Hi all!

A wonderful new (to me) loom recently followed me home, and we've been getting to know eachother.  She is an 8s Toika Norjaana.  I dressed her up with a simple warp and started weaving this weekend.  After a good "tune up", she is weaving very nicely.  There is only one thing that is keeping me from getting a good rhythm and really cookin' - the treadles are so close together!

I have big, wide feet, even for a guy.  It is proving difficult to depress only one treadle without either using the side of my foot (awkward) or just my big toe (also awkward, and makes me feel ridiculous).  Even when doing so, I find myself often checking to make sure I've selected the right treadle.

I have tried a few different configurations of treadle spacers - those rounded-square wooden things that go between treadles on the treadle bar.  No matter what I choose, the treadles still seem to all bunch together at the end closest to me.

Am I doing something just plain wrong here?  Is there a secret technique for dealing with such cramped treadles?

Comments

Wed, 06/19/2013 - 14:53

Sara von Tresckow

Using your toe or side of the foot to open the space to depress the treadles is simply a function of the CM loom. If you place the treadles too far from center you get very nasty distortions when you depress the treadles.

Most people I have known (including whose with large feet) need only to slow down for a few days to determine the most efficient movement for them and to practice it slow and steady until it becomes second nature.

Try moving the bench to various positions and heights, try various movements of your foot - there is no ONE way here, but usually it becomes vastly more comfortable with practice.