rigid heddle weaving tutorial

How to Warp a Rigid Heddle Loom: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Warping a rigid heddle loom might seem a little overwhelming when you’re first starting out — but once you learn the process, it becomes second nature!

In this step-by-step guide, I’ll show you exactly how to warp your rigid heddle loom using the direct warping method, with clear instructions and photos from my beginner rigid heddle weaving course (spoiler alert – there is a discount link at the end of this article 😉)

Whether you’re preparing for your very first rigid heddle project or just need a refresher, this simple method will have you ready to weave in no time. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Calculate Your Warp

Calculating for your next project may not feel like the most fun and glamorous part of weaving, but trust me, it can make or break your success!

I hear a lot of new weavers say “I was never any good at math” or “numbers are confusing to me”. Well, you’re in good company because mathematics was my worst subject at school and oh, how I loathed it!

But the interesting thing is that numbers can become interesting when they have a specific purpose. And it also helps when somebody else lays out a plan for you to follow 🙋‍♀️

I have a completely free printable PDF calculations sheet for rigid heddle weaving for you. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve also added a mini class to show you how to use the calculations sheet. Still for free!

Now, you technically can weave a project without calculating first, I even have a member’s only class showing how to do that, but I highly recommend making a habit of getting comfortable with calculations for predictable and repeatable outcomes.

Tip: Make the math easy by using a calculations sheet or online calculator.

Step 2: Set Up Your Rigid Heddle Loom for Direct Warping

Place your loom on a sturdy surface (or loom stand) with the front of the loom facing your warping peg. If using a table, clamp the loom (unless you’re weaving with a Lojan Flex – no need to clamp).
Secure your warping peg at the right distance for your total warp length (Use a measuring tape for correct distancing).
Get your warp yarn, scissors, and threading hook ready.
Tip: Try to set up your loom in a place that you can leave and take a break if needed. Time pressure is reduced if your loom setup is not in the way of other home activities.

Step 3: Prepare to Warp your Rigid Heddle Loom

Mark the width of your project on the heddle with waste yarn.
Ensure you have everything you need and your project calculation information is nearby to refer to.
Tie on your warp yarn to the apron rod in line with one of your heddle markers.
The back apron rod should be fully extended and the brake on.

Try to have your direct warping peg set up at a fairly similar height to your loom.

Step 4: Warp the Loom

Using the “reed hook” end of your threading hook, take a loop of yarn through the slot. Place the loop gently over your direct warping peg.
Walk to the back of the loom, take the warp yarn around the apron rod (either under or over, alternating), through a slot and to the warping peg once more.
Continue threading through slots and repeating the process until the correct width of warp is complete.
Tip: Now is not the time to focus on keeping the warp tight. Keep it light, gentle and consistent. The proper tensioning comes a little later.

Step 5: Roll the Warp Onto the Loom

Place a choke tie near the end of the warp (close to the warping peg) to keep the warp threads together.
Lift the warp off the peg. It can be helpful to make a warp chain and rest this on the table to keep threads tidy.
Head to the back of the loom and begin to roll the warp onto the back beam, keeping it under tension.
After one warp rotation begin to use separators at the back beam. In this class I use cardboard warp separators but my main preference nowadays is to use brown craft paper on a roll.

After each rotation, come to the front of the loom and pull on the warp. You should feel it give and then tighten up a little.
Head back behind the loom and repeat.
Tip: Take your time! If you need a break, go ahead. Warping doesn’t need to be completed in one session.

When the end of the warp is approximately equal with the front beam, finish rolling on.
Cut the warp loops and remove the choke tie.

Step 6: Thread your Rigid Heddle Loom for Plain Weave

Take one warp thread (end) from each slot and thread in a hole to the left.
Repeat for the rest of the threads.
You should have a thread in every hole and every slot for the width of your project.
Tip: Sit nice and close to your heddle while threading to avoid any back strain. I have my loom situated on the stand and bring my office chair on wheels in close so that I feel “tucked in”.

Step 7: Tie On and Adjust Tension

Tie small groups of warp threads around 1″ wide to the front apron rod, starting in the middle and alternating sides. I use a surgeon’s knot so I can adjust my groups for final tensioning.
Adjust until all groups are even and firm. Consistency is important at this step!
Tip: Test by pressing across the thread groups with the palm of your hand – this will show you if any groups are looser than others.

Step 8: Insert a Header

Weave scrap yarn (or thicker yarn) back and forth a few times then beat down.
OR
Use cardboard separators in alternating sheds and beat down.
This spreads out the warp evenly and helps prevents gaps.

Step 9: You’re Ready to Weave!

Celebrate! Your rigid heddle loom is now set up and you’re ready to start your first project.
Each time you warp, it gets easier and faster, trust me!

And that’s it — your rigid heddle loom is warped and ready for weaving! Fun times ahead 🥳

The more you practice, the more familiar warping will become. I hope this beginner rigid heddle weaving step-by-step guide helped make the process simple and stress-free for you.

If you’d like even more help, I walk you through the entire process inside my best selling Rigid Heddle Weaving for Beginners course. This course covers everything you need to know to get weaving on your rigid heddle loom, including yarn choices, sett, loom overview and a beautiful placemats project.

Click on the link below to unlock a special course discount, just for you!

Beginner Rigid Heddle Weaving Course Special Offer…

Would you like a free Rigid Heddle Weaving Setup printable checklist to help you move through these steps? You can download, print and then check off the boxes as you go, ensuring that nothing is missed.

Rigid-Heddle-Loom-Setup-Checklist Download

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

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

5 easy rigid heddle weaving projects for beginners

by Kelly Leave a Comment

Getting your very first rigid heddle loom is such an exciting experience! There are so many possibilities but at the same time, so much to learn.

It’s important to choose projects that are going to be suitable for your weaving level. Be realistic, we all start as absolute beginners and it makes sense to start with an easy project.

This will help you to start to get to know your loom without the stress and pressure of needing to weave at an advanced level.

Here is a list of 5 easy rigid heddle weaving projects for beginners to get you started.

