Buying My Loom

When I first saw the loom that I eventually would buy, I had no intention of buying a loom. My wife and I... oh yes, I am a  man... went to a quilt show in Pennsylvania in September of 2015 and when we arrived we looked in the schedule of free workshops and presentations and saw one that was a bit out of the ordinary for a quilt show. It was on weaving on a loom. Of course, this had nothing to do with quilts but the vendors at quilt shows often come with a variety of fiber related things for sale and the vendor that was giving this presentation sold yarn and related fiber arts supplies.

Hmm - I have always wanted a "real" loom. I had woven on a plastic toy loom that actually had the ability to weave a fairly decent but narrow piece of cloth or cloth band.  and an inkle loom that I made myself. An inkle loom weaves bands and straps and uses no heddle but your hand pushes down on two different sets of threads to open and close two sheds. I enjoyed weaving on that loom until it broke - during a demonstration that I was giving with it at a regional fair. The inkle loom was set aside broken in the basement after that. I had pretty much put the idea of weaving aside while I pursued other crafts - some professionally.  Well, this presentation was tempting and we decided that we would go to see it.

We sat down on the chairs in the program area and a woman came to the front carrying a loom on a stand. The chairs quickly filled and she began her presentation on the Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom. She told everyone that this was the largest loom that Kromski makes - 32" wide and that it also is available in widths of 8", 16", 24" and this 32" loom. All of the looms are made the same she went on to say and that these were the newest made by this company as they had a new feature being included - metal ratchets and pawls. At that time this did not mean much to me. I knew that the ratchets and pawls are the gears and catches that hold the yarn at tension from the back beam to the front beam and allow those beams to be turned to wind the yarn on that you will weave with and the cloth on the other side that you have woven as you go. I did not know until she said it that the Kromski is the only rigid heddle loom that now uses metal for these instead of a composite plastic or nylon. Metal is stronger. Strength for this purpose is important. (I learned something in the first few minutes of the presentation!) She also went on to say that the loom folds in half for easy storage and when it folds it can have the yarn on it. (Some other rigid heddle looms do this also.) She went on to say that the loom is made of hand selected, furniture grade hardwood in Poland and the wood is finished like fine furniture. I could see that. What my wife could see was that I was getting really caught up in this presentation. The loom was attached to a stand that was an optional purchase. The stand matched the loom and was made specifically for it of the same wood that the looms are made of. As a woodworker, I could see that the loom and stand were well made and nicely finished. She also said that when folded the loom fit in another optional accessory - a carry bag made specifically for each size loom. And the carry bag also held the stand disassembled.

When the loom bug has buzzed around my head in the past there were always two stumbling blocks - and until now I had not known about rigid heddle looms but only about more traditional multi-shaft looms. One stumbling block was the space that a loom would take up in the house - we live in a small house. The other was always the price with looms that I was aware of over a thousand and higher. This loom folded! This loom had a bag to store it in! My mind started thinking about all the corners of the house I could use this loom in and then store it in if necessary. Was it heavy? I did not know. I did she this woman carry the loom on its stand into the presentation so it could not be that heavy. (It isn't as I would soon find out for myself.) The price? As of yet, unknown.

Then she started weaving on the loom. It had a shawl already started on it. This was not the first day of this quilt show and she had given this presentation before. The shawl was the width of the loom. She showed how all she had to do was lift the heddle up to open one set of threads and pass the shuttle from one side to the other, move the heddle down to open the other set of threads and pass the shuttle back again. It was that easy. She went along and wove several rows. She commented that you always know what side to raise the heddle and what side to lower the heddle by the side the shuttle was on - and remarked that if you always start the same way, you can not go wrong. Interesting. Maybe obvious, but not to me at that point. Start with the shuttle on the right she said and raise the heddle. When the shuttle is on the left side, lower the heddle. (I was really getting hooked!)

I liked the loom. My wife could tell. I also had not planned on buying a loom and I knew nothing more than what I had been watching there in the convention center. What I did not know yet was the price - and as I tend to be a skeptic so I was not letting myself get too carried away until I heard what this loom would cost. The presentation was over. People asked questions. The woman doing the program handed out a flyer about the loom - with a show special price listed. The 32" loom with the stand and the carry bag was just slightly over $500. This was the "show special price" - the presenter said that the price was special and only for the show and that their shop - which is a distributor for these looms - had to get permission from Kromski to offer a discount on the package. Individually the loom, stand, and bag were regular price - which all together was about $50 more. I was to learn later that none of the companies that make these looms want them discounted and that the price of looms is the same from one retailer to another. It was a lot of money - at least for us. I am not sure what I expected the price to be. Less, I guess. But then as I say, the looms that I have known about were much more than this. My wife could see what was going through my head. She said, "You rally want this. I can tell." Yeah, but I am a realist and know what we can afford and what I will spend on the spur of the moment. This was a big purchase. The presentation was over and the next presentation was coming in. We walked out of the program area and I wanted to head over to the booth with the looms to see it up close.

