Rigid Heddle Weaving

Inlay is a weaving technique that utilizes a base (or ground/tabby) weft and an inlay (or supplemental) weft. The base weft travels from selvedge to selvedge, while the inlay weft travels only where the weaver desires. This creates unique designs that draw the viewer's attention to specific areas of the cloth. In this blog post, we will explore a few of the many options available for weaving Inlay.

Hand-manipulated techniques are a fantastic way to add variation to your weaving. The techniques can be used on either rigid heddle or multi-shaft looms, and make excellent decorative borders, center motifs, or can be interspersed throughout to add special texture and visual interest. This blog post provides step-by-step tutorials on several different lace techniques, and Gist patterns where they are used. 

Deflection in weaving happens when (intentional) floats curve around areas of plain weave, and doubleweave is the weaving of two layers of fabric simultaneously. Combining the curves of deflection and the layers of doubleweave creates deflected doubleweave, a common technique in shaft-loom weaving. But with two heddles and, in some cases, two pick-up sticks, the humble rigid heddle loom can also create this stunning structure.     

Choosing the right shuttle when starting your next weaving project can make or break your experience — and sometimes affect your selvedges too! In this article, I’ll be sharing some of the things I consider when choosing what shuttle to use as well as explaining the differences between stick shuttles, boat shuttles, and more.

Warping, sleying, weaving and re-sleying can be tedious when we really just want to dive in to our project. Meet the nifty rigid heddle loom tool that makes sampling a breeze.

Tips for weaving with multiple types of yarn in a single warp.

Learn how to achieve a clean shed when doing doubleweave on your rigid heddle loom.

Learn the functional differences between the direct and indirect warping methods for rigid heddle looms.

Learn the how to prevent tension problems on your rigid heddle loom while warping, and how to fix tension issues while weaving.

This post teaches you how to use string heddles on your rigid heddle loom instead of using multiple pick-up sticks. 

One of the best ways for rigid-heddle weavers to make floats is to use pick-up sticks. This allows weavers to make a third or fourth shed, and break the over/under configuration of plain weave. This post explains how to use pick-up sticks with your rigid heddle loom.

Are you ready to dive into a whole new world of yarn and fiber? Try weaving! Rigid heddle looms are a perfect gateway to learning the wide and wonderful world of weaving. This post explains how to choose your first rigid heddle loom.