A SAMPLER

A sampler is not necessarily a finished, functional object but it will teach you so very much! Not only does it give you a chance to get familiar with your new loom, it also allows you to try out yarns, practice your weaving and get a better idea of what to expect.

Yes, you do need to use a bit of yarn to warp up a sampler, but I look at it the same way I would look at purchasing a weaving book or class. It’s an investment in my own weaving journey.

Very early on in my rigid heddle weaving journey, I warped a fairly long warp (for a sampler), grabbed my copy of Jane Patrick’s The Weaver’s Idea Book, flipped through until I found something I wanted to try and just went for it!

This was such a valuable project for me, just look at the variety of designs, yarns and colours I got to try! Many from the book, many were my own experiments. I still think of this project, all these years later, as one of the most fun I’ve undertaken.

A sampler can also become a useable item if you wish – a small purse, a mug rug, a notebook cover, there are lots of possibilities.

2. PLACEMATS

Placemats are such a perfect beginner’s project. They look great in plain weave and if you want to jazz them up you can always use a fun variegated yarn. Placemats are also a great opportunity to practice finishing techniques, whether that is by knotting, hemstitching or hand hemming and machine stitching.

In my beginner rigid heddle class we complete some simple but beautiful placemats. This is my most popular class as it shows you how to take a bare rigid heddle loom and complete a woven project. You are guided through, step by step on warping, threading, weaving and completing the project as well plenty of tips and encouragement along the way.

3. TOWELS

Towels can be a little like an overgrown placemat, and can be a simple project for newer rigid heddle weavers. I do have some advice though, as not all towels are created equal!

As a beginner, I do not recommend that you try to launch into your first towels with a thin and light yarn, like 8/2 cotton. It is better to get some experience and practice under your belt first, as generally a lighter yarn is more challenging to use with a rigid heddle loom.

However, weaving towels with a thicker cotton yarn can be a wonderful experience. Again, you can make it as simple as plain weave or you could incorporate either warp or weft stripes (or both!)

A thicker cotton will result in a light hand towels rather than a kitchen/dish towel.

My free project, the Wash Your Hands Towels pattern could be just what you’ve looking for. While some of the techniques may be considered a little more advance (like pick up sticks and colour placement) the weaver has the option of weaving both towels in plain weave if not ready for other techniques.

Some of the cottons that are suitable for this kind of towel would be:

Bendigo Woollen Mills 10ply cotton

I Love This Cotton

Sugar n Cream

Knit Picks Dishie

4. NOTEBOOK COVERS

Notebook covers in their most simple, low sew format are just a rectangle. The fun thing about a project like this is it can really be customised to reflect your own tastes. You can use a variety of yarns in plain weave and it just looks fantastic.

If you wove a sampler that was large enough, you could repurpose that as a notebook cover too!

If the thought of sewing with your hand woven fabric is a bit scary to you, rest assured that it can be a very simple process. If you have a needle and thread, that is enough!

Check out my free Notebook Covers project which guides you through the full process, from weaving the fabric to fitting and sewing it to an existing notebook, all the information is there for you.

5. FREESTYLE TAPESTRY

Oh boy, is this fun! The idea is similar to weaving a sampler, but this time you are weaving a weft faced item.

What on earth does that mean?

It just means that you’re going to use an additional beater (a household fork works just fine!) to beat your weft down to cover all the warp threads.

So, all the colour, texture and excitement happens in the weft threads.

What I really love about this kind of project is you need very little pre-planning and all the designing can be done on the loom, if you want to.

You get to use a variety of yarns from your stash and you have pretty free reign, as long as the weft packs down and stays down, you’re good to go!

Your design could be planned and pictorial or completely abstract and “made up on the spot”.

My free Freestyle Tapestry series was designed on the loom, just by building colour, bit by bit. My Van Gogh inspired tapestry was a little more planned but followed very similar principles.

I even have a Tapestry on a Rigid Heddle Loom online class that shows you basic tapestry techniques to get you started.

I hope you feel super inspired by these 5 easy rigid heddle weaving projects for beginners!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

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

The Heart Scarf Free Project

by Kelly 12 Comments

The Heart Scarf is my free project for the year of 2021. Let me give you a little bit of background as to why I’m doing this and how I came about designing this project.

Last year, when the pandemic hit, I released the Wash Your Hands Towels project, which was a hugely popular project. I know that all of you appreciated so much, having something concrete, beautiful and creative to be able to fix your minds on in a time where there was such uncertainty.

I loved doing that project so much for you that I wanted to do something similar this year. And something that has really been on my heart and in my mind for most of this year in particular, is that I know there are so many people out there that as a result of everything that’s been happening in the world are chronically lonely.

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

So I wanted to create a project whereby you as the weaver would be weaving this beautiful scarf called The Heart Scarf. And you’d be weaving it with someone in particular in mind, someone who may be struggling with loneliness, perhaps they’re not able to get out and see their family and friends like they normally would.

Or you might know someone who’s struggling, feeling down, perhaps they live alone, or they have some other difficulties that cause them to feel that loneliness, really, that’s one of the most heartbreaking things for me to think of is that there are people out there who are just desperately lonely.

If we, as the makers of beautiful things, can do anything to make someone’s day a little bit brighter, then that’s definitely something that I want to be a part of. And I know that many of you would want to as well.

I’ve written a short poem from my heart. This poem is available to print out in either cursive or print, along with the free pattern. Once you’ve finished your scarf, you can package it up with the poem if you so choose, or perhaps with something that you want to write yourself and send it off to the recipient.

Perhaps you’re feeling really lonely yourself, perhaps it’s been an awful year for you, perhaps you’re having a hard time for other reasons. If that’s the case, I would love for you to weave this scarf for yourself and you can consider the words of the poem from me to you.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty and go over the project details, starting with what you need to complete this project:

A rigid heddle loom.

