![]() I have also woven on an 80cm loom once before and I did find the extra width a little cumbersome when carrying it (I was demonstrating at a show) so that is something to bear in mind if you plan to take your loom from place to place with you – it also requires more space to use it, and if you don’t have a stand you want to check you have a suitable sized table-edge to lean on. ![]() I have 40cm and 60cm rigid heddle looms in my fleet – very handy sizes. Make sure you get the right version as there is also one for the Knitters Loom which is a different profile. Older models of the rigid heddle did not come with the double heddle bracket, but you can easily replace the single bracket with a new double one, these are available from Ashford dealers. This allows you to wind the weaving on to the second beam, so that it doesn’t build up on the front beam, which can gradually affect the angle of your threads and reduce the opening of the shed when you weave longer projects or particularly thick cloth – for example a rag rug. The width of the loom will affect the maximum length of warp that you can wind.Īnother add-on that you can get for the Rigid Heddle model is the Freedom Roller, which is an additional cloth beam that you can add to the front of your loom. The Rigid Heddle now also has the distinct feature of pre-drilled holes on the back of the frame, and you can buy a set of matching sized dowels to make a warping board on the back of the loom – a great feature if you want to work on longer projects, as you don’t need to buy a separate piece of (often quite large) equipment. These are very sturdy and stable looms, they are 61.5cm (24.5 inches) in length from front to back and current models all come with a double heddle bracket. The hardest part is waiting for the paint or timber wax to dry if you choose to put a finish on the timber! ![]() All sizes come unfinished and require assembly but the instructions are very user-friendly and the process is quite quick with minimal tools needed (a screwdriver, some candle wax for the screws, and a rubber mallet is a handy tool for putting the handles on the front & back beams). The widths refer to the weaving width, the loom itself is slightly wider. This model has the greatest range of sizes (widths) of the 3 models – 40, 60, 80 & 120cm wide (that’s 16, 24, 32 & 48 inches). ![]() This sometimes causes confusion, because there are 3 models of rigid heddle loom, and this one is just called ‘Rigid Heddle loom’! I will capitalise the words (Rigid Heddle) when referring to the model type to try to minimise confusion in this post. Buying looms made in the other parts of the world is still possible, but the freight adds so much to their cost, and since I need multiple looms it was the most financially sensible to buy my fleet from Ashford. That is because I’m in Australia and these looms are made in New Zealand – nice and close and easy to get, with lower freight costs. However, I now have my little fleet of rigid heddles so I thought I could go through some differences of each model along with photos to help answer some of the common questions about Ashford’s rigid heddle looms.įirstly though, you will notice that I only have Ashford brand looms here. Due to the size and cost, it’s not necessarily the type of item craft stores can hold in-stock in great quantity, so it can be hard to see all these looms together and compare them. I know this question comes up a lot in weaving forums when someone is looking to buy a rigid heddle loom.
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