex Structures

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    While the construction of a rigid heddle loom is simple, it opens the door to endless weaving possibilities. From basic plain weave to intricate patterns that rival those created on multi-shaft looms, the rigid heddle loom can make it happen!

    In this guide, we’ll explore the full range of rigid heddle loom patterns you can create, along with the weave structures behind them. Whether you’re a beginner looking for your first project or you’re more advanced and ready to push your loom to its limits, you’ll find plenty of inspiration and patterns to weave in this comprehensive guide.

    Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom: Choose Your Own Adventure

    Remember the “Choose your own adventure” books from the early 1980’s? Gosh, I loved those books as a kid! So many choices, so much fun.

    You could start out as a student on a regular school day, going to classes and planning to meet friends later and end the day by having fought and defeated incredible beasts and monsters! 😊

    You are the weaver – you decide!

    The beauty of the humble rigid heddle loom is that you, as the weaver, can choose your own adventure!

    You can start out with the very beautiful plain weave. Then at some point introduce a pick up stick or two and before you know it, you’re wrangling multiple heddles, sticks and rods!

    Maybe you just enjoy the plain weave so much that you choose to stay in that groove.

    Or maybe you find that you need more of a challenge? So you start looking at multi shaft patterns and how you might adapt some of them to the 2 shaft rigid heddle loom.

    Whichever ways suits you is the best way, remember, we all choose our own adventures.

    Today we’re going to discuss simple and more complex patterns you can achieve weaving on a rigid heddle loom. We’ll see what is involved in the set up for each. What considerations you need to make before embarking on different patterns. I have so many resources and tutorials to get you started on either the simple or more complex path.

    We’ll begin with the most simple patterns and work our way up to the more complex.

    Start Simple: Mastering Plain Weave

    The most simple pattern you can weave on your rigid heddle loom is plain weave. This is what the rigid heddle loom was built for, and excels at. To weave plain weave, you need only 2 shafts. This is made possible on a RH loom with just one heddle because of the unique design of the reed or heddle.

    When we thread a rigid heddle loom, we thread both the slots and the holes. Then, once we’ve tied the warp onto the loom, we create 2 different sheds or spaces. This is where our shuttle passes through. It’s these sheds, or more specifically, what the warp threads are doing in those sheds, that determine the pattern.

    Plain weave is achieved by first placing the heddle in the “up” position. We then pass the shuttle through the shed and beat the weft down into place (the heddle doubles as a beater). For the next shed, the heddle is placed in the “down” position. The shuttle is passed through and the weft beaten down. Then back to “up” again, and so on. Doing this gives you an over, under interlacement that is aesthetically lovely and also produces a very stable fabric.

    This fabric can be used for a huge array of purposes, from a scarf to kitchen towels, to fabric for sewing.

    Starting out on a rigid heddle loom can be a bit of a learning curve. It can be made so much easier if someone with a wee bit of experience shows you how. In my From Woe to Go! online beginner’s course, I share everything you need to know to get up and weaving on your rigid heddle loom. Plus I show you all the helpful things you didn’t know you needed to know!

    Add some color

    Some weavers will find that they tire of only weaving plain weave eventually. But there are techniques that can easily be introduced without the need to learn more specialist skills or purchase any extra equipment (let’s face it, that particular rabbit hole goes very deep!)

    The first that comes to mind is the wonderful technique of colour and weave. In it’s most basic form, this is simply the introduction of colour, strategically placed in your warp and weft. You don’t need any additional tools, just a little bit of patience as the warping takes extra time. Boy, is it worth the effort when you get to the weaving though!

    Log Cabin and Houndstooth are gorgeous examples of colour and weave. And yes, it’s still just plain weave!

    Finger Controlled Techniques

    Another option for taking your plain weave setup further is finger controlled (FC) techniques. These are just SO fun because again, you don’t need extra tools. You weave on a plain weave set up and can introduce them to your plain weave warp at any time. Some examples of how you might use FC could be:

    • Use as a border feature within the plain weave piece.
    • Combine the plain weave and Finger Controlled technique.
    • Weave the entire piece using the Finger Controlled technique.

    Some examples of finger controlled techniques include Brook’s Bouquet, Danish Medallions and Leno. I have a free tutorial for how to weave Leno here if you’re interested in checking that out.

    Grab yourself my FREE Finger Controlled Weaving Techniques Ebooklet ⬇️

    Take It Up a Notch: Adding Pickup Sticks

    Pick up sticks are a really natural progression from plain weave. Again, you can use pick up techniques on a plain weave warp. You do need extra tools this time, but these are very affordable. Some weavers will make their own from scrap wood or paint stirring sticks.