Now, the width of my scarf on the loom is 11″ and I used my 24″ rigid heddle loom. BUT, if you have a smaller loom, you can absolutely weave this scarf. If you have a 10″ Sampleit or a Cricket, just warp the full width of the loom for a slightly narrower, but equally lovely scarf.

A 7.5 dent heddle/reed.

Again, this doesn’t have to be sett in stone. (Get it? Sett in stone?) If you don’t have a 7.5 dent heddle, you can use your 8 dent. If you want to change the heddle size completely, yes, you can – but you would also need to change to a more appropriate yarn size, so just bear that in mind.

Pick up stick

We use a single pick up stick to create the beautiful, textural scarf pattern. The pattern is simple to pick up with your stick and also simple to weave with a 4 step repeating weaving sequence.

Stick shuttle

You only need one stick shuttle for this project, as we use the same weft yarn and colour throughout the project. As long as it’s wider than the width of the piece on the loom (11″), you’re good to go.

Tapestry needle

This is an essential for hemstitching. My favourite tapestry needle of all time is the Clover Gold Bent Tip Needle. I’ve talked about these needles before, but I love them for several reasons:

They slide through hand woven fabric beautifully
The bent tip makes it really easy to dive down and come up through the fabric without having to perform hand contortions!
They are affordable
They are gold! Who wouldn’t love that?! (And if you’re prone to, ahem… losing things, the gleam of the gold is quite helpful!)

Fringe Twister

Whether you twist your fringe or not is optional, but it is a beautiful way to finish your scarf. I talk about some other options for fringes in the finishing video if you want to choose a different way. There are many brands of fringe twisters available, I have had a LeCLerc Fringe Twister for many years and have been very happy with it.

Reed and threading hook

Most rigid heddle looms will come with one or both of these, but I would like to recommend the Ashford Doubled Ended Hook for it’s durability, ease of use and affordability. I have a whole bunch of these little hooks around my studio and my old metal threading hook that used to split all my threads doesn’t get a look in anymore.

Yarn

To see all the yarn details, please download the pattern. For the warp, I used Lion Brand Mandala yarn in Gnome, dk weight. This yarn is an acrylic, but I have some other suggestions in the pattern if you prefer to look at other options. My weft yarn was a super wash wool in dark grey in a fingering weight.

Weaving level

I designed this project to be achievable for beginners but interesting enough for more experienced weavers. If you are an absolute beginner, I recommend that you take my Woe to GO! Beginner’s class before attempting a project like this.

How to get the pattern

The file underneath has a “download” button at the bottom. Click on that to download, then choose either to print the file or view it on your screen. The pattern PDF includes all the details you need for the project, including yarn amounts, materials, pick and weaving sequences plus the poem in either cursive or print – your choice!

The-Heart-Scarf-Free-Pattern-1 Download

You can view the first of 6 videos on Youtube –

The full video lessons and printable pattern are also available all in one spot at the Online Weaving School if you would prefer to watch there.

I hope you love this project and bring joy to someone’s life (or to your own!) by taking part.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave little trees on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 7 Comments

This is a project I’ve never shared here before but it’s so darn cute, I just know you will love it!

You may have seen some of my overshot style, “branoe” video tutorials on my Youtube channel before. The Snowmen and Reindeer are the most popular.

Well, today’s tutorial follows the exact same technique. You can use this technique on just about any loom, but this tutorial focuses on the rigid heddle loom. If you want to read more about this overshot technique, I’ve written the details for how it works in this post.

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

Here is what you will need to weave your own little trees in pots:

A rigid heddle loom (I used my 24″ but a Sampleit size is fine if you just want a small sample)

7.5 dent reed

A pick up stick wider than the width of your woven piece

Yarns-

There are no set yarns for this project, but I will share what worked well for me:

For the warp I used a light worsted/dk weight (Australian 8 ply) wool in white.

For the weft I used the same wool in a variety of colours. You will need one colour for your pots, brown for the trunk, green for the leaves, and then orange, red or yellow for the fruit (depending on whether you want orange, apple or lemon trees!)

I’m not including specific calculations or measurements for the piece, as this is adjustable and depends on what you’re weaving, but to give you a guide, my sampler was around 8″ width on the loom. It can be a good idea to wind on a 35 – 40″ warp and experiment with my other branoe/overshot tutorials.

You simply warp up and tie on as you would for plain weave. Then you’re ready to pick up.

You can find the pick up sequence PDF here:

Little-Trees-pick-up-sequence Download

Unlike other pick up, we leave the heddle in NEUTRAL and pick up the warp threads IN FRONT of the heddle.

You can begin by weaving some plain weave to support your pick up design and give contrast. There are nice little borders you can work as well, if you want to. The border that I have here in pink is just 4 up, 4 down but there are many variations you could do.

When you’re ready to begin weaving your pattern sequence, make sure you follow the pick up outlined in the PDF provided, starting with Row 1. Heddle in neutral, pick up in front of the heddle. Once all the threads are picked up across the warp, slide your pick up stick towards the heddle and place it on edge.

Your picked up threads will be propped up, changing the interlacement from plain weave. You can then bring in your pattern weft (whichever colour you’re using for the pots as designs are worked from the bottom up). I’m using a blue wool for my pots.

When your weft reaches the other side, take it around the edge warp thread and back into the shed, doubling your weft.

Take your pick up stick out of position and beat the doubled weft into place.

Follow this up with a plain weave pick in your background weft. Choose the plain weave shed (either up or down) that you were up to before you wove your first pattern pick. For me, that was the up position.

Each plain weave pick will be a single, not double weft.

Continue following the pick up and weaving sequence for the pots.

We follow up now with 6 picks of background weft in plain weave. This is because we need a surface to embroider the trunks onto. Weaving narrow trunks (and centering them to match the pots!) is quite difficult, so embroidering whilst the piece is on the loom is a much easier option.

Rather than embroidering right now, we instead move on to the pick up for the tree foliage.

That way, we have sturdy fabric to embroider onto and we can line up the trunks really nicely with the other design elements. So, we move onto step 6 of your pick up instructions.