We went over - the funny thing is that we had been in this booth earlier asking about something unrelated to any loom and I had not even noticed the looms on display. The loom from the presentation was back and I went over to look at it up close. One of the people working in the booth came over and I explained that we had just watched the presentation. I asked if the loom was heavy and I was permitted to find out for myself. It was not heavy at all. It could be easily moved if needed. I could see close up just how big ti was and in the back of my head I was figuring out where it would fit to use it. Looking back, the places that I thought it would fit were spots where it would just fit but not where it eventually would go to be used which is our living room - or should I say, living room/weaving studio. The booth was from a shop that is located in a part of Pennsylvania that we travel to often - Lancaster County. We took their card. We had the show papers about the loom and we went off to see the rest of the quilt show. That day I managed to come back to be around that booth and watch people looking at the looms, see how many she had left for sale, and every so often going back again for a close look. I really was hooked. I wanted that loom so badly.

We discussed it. The difference in price was significant if we waited but it would be best if we waited - allow me to really decide if I really wanted this, that I would use it, and what I would do with what I made. (We have been selling handcraft that both of us make for many years - this would be another craft that I would get involved in. I have to say that what I start I make sure I learn and do well and my mind was going around what I would weave and how much such could sell for. At least this was justifying the cost of the loom in my head.) Also I would be able to do some research about this loom and others, prices, and also figure out where this kind of money would come from. When we walked out of the convention center that evening I felt a bit sad that I was not leaving with one of those looms. As we drove home later that night the loom was still in my head.

This was September. In November I still wanted that loom. I had looked up various looms and this loom was around the price range of the others. I like to buy what I have seen in person and not what I have seen just in photos on a website. I looked to see who sells looms like this and came down to no one near enough to go and shop around. From what I could learn, this was a good loom. Around November my wife told me that if we waited until after the beginning of December we could layout the money to buy the loom, stand, and carry bag. From my research I learned that Kromski makes "warping sticks" which are helpful when "warping" the loom. (We have not talked about warping yet.) I would add those to the purchase - just another $25 more, oh boy...  I wanted the loom and I am always looking for a good excuse to make a day trip to PA so we set a day in December when the shop would be open late - just in case we got caught in traffic from two states away - and go and buy the loom. The loom would be a gift from Santa - though Santa was not paying for it.

Also during this time I joined a Facebook group called "Weaving" and found out that there were other rigid heddle weavers on that general weaving group. I had not thought to look for specific rigid heddle groups - there are there - and we will talk about all of that in another article.

I contacted the shop two weeks in advance to make sure that they had the loom, etc. in stock. They had and they would hold one aside for me. We started out early the day we went for it in nice weather (I had been concerned that it would snow which would prevent us from making the trip)  and got to the shop just before noon. We went into the shop and were greeted like old friends. The loom usually comes  not assembled but the shop assembled the loom for me - and brought out the loom folded in the carry bag with the stand, not assembled, in the bag and in the straps there for it on the outside of the bag as well. They made sure all of the parts were in the bag including the hex key needed to assemble the stand, along with all of the accessories, the instructions, etc. They had a packet of the warping sticks on the side and we put them also in the bag.  It was all there. I paid,smiled and carried the loom to our small car and put it in the back. Nice! It was mine!

The Kromski comes with everything that you need to start weaving except yarn. One of the things needed when weaving in general is a "warping board". This is a frame with a series of pegs on which you wrap yarn around to measure it out to the total length that you will need for the warp (vertical yarn on the loom). Usually this is something that is an additional purchase. The Kromski looms have this built into the bottom of the loom. Turn the loom over and you have a warping board when you add the included pegs. Another plus for the Kromski loom. A direct warping peg and clamp is also included. A direct warping peg is another way to measure and prepare the yarn that will be warped using the loom itself and this single peg. Also included is a "sley hook" which is what you use to thread the yarn trough the slots and holes in the heddle. The new Kromski's have a hook that has a  heavy wire threader built into the handle which is also useful when threading the warp. The Kromski also includes two stick shuttles the width of the loom and also a pick up stick the width of the loom. We will get to all of these as we go along. There are also clamps that attach to the loom and a table if you are not using the stand - or don't get a stand - and will use the loom on a table instead.

Aside - don't get a 32" loom without a stand. It is much too awkward on a table. The stand is well worth the price for ease of use and convenience.

The Kromski loom comes with an 8 dent heddle. This size heddle is good to weave #4 worsted weight yarn or thinner. Kromski makes heddles in 5 dent, 8 dent, 10 dent, and 12 dent. The higher the number the thinner the yarn (smaller slots and holes). Worsted weight #4 yarn is a common knitting size yarn. We will talk about dent as we go along.

So I had it all. Now all I had to do was wait until Santa came to bring me the loom!

Now, just in case you think that this site is going to be one long advertisement for Kromski looms, let me be clear that this was only the loom that I saw and decided that I wanted. There are other rigid heddle looms made by other companies. All weave in the same way. Preference for loom brands is very much like preference for anything else. Some like Chevys, some like Fords, and some like Hondas. Just like looms, preference is a personal choice.  I have heard great things about other company's loom as I have heard great things about my loom - and I have also heard negatives about each of them. Be assured that what you will learn on this site can be applied to just about every other rigid heddle loom, no matter the size of the loom or who made it.