    This humble length of timber can open up your design possibilities like you wouldn’t believe! And you don’t even need to understand what you’re doing to get started!

    You use slot threads and a pick up stick to create extra sheds (spaces) through which your shuttle can pass. These spaces will be different to your regular plain weave sheds and will give you different weave interlacements. Some weavers feel intimidated by the idea of using pick up sticks but really, it’s so simple and easy.

    If you want to see how non scary it really is, check out my free tutorial here. I also have an online class, Pick Up Perfection.

    As I pointed out before, you don’t need to understand exactly what is happening on the loom when you use pick up sticks, just follow the instructions you have to get the results. The understanding can come later, if you want it to, or if you’re happy to keep following directions, do that!

    How To Use Pick Up Sticks Printable Available Here

    The “Why” of Pick Up Sticks

    But if you are interested in understanding the why, I can give a simple explanation. You know that the rigid heddle loom has 2 shafts available (holes and slots). By using a pick up stick, you are creating an extra shaft (shed/space). The slot threads that are already threaded in your heddle are free to move up and down, the hole threads are not.

    So, we can make use of those slot threads by placing some of them onto a pick up stick. When operate the pick up stick, I’m giving the loom a chance to make new interlacements beyond plain weave. This creates pattern.

    Think of it like this:

    Hole threads – shaft 1 (shed 1)

    Slot threads – shaft 2 (shed 2)

    Pick up stick threads (shed 3)

    Now you have turned your 2 shaft loom temporarily into a 3 shaft loom! What if you add another pick up stick? Hello 4 shafts! 😀

    Advanced Techniques: Multiple Heddles and Multi-Shaft Patterns

    Now we come to the more complex component of this post – weaving 3,4 or more shafts on a rigid heddle loom. Is it possible? Yes, of course! Just like in the previous section on pick up sticks, we just need to make more shafts (sheds).

    Let’s look at the 2 main ways we can do this:

    Heddle, rods and sticks

    We know there are 2 shafts available with a single heddle (holes and slots). If you want extra shafts, you’re going to have to make them! A simple and economical way to do this is with pick up sticks. However, after inserting one pick up stick, you will often find that the sheds you have created will not allow the pick up sticks to slide past one another to open up the new sheds you need to create your pattern. How frustrating!

    But not to fear, this is where the heddle rod steps in to save the day. A heddle rod is just another way of creating an extra shaft. We place the threads from a pick up stick onto a rod with string heddles. The only materials you need to do this is some wooden dowel and extra yarns suitable for making string heddles. I have a lot of resources for making heddle rods but I recommend you start here. A heddle rod/s and pick up stick can be combined in the same project.

    Here is just one example for how a 4 shaft pattern set up might look on your rigid heddle loom:

    • Shaft 1 – heddle holes
    • Shaft 2 – heddle slots
    • Shaft 3 – heddle rod
    • Shaft 4 – pick up stick

    Let’s look at another method for weaving complex patterns:

    Additional heddles

    Most rigid heddle looms can fit 3 heddles. Many 4 shaft patterns can be woven with just those 3 heddles. A smaller loom may struggle to accommodate 3 heddles. Some 4 shaft patterns need to include tabby (plain weave). For these patterns it can be easier to use a combination of heddles and a pick up stick. This will help to make the lift combinations or weaving sequences possible.

    Purchasing extra heddles if obviously not the cheapest option. One of the rules to weaving this way is that ALL the heddles need to be the same dent. So, 3 x 10 dent heddles or 3 x 7.5 dent heddles, depending on your individual project.

    4 Shaft Pattern Example

    Here is an example of how a 4 shaft pattern might be set up on the rigid heddle loom with 3 heddles. (Keep in mind that there are many ways to setup so this is just one example 😉)

    • Shaft 1 – heddle 1, holes
    • Shaft 2 – heddle 2, holes
    • Shaft 3 – heddle 3, holes
    • Shaft 4 – heddle 1,2 &3, slots

    One of the challenges with rigid heddles is that they are, well… rigid! When you’re using them as multiple shafts, you as the weaver have to decide on warp thread placement. Rather than flexible heddles that are fixed to shafts, we have to make our threads fit within a fixed space. We also have to make sure that they don’t space too close together or too far apart. All these decisions will impact on the finished look of your pattern.

    Interested in beginning to weave like this on your rigid heddle loom? I have made specific resources to help:

    Converting Drafts to the rigid heddle loom, online course

    Weaving 3 and 4 shaft patterns on a rigid heddle loom, ebook

    Three Heddle Adventures, online course

    How Many Shafts Can a Rigid Heddle Loom Weave?