Continue following the sequence to form the tree foliage. The pattern weft for the foliage is also doubled. Don’t forget to weave a plain weave pick in between every pattern pick. Now we can thread a tapestry needle with some brown wool or embroidery floss to embroider the trunks.

Knot your embroidery yarn to prevent it pulling through the fabric. Come up from the back of the fabric in the middle top of one of the pots, as shown.

Work a straight stitch to the bottom of the foliage. Take the needle down through the fabric and knot it off at the back, burying the tail in the back of the foliage. This prevents your from having super long threads at the back of the work. Knot the end of the yarn again to work the next trunks.

Once all your trunks are done, you can think about embroidering the fruit. I did this by threading up the colour I wanted and working French knots in the foliage – about 3 French knots for each tree.

If you would like to see the video version of this tutorial, including a graph chart for the design, it is available as a part of the Exploring Branoe class, available at the Online Weaving School.

I also have a low cost downloadable PDF ebooklet available. In this resource you will find written instructions for my free video tutorials on Youtube that use the Branoe technique, all collected and outlined for you in one place 😉

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave neat edges on the rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 8 Comments

Nearly a decade ago, I took a leap and uploaded my very first YouTube video: How to Weave Neat Edges on the Rigid Heddle Loom. Using my son’s old camcorder (surprisingly, the footage still holds up!), I shared a simple yet essential weaving tip. My son even stepped in as editor, complete with some charmingly cheesy background music! 😄

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

You could say that this is the video that started it all for me. And to be really dramatic, I could say that there would be no Online Weaving School without this first video. Because, regardless of my fears and zero expectations, people actually watched the video. Then they asked for more.

I never did write a blog post to compliment that video, and there are tips and tricks that I want to point out as important, especially for beginner weavers. So here we go, one blog post, coming up!

TIP ONE – TENSION!

I do go on about this a bit, but that is only because it is SO CRUCIAL!! If your warp is either too loose or too tight, you are going to meet with trouble when you start weaving. Let’s look at too loose first.

This is an example of too loose. If you push up underneath the warp or push down on top and it’s like your hands are on a trampoline that has lost it’s zing, you’re too loose. A too loose tension will result in too loose edges, and even if you employ the techniques I discuss in the video, it’s only going to help a certain amount. When your weft travels around the edge warp threads, it naturally wants to draw in that warp thread a little as it travels to the other side.

That is normal and natural as the weft takes it’s path back and forth across the warp. But, it should not be an excessive amount and it should be consistent. I’m going to talk about consistency more in a moment.

One way to know if your warp is way too loose, is your heddle won’t like to stay in position when you place it there. In the up position, it may fall, in the down position it may just hang there. Doesn’t that sound sad?

So, if your edges seem too loose, try advancing your warp a little.

Then there is the opposite problem, your tension is too tight.

An easy way to know if this is your problem is that you have to wrestle with the heddle to get it into the up position. Not good for your poor old warp which my repay you by snapping a thread. Not good for your loom either, which is only designed to hold a certain amount of tension before damage can occur.

When your tension is too tight, you will also get problems at the edges. They may start to curl upwards as you weave the weft and the warp tries to deal with all that tension. This will also cause the dreaded “smile” from your weaving. It sounds like a good thing to have your weaving smile, but trust me, it ain’t smiling because it’s happy! It will be hard to beat, so your fell line could end up uneven. I can always tell a “too tight” warp because the weft at the edges looks unsettled and unhappy. Not consistent and cruisy.

In between “too tight” and “too loose” tension is “inconsistent tension”. I feel that this is even worse than the previous two, because at least they can be remedied easily by adjusting warp tension.

Inconsistent warp tension usually occurs in the warping process. Perhaps you have warped independently, you’ve grabbed the warp with one hand to roll it on, but you haven’t paid enough attention to the middle part of the warp. It then rolls on looser than the rest. What you finish up with when you start warping is a loose middle and too tight edges. Aaaagh! Not fun. At all. And, once again, a sure recipe for whacky edges.

If you have ongoing warp tension issues and find that frustrating, I highly recommend a beginner’s class like my Woe to Go – Beginner Rigid Heddle Weaving.

TIP TWO – WINDING OF YOUR STICK SHUTTLE

The way in which you wind yarn onto your stick shuttle will affect your edges. I like to use a figure 8 to wind my shuttle yarn, as it creates a flow, meaning the yarn feeds off the shuttle without snagging or pulling unnecessarily. This, in turn, means a smoother weave and no sudden catching or pulling in of the edge threads due to yarn getting stuck on the shuttle.

If you need to see the figure 8 method of loading your stick shuttle, you can watch here:

TIP 3 – ANGLE THE WEFT

When you take your weft picks through, you want to ensure that you angle it before beating. If you’re a beginner, a 45 degree angle is good, and for more experienced weavers, around 25 – 30 degrees is fine. Doing this helps with your edges because it gives the weft room to settle into place, rather than being dragged into a tight spot that feels un-natural. And now I’m talking as though the yarn has feelings, but that is what happens to you if you work with it for long enough 😆

TIP 4 – PINCHING TECHNIQUE

I think that maybe, out of all the things I’ve shared with others about weaving, this one may have been the most helpful to the greatest number of people. It really does make that much difference.

Let’s go over the steps to my pinching technique:

I’ve taken the weft through, I’m angling it, and then I’m bringing my pointer finger into the shed to feel the weft as it travels around the edge of the warp thread.

Then, I’m placing my thumb on top so that the weft yarn, along with the warp thread are wedged or “pinched”. This gives me a really good tactile sense of how the weft is behaving at the edge warp. Perhaps it needs tightening up, or perhaps it needs loosening. I place some tension on the weft yarn with the opposite hand to help it settle in.

The last step of the process is to give that weft tail that is sitting up on the right hand side a little tug to help it settle into place before the next pick.

If you practice this technique for a while, you will learn what the yarn is telling you (oops, there I go again!) and how you should proceed.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you may want to check out the huge variety of classes I have on offer in my Online Weaving School. There are many rigid heddle classes, from beginner to advanced. If you purchase a membership, you also gain access to the private member’s group – a fantastic community of like minded weavers and support team. I hope to see you there!