    I can’t give a definitive answer, but I’ve seen weavers set up for 8 shaft patterns. Have I done it? No.

    I have many loom choices, so for anything over 4 shafts I commonly choose my table loom or one of my floor looms. After all, they are set up with 8-10 shafts already and are purpose built for that.

    I keep saying that one day I will see how far I can challenge myself on the rigid heddle loom. But whether it’s moving up to 6, 8 or 10 shafts remains to be seen!

    Choosing Your Weaving Adventure

    Whether you stick with the simplicity of plain weave or dive into advanced techniques, the rigid heddle loom lets you weave your way. The best part? There’s no right or wrong path—just the joy of creating something beautiful with your own hands.

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    Click to support my work ❤️

    *This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

    2 Hacks for Clear Sheds on a rigid heddle loom

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    Threads that tend to stick to one another when you change sheds can be so frustrating!

    Some yarns are prone to doing this more than others, and it also commonly occurs when you’re weaving with more than one heddle or are using additional aids (like pick up sticks and heddle rods) to create extra shafts on your rigid heddle loom.

    For more information on threads that are notoriously sticky, visit this post.

    *This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

    Why is it a big deal if not every thread is exactly where it should be?

    Well, it’s going to mess up your pattern. Your weaving pattern is created by the interlacement of threads – the weft going over some warp threads and under others. Now, if the weft ends up going over one or more threads that it should be travelling under, and vice versa, then you have a problem.

    Floats will be created where they are not meant to be and this will show as a mistake in your pattern. If you have already checked that your threading and weaving sequences are correct, you don’t have crossed threads or anything else weird going on, the problem is very likely to be caused by unclear sheds and sticking threads.

    Before looking at using clearing methods, ensure you have adequate warp tension. If your tension is too loose, threads may sag and interfere with your sheds. If your threads are loose on just some sections, you may need to try some wedging techniques to help your warp tension to be more consistent.

    There are 2 main methods I use to ensure a clear shed when sticky threads are proving to be an issue.

    The first method involves the use of a pick up stick, extra stick shuttle or even a paint stirring stick will do the trick! Basically, a flat, smooth stick.

    Before inserting the stick into the shed, ensure that all of your threads are in their correct places. The easiest way to do this is to understand where all threads should be at all times according to your threading and heddle/weaving sequence. For example, in this picture my first heddle is up and my pick up stick is forward. For the way that I threaded, this means that all the hole threads on heddle one should be up, and all the threads on top of the pick up stick will also be up. The rest of the threads will be down, forming the bottom layer of the shed.

    Once you understand where all the threads should be and you are sure they are correct, you can insert your pick up stick into the shed. Be sure to insert close to your heddle, where the shed space is at it’s widest.

    Once the stick is in the shed, hold it on either side.

    Pull the stick towards you, and towards the fell (edge) of your weaving and bounce it off the woven edge.

    This action is firm and decisive, but doesn’t have to be a super hard whack. If there were any threads that were sagging or tending to want to stick together, this will shock them back into place.

    If you prefer to see a video of this technique in action, you can view that here-

    Now let’s have a look at the second shed clearing technique I mentioned.

    This technique is so simple and easy. No extra tools are needed, just your trusty hands and fingers. I call this “strumming the warp”, but it doesn’t have anything to do with playing the guitar!

    Again, the first step is to ascertain whether the problem lies with your threading, sequence or tension.

    Next up, place your heddles/rods/sticks in the correct position for the shed you want to weave. Once again, I’m using the front heddle up, pick up stick forward combination as this combination frequently has sticking threads.

    Place both hands, from either side of the warp, into the shed so that your fingers roughly meet around the middle of the warp.

    Tilt your fingers slightly upwards as you pull your hands apart and out of the shed. You want your fingertips to “strum” the threads on the way out.

    This is such a great technique for snapping threads into place with no ill effects on your warp. Give it a try!

    If you would like to see this technique in action, check out this video:

    You may have noticed the beautiful piece of weaving I have on the loom in these examples. You can find the PDF pattern for The Ripple Scarf in my Etsy shop. It’s a wonderfully luxurious scarf for rigid heddle weavers, you will love it!

    I hope this article has been helpful to you, be sure to leave comments or questions down below, I love to hear from you.

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    Affordable weaving tools I use every day

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    When you start a brand new hobby, it is easy to feel that you need to buy “all the tools” before you can begin and weaving is certainly no different.

    But, once you have your loom (and the tools that come with the loom) there is not actually too much more you need to make a start.

    And really, why overwhelm yourself by having to learn every new gadget and gizmo available when you can minimise your tools, stay within your budget and focus on using your loom?

    *This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

    Today I want to share with you the affordable tools I own and use constantly in my weaving studio.

    1. Clover Bent Tip Jumbo Tapestry Needle

    I have talked about these needles frequently (ok, perhaps a little too often!) but I can’t really sing their praises highly enough.

    If you do hemstitching with any amount of regularity, you need these needles in your life. They are smooth but not slippery to hold, they have a large eye for easy threading, they slide through hand woven cloth like butter, they are gold (so they are hard to lose!) and the bent tip makes the angling of the needle for hemstitching just right.

    2. Ashford Double Ended Threading Hook

    I was so happy when I first discovered these double purpose hooks. I abandoned my former metal threading hook and separate reed hook very quickly and have not used them since!

    These double ended hooks are made of flat, durable, flexible plastic, which makes them perfect for manoeuvring through holes and slots on your rigid heddle loom. I also use them for floor loom and table loom weaving, the hole threading end is just right for threading string heddles.

    Rather than having to use two different tools, you simple switch the end of the hook with a quick hand swivel to swap between threading holes and slots or string heddles and reed dents.

    Their flat design makes them easy to store (I even use them as bookmarks in a pinch!) I suggest that you have several in order to have spares for the times you, ahem… can’t quite locate one when you need it! 🤭

    3. Pick up Sticks

    Pick up sticks are one of the most economical ways to drastically increase the possibilities of weaving patterns on your rigid heddle loom.

    A multi shaft loom can be quite a financial investment, but with your rigid heddle loom and a couple of pick up sticks, maybe a heddle rod or two, you can increase your shafts from two to three, four or more!

    Using pick up sticks can be completely planned or quite random, depending on what you want to do. I think the really cool part for newer weavers is that you don’t really need to know what you’re doing to get some awesome results.

    They are low cost to purchase new, or if you or someone you know are crafty with wood, you can make your own.

    4. Boat Shuttle

    This is a bit of a luxury item, but something that you may want to consider purchasing eventually. You can certainly just use your stick shuttles with no problems, but if you’re going to be weaving with finer yarns very often, a boat shuttle is really useful for quick weft winding and smooth weaving.

    One thing to be aware of is the price difference in boat shuttles, depending on the company of manufacture, size and function, the wood used and whether it’s hand or machine crafted. My Ashford boat shuttles have served me very well for many years and were very affordable.

    One day I may splash out on a special shuttle, but I’m very happy with these for now.

    5. Dressmaker’s Shears

    I love my dressmaker’s shears and have been using them for around 15 years. In that time, I’ve only had them sharpened a few times, so they have been a great deal for me.

    My shears are the Stag brand, which unfortunately does not seem readily available now.

    What I recommend is to not buy the cheapest, nor the dearest pair of shears, but go for the middle ground. Something similar to these looks good.

    So, why dressmakers shears as opposed to regular or smaller scissors? Adaptability!

    I can use my shears to snip yarn at the loom, make my warp, cut across my warp to take it off the loom AND cut through my handwoven fabric when I want to do that for a project. All of these things can be done with the one pair of shears, making them a very economical tool.

    Well friends, although I do use other weaving tools, these 5 tools are the ones that are on regular standby and that I use almost daily in my weaving studio.

    I hope this has been an informative and interesting post for you! If you would like to see this in video format you can do that right here:

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    49 Weaving Project Ideas

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    Feeling a little stuck for ideas for your next weaving project?

    The options are almost unlimited, but here are 49 weaving project ideas to get you started!

    Whether you’re weaving on a rigid heddle loom, a table loom or a floor loom you are sure to find these weaving project ideas super helpful.

    Weave a Scarf

    Weaving a scarf is the perfect starting point for the new weaver.

    It’s a narrow piece, which makes it easy to tension. It’s a long warp, but not so long as to be likely to cause any real issues. And once you’re done weaving and wet finishing, you have a completed woven piece, ready to wear.

    That is so rewarding and empowering to the beginner weaver!

    Once you’ve completed your first scarf, you may want to build on that success and hone the skills you learned by weaving another. Great! Another beautiful scarf to wear!

    Ready to Move Beyond the Scarf?

    What is next? Another scarf? Well, I guess you could either add to your scarf collection or start giving them as gifts. Some weavers will continue weaving scarves until they have so many they’re not sure what to do with them. That could be a time to start selling for some extra income, if that is something you are interested in.

    But not everyone wants to continue just weaving scarves for the rest of their weaving lives.

    I often see weavers chatting and asking questions online, wondering if there is anything beyond the humble scarf.

    Well, rest assured, there are SO many things you can make as a weaver!

    You are a Maker Of Cloth!