I have a bunch of other posts and videos on weaving neat edges, as it’s a problem that pops up so often. Isn’t it good to know that there is something you can do about it?

Help! My edges are wonky!

Troubleshooting loose slot threads

Going around the edges

Try this trick for neater edges

Lifeline selvedge technique

Yet another neat edges tutorial

Thank you for visiting, and be sure to leave me a comment down below.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to read a rigid heddle weaving draft

by Kelly 26 Comments

Most of the time when you are weaving on a rigid heddle loom and following instructions, there will be written notes for how to weave a pattern.

For example, in any of my rigid heddle classes you will see threading instructions, telling you which holes and slots to thread, including colour order wherever it’s applicable. You will see any extra instructions for using pick up sticks if they are being used. All these things will be shown and often written in a file with step by step text instructions.

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

But, what about weaving drafts? Weaving drafts are not something that a rigid heddle weaver needs to know, because, as I mentioned above, most weaving patterns or classes for rigid heddle will have written instructions and won’t even mention a weaving draft.

However, learning to read a basic weaving draft can be really useful for two main reasons:

It helps you to gain an understanding of how your rigid heddle loom actually operates. You will discover this in a moment as we go through how to read a plain weave draft and how it translates to your RH loom.

2. Many rigid heddle weavers choose to venture into multi shaft weaving – either by adapting their rigid heddle loom or by purchasing a table or floor loom. Knowing how to read a draft is invaluable to the weaver who aims to weave with more than two shafts at some stage.

Today, we’re going to look at a simple plain weave, two shaft weaving draft. I chose to help you learn about a two shaft draft because I want you to focus first on learning the basic layout of a non complicated weaving draft, and also because a rigid heddle loom is a two shaft loom.

You can see that I opted for bright and contrasting colours so that you can distinctly see the pattern. Personally, I would probably not choose these colours for a project, but some of you may love them! 😬

This is the most typical layout for a weaving draft, but if it is an older draft you are looking at, the information may be in different places, for example, the line of numbers I have at the top may be at the bottom instead.

Alright, let’s get into the nitty gritty by learning the different parts of the draft and what they mean, starting at the top.

The top section circled in red is the threading. For plain weave on a rigid heddle loom we use two shafts and these are represented by the numbers 1 and 2 that repeat across. The threading section is a horizontal bar on the draft, but indicates the vertical purple warp threads. You can think of these numbers as being like the vertical threads of your warp.

You can think of the holes on your heddle as shaft 1 (number 1 in the threading section) and the slots on your heddle as shaft 2 (number 2 in the threading section).

To find the start of the threading section, we read from right to left, beginning in the first box in the right hand corner, which is a number 1.

Also note the colour that appears above the number 1, which in this case is purple.

This tells me that my first thread for my warp is a purple thread that will be threaded in a hole. The second will be in a slot. Then a hole, then a slot, and so on.

This would be an easy warp as there are no warp colour changes.

Next I want to discuss the tie up box.

When using a multi shaft loom, you need to know which shafts need to be tied up to which treadles, this is where the tie up box in the top right corner of the draft comes in.

The circles you can see in the box match up with either number one or two on the threading section, indicating which shafts are to be used. The circle usually means that the tie up is for a rising shed loom. An “X” will often mean the tie up is for a sinking shed loom.

See how the first circle in the tie up box lines up with the shaft 1 threads in the threading section?

And circle 2 from the treadling box lines up with shaft 2 threads in the threading section.

How is this relevant to the rigid heddle weaver, considering we don’t have to tie up treadles?

It simply shows us which shafts need to be engaged in order to weave the pattern. If we thread our shaft 1 in the heddle holes and shaft 2 in the heddle slots, as described earlier, we don’t need to do anything else (like tie up treadles) in order to start weaving those shafts. The warping and threading of the heddle is all the preparation we need.

The long, vertical box to the right of the draft is the treadling section. The box is vertical, but indicates the horizontal part of your weaving, which is the weft. My weft is yellow, and this is indicated by the yellow box next to each number.

Again, as rigid heddle weavers, we don’t “treadle” but we do manipulate our heddle in order to open shafts, and this box gives us the correct order we need to use to weave the pattern.

On the rigid heddle, we operate the heddle for plain weave by either lifting it into the up position or placing it in the down position.

When you lift your heddle up, have a look at what is happening with the threads. All the hole threads are lifted up, and the slot threads stay down. The space in between the two layers of threads is our shed.

Now, when you place your heddle down, the opposite occurs – all the slot threads pop up and the hole threads stay down. This creates a second, different shed. In that case:

Heddle up = Shaft 1 engaged

Heddle down = Shaft 2 engaged

So, we understand that the heddle just goes up and down and that makes our 2 shafts. But let’s look more closely at the draft to ensure that we can visually follow the changing of shafts.

We start reading the treadling (or order of shafts) in the first box that appears under the tie up box. The treadling sequence will not always be indicated by numbers, there may be a filled box, a diagonal slash or similar.

Also, some drafts will use numbers to indicate how many times you are going to weave a certain pick. But, because we are just alternating between shafts 1 and 2, I have used the numbers 1 and 2 underneath the circles.

For this draft, the first number is on the left, underneath the circle that indicates shaft 1. For the RH weaver, shaft 1 means hole threads, which means heddle up.

When you have woven your shaft 1 pick you will then change to the next shed by following along to the next number in the next line down. It is a number 2 and so for the RH weaver, that means the down shed.

After weaving this shed, you then follow to the next row down, which is a shaft 1. And so on.

The last part of the weaving draft is the drawdown.

The drawdown is essentially a diagram of the fabric you will weave. It provides you with a visual representation of what your pattern might look like.

Naturally, elements such as your sett and chosen yarns can vary the look of the cloth greatly, so your finished piece will not necessarily look just like the drawdown. It shows the interlacement of your thread colours.

With our plain weave, checkerboard pattern you can easily see that the alternating colours in each row of purple, yellow, purple, yellow represent our warp and weft colours, and also our shafts one and two.

If you would like to use this draft, as well as the fabric view, to print out, I have made a printable PDF for you, which you can download below:

Plain-weave-draft Download

If you would also like to see this post in video format, please visit my Youtube channel:

If you are interested in knowing more about reading weaving drafts, I have two members only classes at my Online Weaving School.

Introduction to reading weaving drafts

Reading a 2 shaft plaid draft for rigid heddle weavers

I hope this was helpful to you. Questions and comments are welcome, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Clasped Weft Weaving Step by Step Tutorial

by Kelly 19 Comments

Just when you think you’ve tried everything in weaving, you come across something different, like Clasped Weft.

Clasped weft can be a great “next step” for newer weavers with a few plain weave projects completed and who are ready for something a bit more adventurous.

The cool thing about weaving clasped weft is that, similar to Colour and Weave, most of the work is in using colours to make your weaving look fancy, when in actual fact it is quite simple.

The clasped weft technique uses 2, 3 or 4 interlocking weft colours. Using 2 colours to begin with is the easiest and least complicated approach. If you have done any tapestry, you may already be familiar with the interlocking technique.

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

We mainly use a plain weave structure (though clasped weft can actually be used in other structures, such as twill). It is a perfect technique for a rigid heddle loom, because, although it’s simple, it looks special and has big impact.

Before we go through the tutorial steps, let’s look at some (rather poorly drawn, sorry about that!) diagrams to get a clearer idea of how this works. The drawings are over simplified, as I haven’t drawn in the warp and weft interlacement, but I have drawn in the edge warp threads:

Clasped weft with 2 weft colours.

Clasped weft with 3 colours.

Clasped weft with 4 colours.

Now let’s go through the tutorial steps so that you can get clear on how clasped weft is actually woven. Today, we are just focusing on working the two weft colour technique, as I believe this is the best place to begin if you’re not familiar with clasped weft or haven’t attempted it before.

Begin with two contrasting weft yarns of the same weight. I have used one with a dark navy colour and another that is variegated with bright colours. See the tips section below for more on why variegated works perfectly.

My warp and weft yarns were all light worsted/dk/ Australian 8 ply weight. Wool, acrylic or cotton are all fine.

One weft yarn is loaded onto a stick shuttle, in my case this was the dark navy. The other colour is left in a ball or on the cone. My variegated colour was in a skein and so I wound it into a yarn cake with my ball winder.

A yarn cake (also known as a centre pull ball) is particularly good to work with for clasped weft, because it sits nice and flat on the floor and won’t roll away. The yarn also feeds off the yarn cake seamlessly, which makes the whole process that little bit easier. If you have a round ball or a cone, you may want to sit it in a box or basket on the floor to contain it.

Place the ball of yarn on the floor at your left. It doesn’t matter if you place it on the right or left, but for the purpose of this tutorial it’s on the left.

Because the ball (let’s call it the contrast yarn) is on the left, we enter the shed with the stick shuttle on the right. Again, it doesn’t matter whether you are in the up or down shed, but I am beginning in the down shed.

Take your stick shuttle across from the right hand side to the left as though you’re going to weave a regular plain weave pick.

When you get to the left, take your stick shuttle underneath the contrast yarn. An easy way to do this is to pick up the contrast yarn as the stick shuttle exits the shed and place it on top of the shuttle.

On the right hand side (where your shuttle entered), tidy up and prepare your weft yarn at the selvedge as though you’re going to beat the pick in. If you’re not familiar with how to do this, watch my free video on How to Weave Neat Edges. DON’T BEAT.

Take the shuttle straight back into the same shed. Don’t change sheds, and don’t beat! Take the shuttle through, back to the right where you first entered the shed.

As you return the shuttle to the right, you will find that the navy yarn is linked or clasped with the contrast yarn. This means that the contrast yarn is pulled into the shed. Now you get to decide how far you will pull the contrast yarn into the shed. A little? A lot? Your choice, depending on the effect you want to achieve.

Hold both yarns under tension on either side to manipulate where you want the two yarns to go.

When you’re happy with the yarn positioning, beat the picks into place. You will notice that both yarns are now doubled in the shed.

Change to the next shed (in my case I had been working in the down shed, so I go on to change to the up shed).

Continue weaving in the exact same manner in the new shed and repeat until you’ve finished weaving.

Isn’t your head just swimming with all the possibilities of this wonderful technique?

Clasped weft can be extremely planned or extremely random. It looks wonderful both ways and is just so much fun to weave.

Here are a few recommendations for best results:

1. Use contrasting weft colours.

Light and dark will make the weaving pop.

2. Use the same weight yarn for both warp and weft.

You will get better results and avoid the not so pretty lumps and bumps that can occur at interlocking points.

3. Variegated yarn is perfect for this.

For the 2 colour clasped weft technique, a variegated yarn with a contrasting yarn looks really cool! (See photos below and above).

4. Using the same colour as the warp for one of your weft colours works great.

Too much colour can confuse the contrast of the clasped weft lines. In the tutorial, I used the same navy yarn for warp and weft no.1. I then used a contrast yarn for weft no.2.

If you like the look of clasped weft as much as I do, I have some great news for you!

I have 3 free Youtube video tutorials that will teach you each of these techniques. Start with video 1 so that you can practice the technique, before moving on to the others.

Clasped Weft with 2 colours

Clasped Weft with 3 colours

Clasped Weft with 4 colours

I mentioned that the clasped weft technique can also be used for other weave structures. This can create really interesting and impressive special effects. One of my Etsy patterns, The Cityscape Scarf is a perfect example of a clasped weft combined with a twill.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

Leave me a comment here or under any of the Youtube videos, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Troubleshooting loose slot threads

by Kelly 31 Comments

Loose slot threads when weaving on a rigid heddle loom are very common. The fact is that a rigid heddle loom just does not hold the same amount of tension as a floor or table loom.