    Once you take up weaving, you become a maker of cloth. In quite a magical way, you are able to produce your own fabric.

    You can either choose to weave an item that is basically finished when it comes off the loom, or you can use your hand woven cloth as a stepping stone or starting point for something else.

    If you have, or can learn basic sewing skills, you are well on your way to creating unlimited projects with your handwoven fabric.

    49 Weaving Project Ideas to Get You Started:

    Scarves (obviously! 😉)

    Shawls

    Bags (totes, handbags, shopping bags, carry bags)

    Rugs

    Wallhangings and tapestries

    Blankets

    Pillows/cushions

    Purses/ pouches

    Kitchen, bath and hand towels

    Face washers

    Apron

    Book covers

    The free Stashbuster Notebook Covers class can be found here.

    Bookmarks

    Kitchen cloths

    Soft toys

    Ponchos

    Jackets

    Tops

    Read about my hand woven tunic project here

    Skirts

    Dresses

    Pants

    Coats

    Framed art

    Lampshade covers

    Loom covers/bags

    Upholstery fabric for unique furniture pieces

    Historical re-enactment costuming

    Hats

    Jewelery

    Wallhanging from the Krokbragd 101 Online Class

    Baby wraps, carriers and blankets

    Drink coasters or mug rugs

    Curtains

    Patchwork and quilting projects

    Hair accessories/ head wraps

    Saddle blankets for horses

    Dog beds, coats

    Potholders/trivets/oven gloves

    Dining table ware – table runners, place mat sets

    Bedding – throws, coverlets, pillow covers, blankets, quilts

    Well, what do you think, have I convinced you that you can weave more than just scarves with your loom?

    If you’re looking for some free projects to get you started, check out my Free Projects list and be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel for even more ideas and tutorials. My design store contains my original project designs as digital downloads as well as my ebooks.

    At the Online Weaving School you will find many classes to choose from, and as most of my lessons are project based, you can often complete a finished woven item.

    So, as you can see, the possibilities for woven projects is really unlimited! Please add your own ideas in the comments to share with other readers.

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    Do I need to pack the front beam?

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    When warping our rigid heddle looms, we are careful to pack the back beam as we wind on the warp. This may be done with a variety of materials, and some are more effective than others. It can be a personal preference too!

    What a lot of weavers don’t seem to be so familiar with is the idea of packing the front beam. Quite often, when I’m troubleshooting with a student and I ask if they’ve packed the front beam, they seem surprised by the question. Packing the front beam? I’ve never heard of that!

    *This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

    So, why would you want or need to pack the front beam? And what exactly do I mean by that?

    Let’s start with the definition so we’re all on the same page!

    Packing the front beam is simply introducing something extra to separate the warp as you weave and it begins to roll around the front beam.

    Now we can look at the why. There are a couple of reasons as to why packing the front beam is a really good idea.

    When you have finished warping and threading, you then need to tie or lash on your warp onto the front apron rod. Doing this results in knots or bumps on the apron rod.

    As you begin to weave and advance your warp, you will reach the point where your warp is rolling around the front roller beam and onto itself. As this advancing of the warp happens, the knots, plus the apron rod ties can begin to have a detrimental effect on your weaving.

    Firstly, you will likely begin to see some lumpiness at the bottom of your weaving (note that the white line of weaving that was previously straight is now a bit wavy!)

    This is caused by the knots or apron ties pushing against your weaving from the underside. There are two problems with this happening:

    • The raised and lowered parts cause a change in the warp tension. The bumps tighten the tension and the dents lower the tension, so you end up with slightly uneven tension.
    • The worse case scenario is that your weaving is irreparably damaged because the knots or ties push the weaving apart. This can be more likely to happen when using a slippery thread like tencel, silk or bamboo, where your woven threads can move more easily, rather than something like wool, which is more “grabby” and unlikely to move out of place.

    Fortunately there is a really simple solution to the problem, and that is to pack the front beam, or insert something that will separate those layers of fabric and act as a barrier between your weaving and the knots and ties.

    Weavers use a variety of materials for packing, and it can really be a personal preference or what you find most effective. Initially I used the cardboard separators that came with the loom, and while they do work well, I find that the brown craft paper on a roll that I now use to be the superior choice.

    What I love about the paper on a roll is that it’s thick and sturdy (a thinner paper will not work in the same way as it tends to crumple while you’re trying to advance your warp), you can purchase it to the width of your loom (or if the same width is unavailable, it’s easy to cut pieces to size) and you can use it over and over, so it’s very economical.

    The roll that I bought years ago is still going strong and there is still a huge amount left.

    An additional benefit of packing your front beam as you advance the warp is that your overall tension will vastly improve, and will continue to do so as you continue to weave.

    I pack the front beam, whether I’m weaving on my rigid heddle, table or floor loom, it is beneficial for many types of weaving.

    If you would like to see how I insert the paper roll at the front beam of my rigid heddle loom, please watch this video-

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    *This article contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

    Best Rigid Heddle Weaving Books (Updated List!)

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    Are you looking for the best rigid heddle weaving books to inspire your next project or deepen your weaving knowledge? You’re in the right place!

    In this post, I’m sharing my favorite books for rigid heddle loom weaving—perfect for beginners through to more advanced weavers. These are the books I return to again and again, and many have helped shape my weaving journey.

    📌 Pin this post for later so you always have a list of inspiring weaving reads handy!

    If you’re lucky enough to have a great local library, it’s worth checking to see if they carry any of these titles. Many weaving guilds also have a library you can borrow from. But if you’re like me and your local options are a bit limited, this list can help you choose the perfect book to add to your personal weaving library.

    This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend books I truly love and use myself.

    📚 My Favorite Rigid Heddle Weaving Books

    1. The Weaver’s Idea Book by Jane Patrick

    If you can only buy one rigid heddle weaving book, let it be this one. This was my very first weaving book, and I still refer to it constantly. It’s packed with inspiration and guidance—ideal for beginners but with plenty to explore as you gain experience.
    Spiral-bound for easy reference while weaving, it covers everything from the basics to more advanced textures and techniques. A must-have!

    2. Weaving Made Easy by Liz Gipson

    This is a beautiful, beginner-friendly book filled with practical advice on setting up your loom and starting your first projects. Liz has a knack for making things simple without talking down to you. The projects are approachable and satisfying for new and seasoned weavers alike.

    3. Woven to Wear by Marilyn Murphy

    If you’re dreaming about turning your handwoven cloth into wearable art, this book is for you. With clear instructions and large, simple garment shapes, it’s beginner-friendly but full of creative inspiration. This book sparked my excitement for sewing with handwoven fabric!

    4. Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom by Syne Mitchell

    This book is a treasure trove of information and ideas—perfect for curious beginners and growing intermediate weavers. While some sections may feel advanced early on, you’ll appreciate its depth as your skills develop. Topics like weaving with two heddles or more and creating transparencies are covered in detail.

    5. Weave, Knit, Wear by Judith Shangold

    This book opened my eyes to the creative possibilities of rigid heddle weaving combined with knitting and crochet. Judith uses mostly plain weave but brings designs to life with color, texture, and clever garment construction. It’s incredibly inspiring and pushes you to think beyond scarves and tea towels.

    Note: This book is now out of print, but you can still get a PDF version by emailing Judith directly via her website—thank you Allison for the tip!

    6. Simple Woven Garments by Sara Goldberg

    If wearable weaving is your thing, you’ll love this book. It features over 20 projects made from colorful, handwoven cloth—each one wearable, customizable, and beginner-friendly. I especially appreciate the tips on adjusting garment sizing for your own fit.

    7. Krokbragd: How to Design and Weave by Debby Greenlaw

    This is a brilliant guide for rigid heddle weavers who want to dive into krokbragd, a traditional and richly patterned weave. Debby’s clear explanations make this structure feel approachable, even for first-timers. I wrote a full review of this book here if you want to learn more.

    Tip: Debby has since released Krokbragd Patterns—a fantastic follow-up for more design inspiration!

    8. Crazyshot: Creative Weaving for the Rigid Heddle Loom by Myra Wood

    If you’re ready to slow down and make something with big visual impact, this book is a must. Myra’s take on overshot-style designs for the rigid heddle loom is beautiful and original. The projects are breathtaking, and she has since released a companion volume, Crazyshot Companion, to keep the inspiration going.

    🤓 Further Resources – To learn more about this overshot style (or “Branoe” for Russian style) I have a playlist on Youtube and also an online class to get you started with the technique.

    🎥 Want to See These Books in Action?

    I made a video discussing many of these books in more detail. While it doesn’t include the newer additions to my list, it’s still a great resource if you prefer to watch rather than read 👇

    📚 Browse My Full Book List

    To see all my favorite weaving books in one easy-to-browse place, visit my Amazon shop. You’ll find rigid heddle weaving guides, project books, inspiration for wearable weaving, and more.

    ❤️ Final Thoughts

    Whether you’re just getting started with rigid heddle weaving or looking to expand your skills, these books are truly worth adding to your collection. I hope this list helps you find your next favorite read—and your next great project.

    If you’ve read a book you think I should add, let me know in the comments or send me a message. I’m always on the lookout for more weaving inspiration!