This means that the rigid heddle weaver can run into a bit of bother when warping up with fine, rigid weaving yarns. An 8/2 cotton is a floor loom weaver’s dream but can be quite a challenge on the rigid heddle.

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

Knitting yarns or slightly thicker weaving yarns with some elasticity work beautifully on a rigid heddle loom, as they don’t need a lot of tension and are very forgiving.

How do I know if my tension is good enough?

This can be a personal preference, but there are certainly a few guidelines for knowing whether your tension is suitable or not:

Too loose

Your warp threads bunch in between weft picks (rows)

You have floats or skipped warp threads often

Your stick shuttle keeps snagging on warp threads as you enter the sheds

Your heddle doesn’t click easily into the up or down shed

Too tight

You struggle to get your heddle/s into the up position

You have warp threads breaking

You feel a lot of resistance when trying to beat

Does this mean that rigid heddle weavers should not weave with weaving yarns? Not at all! There are too many wonderful weaving yarns in a massive variety of colours out there to try! With the right approach and strategies, all yarns can be used successfully.

Getting the warp right

The warping the loom stage is the most crucial time to get that tension as good as you can. Not as tight as you can, necessarily, but even, consistent and firm. When I have a good warping experience, I just know that the project is going to go smoothly.

There are a few key strategies for getting good tension during the warping process. I talk about it in this webinar but I also want to mention some of them here:

Have someone help you. Your helper can hold on to the end of the warp, providing great tension, while you focus on standing behind the loom and winding on.
Pack the back beam as you roll on. You can use cardboard or wooden sticks/ separators, a roll of thick paper, a blind or a drawer liner. My personal favourite here is the roll of paper which you can cut to size if needed. 125 gsm is a good weight.

For a wider warp, use more than one warping peg. This helps distribute the threads over the width of the loom in a more practical way and is more economical, as threads don’t have to travel as far to loop around just one peg.
Take your time. Extra time spent in warping is well worth the investment. Remember – good warp = happy weaving experience 😄
Pay particular attention to the middle of the warp while rolling on, particularly if warping independently. The middle is the most likely place to lose tension and get saggy threads.

2. Consider a shorter warp

A rigid heddle loom can take quite a lot of length in a warp, but I haven’t found a long warp to be best practice. If I have the opportunity, I will break a warp into smaller increments where possible.

This doesn’t bother me, because the rigid heddle is so quick to warp for more simple projects, so it doesn’t take much extra time. I find that the longer my warp on the rigid heddle, the harder it is to keep a good tension for the duration of the warp.

3. The tie on

The tying on step is also important for your overall tension. Whether you tie directly on to the apron rod (as I do 99% of the time) or lash on, this step is another opportunity to “get it right” before beginning weaving.

Once again, I don’t aim for really tight tension when tying on, but I do aim for the best consistency I can manage. This means going over the tied on threads once, twice, thrice if needed so that they all feel about the same.

I gauge this tension by bouncing my hand across the warp (like a trampoline!) Any bunch of threads that feel much looser than others will get a re-tighten.

4. Know your yarns

There are certain threads that are harder to tension due to their inelastic structure. I already mentioned 8/2 cotton, but many plant based or cellulose fibres (cotton, linen, hemp, etc) are quite rigid and easier to weave with a higher level of tension. Animal fibres or protein fibres (wool, alpaca, etc) generally have a little more stretch.

The amount of twist, number of ply and thickness or weight can also effect how rigid a yarn is. It helps to know your yarns – to sample yarns you’r unsure of and accustom yourself to all their particulars.

If you need a little more guidance with yarns, I have some resources that will help:

Choosing and using yarns in weaving

What is a superwash wool yarn?

3 yarns beginner weavers should never use!

5. Stuff it!

Packing, stuffing and wedging your back and front beams will always help with tension. If, despite your best efforts, your warp is just not tensioned well enough then start packing! You can use stiff paper, cardboard, sticks (either separators or pick up sticks) or whatever else you can come up with that works, to wedge under or between your warp at the beams.

When advancing your warp, start packing the front beam. This will prevent the knots from the apron rod from sticking into your weaving as it rolls around them beam (which can damage or distort your weaving and mess with your tension) and provide overall better tension each time you advance.

You can insert a pick up stick or something similar into a shed that is giving you particular trouble (usually the down shed) and slide it to the back beam. Push it right back so that it becomes wedged between the thread layers and tightens that shed for you.

You can also wedge something directly under the warp at the back beam to increase overall tension. To see this in action, watch this video, which also includes additional tips for working with fine threads:

6. One sided looseness

Perhaps your loose tension problem is at the selvedge? To be more specific, one selvedge is fine while the other is loose? You end up with neat edges on one side and not so great edges on the opposite side.

If you want generally to improve the neatness of your edges, check out this post for more resources.

One thing you can try in this instance is to begin and finish threading in a hole. When we thread for plain weave, we usually thread one thread in a hole, one in a slot, and so on. Most of the time we are threading an even number of threads.

But for this technique, we thread an uneven number of ends on purpose, so that the last thread gets threaded through a hole. The reasoning behind this technique is twofold. Firstly, the threads are threaded in holes, which hold better tension than the slots. Secondly, the outermost threads will be under the same or similar tension (both being in holes) so the results of your woven edges should be more similar looking.

If that sounds confusing, check out this video where I show you how to thread both selvedge threads in holes and you will see how simple it is:

7. Warping in down shed

As a disclaimer, I have not tried this technique, I have only heard about it. The idea is that it’s the down (slot) sheds that have looser tension, so warping your loom with the heddle in the down shed potentially tightens the slot thread tension. If you decide to give this a go, I would be interested to know how it turns out for you!

I hope this article was useful to you. As always, questions and comments are welcome, please leave them down below! ⤵

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Baubles and Candles on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 11 Comments

With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to gift you all with something fun and achievable, as well as having a festive theme.

I came up with some simple baubles and candles that I’m confident is suitable for any level of rigid heddle weaver.

This project is very decorative and better suited to low wash items.