    If you’re looking for book recommendations for 4 shaft or more weaving, I have you covered!

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    Supplementary Weft Rigid Heddle Weaving Tutorial

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    What is supplementary weft in rigid heddle weaving?

    Supplementary weft in rigid heddle weaving is an extra weft yarn added to your fabric in addition to your regular weft. This extra yarn sits on top of a plain weave background and is used to create decorative patterns, texture, and visual interest.

    Unlike your regular weft yarn (often called the tabby weft), the supplementary weft is not required for the structure of the cloth. Instead, it is used purely for design purposes. Because of this, supplementary weft is often referred to as a pattern weft, especially in pattern-based techniques such as overshot weaving.

    In most cases, the supplementary weft yarn is thicker or more prominent than the tabby weft and warp yarns. This allows the pattern to stand out clearly against the plain weave background, making supplementary weft an ideal technique for adding bold design elements to your rigid heddle weaving projects.

    *This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

    This technique is a great way to use a handspun or novelty yarn to really highlight the beauty of the yarn and is also an excellent way to use up leftovers.

    A pick up stick is usually used with a supplementary weft – this helps to make a pattern through the use of weft floats.

    Using supplementary wefts is a really versatile way to showcase pretty yarn and weave a truly unique piece. I love to design on the loom, trying out different pick ups and different yarns, it’s so much fun and it suits my creative preferences to not have to plan ahead too much.

    To weave a sample like I have in the tutorial, you will need the following materials:

    • A 7.5 dent heddle (of course, you can adapt this by using a different sized heddle with a different yarn weight)
    • A stick shuttle or several (use one that is the right size for your loom)
    • A pick up stick (again, use the size that is suitable for your loom or the width of warp you have on)
    • Scissors

    Yarn Requirements:

    I’m not giving exact yarn amounts, obviously you need more yarn for your warp and tabby (plain weave) than you do for the supplementary weft, but just experiment with what you have.

    For my warp I used Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8ply (this is a dk weight wool) in Navy. I used this same yarn for the majority of my tabby.

    For supplementary wefts I used Noro, handspun and some of my hand dyed wool and cotton – most of these were around a dk to aran weight.

    Sampler size suggestion:

    When I warp for a sampler like this one, I like to warp around 8-10 inches in width and at least 30″ in length (total length of warp). For my 7.5 dent heddle this was 47 ends.

    Weaving and Pick Up Sequences:

    You will find all the information you need to follow the video sampler in this downloadable, printable PDF.

    Supplementary-weft-youtube-tutorialDownload

    There are three ways to use this tutorial. You can either:

    1. Warp your loom and then follow my examples exactly according to the video and PDF.
    2. Warp your loom and follow some of my examples to gain confidence, then try some of your own designs.
    3. Use my designs as inspiration but go your own way by using the techniques and ideas to create your own unique fabric.

    Whatever you decide to do with this tutorial, don’t forget to relax and have fun – that’s what it’s all about!

    The 45 minute video tutorial is available here-

    As always, comments and questions are very welcome in the section below.

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

    Herringbone on a Rigid Heddle Loom

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    I am really excited to be offering the Herringbone on a Rigid Heddle Loom class!

    Not just because herringbone is such an enchanting weave, but also because this class is very unique.

    Usually when I release a new class, I focus on a particular technique or means to set up the rigid heddle loom. This presents a problem. I’m always asked how to set up in other ways.

    *This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

    For example, if I use a single heddle, heddle rod and pick up stick to weave a particular project, students will ask how to weave it with two heddles. And vice versa.

    For this class, I decided to spoil students by providing not just one, but three options for setting up the loom to weave herringbone.

    This helps to cater for different learning styles and also differing budgets.

    Method one uses two heddles, a pick up stick and a heddle rod.

    Method two uses one heddle, 2 heddle rods and a pick up stick.

    Method three uses three heddles.

    Each method provided has step by step video instructions, visual threading charts and written instructions.

    Students will complete a classic herringbone scarf as the class project.

    To complete this class you will need:

    A rigid heddle loom, 10″ or wider

    10 dent heddle (number of heddle required depends on your method choice)

    Also, depending on your set up choice, you may need:

    Pick up stick

    Heddle rod/s

    Elastic bands

    Tapestry needle

    Full yarn requirements will be available upon enrolment.

    The class will be available for single purchase, or, if you are a member of the Online Weaving School, this class will be included in your membership. Premium members currently have early access.

    Now, for a little fun! As a pre-release celebration, I’m offering two of you the chance to win this class. The winners will be given access to the class upon it’s release shortly.

    Here are the entry requirements:

    • You will need to be registered with the Online Weaving School. That way, I can enrol the winners in the class.
    • In the comments section below, tell me whether you would be most interested in method one, two or three to complete the class.

    The winners will be announced at the end of this week.

    Please note – if you don’t see your comment posted right away, don’t panic, I have to approve all comments first.

    *UPDATE – THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED.

    CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS – ERIN MCGANN AND LYETTE MONGEON

    Warp Floats on a Rigid Heddle Loom: Free Tutorial + Printable

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    Have you ever noticed longer threads sitting on the surface of your weaving? Those are often warp floats. While accidental floats can be frustrating for beginners, planned warp floats are a powerful technique. In this free tutorial (with a free printable to follow along), you’ll learn how to use warp floats to add beautiful texture, create unique patterns, and open up exciting new design possibilities on your rigid heddle loom.

    What is a Float?

    So, what is a float? Well, if you think about it, weaving is made up of floats. The plain weave structure or interlacement occurs when the threads go over/under/over/under each other. We wouldn’t generally think of this interlacement as being comprised of floats, but that’s what it is, just really short floats.

    *This post contains affiliate links. For further information, please see my disclosure policy.

    A float can be described as any thread travelling over another. Most of the time when we refer to floats, we are talking about a thread travelling over more than one other, often a group. Floats are also often referred to as “skips”.

    A float can occur either horizontally or vertically. A horizontal float is known as a weft float. A vertical float is known as a warp floats. Today’s tutorial is specifically for warp floats.

    In case you need a visual reference on the difference between a warp and a weft float, The Heart Scarf free Project uses weft floats (note that the grey weft floats are horizontal).

    Warp Float Tutorial

    Today’s tutorial is specifically for rigid heddle weavers.

    What you will need:

    • Yarn that is appropriate for the project you’re weaving and the heddle size you’re using. In this tutorial, I am playing around with a sampler and used a dk weight rainbow dyed cotton in the warp and a dk weight navy wool weft. My heddle size was 7.5dpi.

    We begin by placing the heddle in the DOWN position so that all slot threads are raised. It is the slot threads that we want to pick up, not the hole threads. You can consider the hole threads as already picked up, by being held in the holes.

    Use a Pick Up Stick

    If you have not used a pick up stick before, don’t worry, they are very easy to get started with by following some very basic rules. If you want to gain some familiarity with how you might use a pick up stick, check out this video before going through the rest of the tutorial:

    If you specifically would like to see what a 1/1 pick up looks like (which is what I use for this tutorial), I demonstrate it in this video at around the 10 minute mark 😉

    Once your pick up stick is in place you are ready to start weaving the sequence. Your shuttle should be filled with your weft yarn. In my case, I’m using a solid, dark weft to contrast with the colourful warp.

    Place the heddle in the DOWN position, throw your shuttle, then beat.

    Change to the UP shed and slide your pick up stick forward to sit behind the heddle. There is no need to turn your pick up stick on edge, and in any case it would be very difficult to do so with the up shed being so firm. You can see the pick up stick right against the back of the heddle in the above picture.

    Throw your shuttle and beat. Slide the pick up stick to the back of the loom.

    Change to the DOWN shed. When you enter the shed with stick shuttle this time, you will need to manually go around the warp edge thread – it won’t catch on it’s own. This is really common when you move away from plain weave. If you need more information on the concept of manually going around the edges, I have a detailed article here.

    Throw your shuttle and beat.

    Change to the UP shed. Bring the pick up stick forward and lay it flat at the back of the heddle once more. Throw the shuttle and beat. Slide the pick up stick back.

    Change to the DOWN shed. Again, you will need to catch the edge warp as you enter the shed. Throw shuttle and beat.

    By now you will notice the vertical floats forming and getting longer. Really long floats are not practical, as they will catch on things, so it’s time to halt the float in it’s tracks with a tie down thread.

    Change to the UP position. No pick up stick this time! Throw the shuttle and beat.

    That is one complete weaving sequence. If you want to continue weaving the pattern, you go back to the beginning and work through the steps again.

    Grab the Free Printable

    If you would like the pick up and weaving sequence in a printable format, please click on the download button right here ⤵

    15-warp-floats-Download

    If you would like to see this tutorial in video format, I have you covered!

    Further Resources

    If you want to explore floats further, I have a lot resources to help (too many to list here!) that you can find here on my website or Youtube channel.

    I also want to recommend Jane Patrick’s The Weaver’s Idea Book. It has a HUGE section on weaving warp and weft floats that you will find very instructive and inspiring.

    I hope this was helpful to you, be sure to leave any questions or comments down below!

    Until next time…

    Happy Weaving!

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