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

For the project, I just wove a sampler to illustrate the patterns, but you can use the designs however you please.

What you will need:

A rigid heddle loom (any size is fine if you just want to weave the sample.

A 7.5 dent heddle

A threading/reed hook

A stick shuttle wider than the width of your weaving

A pick up stick wider than the width of your weaving

A tapestry needle

Yarn options:

For my warp I used a light worsted/dk weight wool in white. I used this same yarn for my plain weave. The same yarn, but in different colours was used for the pattern weft. Please see the video for colours used.

For embellishments, I used small amounts of DMC embroidery floss.

Sampler Specifications:

If you wanted to weave a sampler just like mine, here are the basic measurements.

Number of ends: 64 (32 slots)

Approximate width on loom: 8″

Sett: 7.5

Total warp length: 35″

The baubles and candles use the same overshot weaving technique as my reindeer, snowmen, gift boxes and winter trees.

There is a pattern weft that forms the picture or design, and in between every pattern pick is a plain weave pick (either an up or a down shed).

Weaving Instructions:

The Baubles –

I left a border either side of my designs in order to centre them and make sure that none were inadvertently cut in half! I left 6 threads on each side. This is optional, and you an adjust the border threads to suit.

I’m not including the border threads in the weaving steps, but if you watch the video you won’t have any trouble following along with these instructions.

Remember that you need to weave a plain weave row in between every pattern weft.

Step 1. 6 up, 2 down, *7 up, 2 down, repeat from * (7 up, 2 down for the rest of the way across)

Step 2. *5 up, 4 down, repeat from *

Step 3. 4 up, 6 down, *3 up, 6 down, repeat from *

Step 4. Repeat row 3, with a contrast colour

Step 5. Repeat row 3, with the original colour

Step 6. *5 up, 4 down, repeat from *

Step 7. Repeat row 1

The Candles:

For the candles, I left a border either side of 5 threads instead of 6, to work in better with the required calculations for the design.

Step 1. *4 down, 4 up, repeat from *

Step 2. Repeat row 1, alternating plain weave rows with pattern rows.

All of these details are available in a handy PDF for you to print out. You can download and print that right here:

Baubles-and-Candles Download

And you will want to watch the video and follow along with the instructions. You will find the free and detailed video here:

I hope you enjoy this project! Thank you all for your AMAZING support this year!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 🎄

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave Leno on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 14 Comments

Leno is a finger controlled weave that gives a lovely airy and lacey look to your weaving.

You can set up Leno on a plain weave threading, as all of the pick up is done at the front of the heddle with a pick up stick and your fingers.

I love that this is a fancy looking but easy to implement technique. Yes, it’s a little slow, but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that! It can be worked either on an open or closed shed. Today’s tutorial shows you how to work Leno on an open shed.

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

Leno can be used for any project you want an open weave for, but some suggestions are:

Curtains

As a border on a table runner, coupled with plain weave

A bag (my Farmer’s Market Bag pattern is available in my Etsy shop).

For my Leno sample I’m using my Sampleit loom with a 7.5 dent heddle, a worsted weight wool, a stick shuttle and a pick up stick. I didn’t use the full width of my loom, I just wanted a smaller sample.

Leno and plain weave are great friends and I like to combine them for aesthetics. If you don’t plan on using plain weave bands within your Leno, at least start with a few picks of plain weave to begin with as a base.

*Handy Tips:

You will want to advance your warp forward a little more than usual. This is because we are going to be building up warp twist and then making a shed with the pick up stick to pass the shuttle through. If your last row of weaving is too close to the heddle/reed, it will be difficult to find the space to pass the shuttle through.

2. You will want your shuttle to enter from your dominant side. I’m right handed, so I have woven my last pick of plain weave so that the shuttle is on the right of the warp.

3. Your outer most warp thread on the side you’re starting from (in my case, the right) should be in an up position. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your heddle will be in your up position – you will need to try the up and down heddle positions to see which is suitable for that outside warp thread to be up. I placed my heddle in the down position to ensure my outside thread (a slot thread) was up.

Begin by holding the top warp threads aside so that you can see the down shed threads underneath. Take your pick up stick underneath the first thread in the down shed so that sits on top of the stick.

Now release the next warp thread along, which is a top or “up” thread. It will naturally go underneath the pick up stick, which is just what you want.

You now have 2 threads picked up and you may notice that they twist around each other. Dive the pick up stick back down into the warp, holding those top threads out of the way still. Take the point of the stick underneath the next down shed thread so that it sits on top of the stick.

Release the next top thread along, and as before, it naturally springs underneath the stick. At this point you have 2 warp threads on top of the stick and 2 underneath. Dive the stick back down into the warp and repeat the steps, right to the other side.

As you continue your pick up across the warp you should notice that the warp threads are twisted in pairs both below and above the stick. This is how you know that you’re picking up correctly.

When you’ve completed your row of pick up, slide your pick up stick back towards the heddle and leave in place.

Turn the pick up stick on edge and pass your stick shuttle through the shed.

Be sure to fix up and pay attention to your edges, just like you would for straight plain weave. If you need to know more about techniques for weaving neat edges, please watch this video:

Remove the pick up stick and beat. You will feel resistance as a result of the twists being in place, so be gentle and try to beat straight. Remember, this is an airy fabric, we’re not going for densely woven fabric here!

Change to the next shed. I was in the down shed, so now I change to the up shed. Enter the shuttle from the left and pass through the shed, fixing up your edge to weave neatly as before. You will note that the second row of twists that was above your pick up stick when working your pick up has now transferred underneath your new pick.

Beat the new pick, remembering to be gentle and not too firm with your beat. You now have two rows of Leno.

Now you can choose whether you go back and repeat more rows of Leno, or you can do what I’ve done in this photo – alternated bands of plain weave with bands of Leno. Both are very effective, it just depends on the look you’re going for.

If you would like to see a video version of this tutorial, you will find that here:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and if so, please leave me comment to let me know. Also feel free to ask any questions you may have down below, I’m happy to help.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving