Greetings Inkle weavers, I have been in a building frenzy recently making Inkle type looms for friends and family. As Ikeep building there have been several variations I'd like to standardize on but I'd like to get some ideas how you, the frequent users feel about them.

1. Do you prefer the variable tension bar at the front of the loom or do you prefer the paddle type like Ashford uses at the back of the loom?

2. Do you have trouble keeping uniform tension on the loom with the tension bar (does the bar loosen or move unintentionally during weavning)?

3. Is the tension mechanism adequate in the looms you own.  For instance is the wingnut that tightens the tension bar too small to tighten properly, is it hard on your fingers?

4. Do you have any other issues with your looms that you'd like to see changed?

5. Do any of you own floor Inkle looms? What do you think is the longest practical length of band you'd use on an Inkle loom?

Thanks for considering these question.  I really appreciate it/

Best regards,

Charles

 

Comments

Karren K. Brito

I have only worked on one inkle loom with decent tension from begining to end of project.  First the inkle loom must have two sides to support the many bars that hold the warp; I have never seen projecting bars that didn't flex as the tension increased.  One side needs to be removable to make it easy to warp.  The successful loom has a dozen holes and dowels at the bottom I can use to adjust the tension; gross tension adjustment , I move the end dowel; finer adjustment I add/remove dowels and make the warp/cloth go over and under them.  Te limitation I have found with inkle looms is width, not length.  The weaving space mabe 6" wide but at 4.5" the tension is too much for the loom and pieces start to break.  See here:http://weavolution.com/project/karren-k-brito/wide-paired-float-web   including a broken dowel.

Slipstream (not verified)

Would a steel reinforced Inkle loom be of any interest? I know that there is a lot of tradition in handweaving and probably even some considerations that people don't even think about.  If it was possible to keep wood as an esthetic item yet reinforce the wood with steel would that be a solution that would interest anyone? The other question is price, Inkle looms tend to be rather inexpensive on the whole, would there be a lot of price resistance say at the $150 level. Ashford's Inkle sells at about $100 and appears to be unfinished as stock. There are ways of making the inkle more rigid and stronger but it means additional materials put together in a slightly different way. How much wider would it be practical to have an inkle loom be? As I understand it, and I have really enjoyed playing with the Inkles I've built but for items larger than belts/bands the junp to a larger loom is not that much.  At what point sizewise does it make sense to go to a table-top loom as opposed to an Inkle. I know some really like the portability aspect of the Inkle, Inky being a prime example.

Regards,

Charles

Claudia Segal (not verified)

From my perspective, I am always looking for small, portable looms.  I know Ashford makes an Inklette but I do not like the tensioning bar on it.  I much prefer the tensioning bar on the Schacht.  In fact, I bought a little "inklette" that had no instructions with it but you move the pegs to control the tension.  It doesn't work well or easily and I would love to have something a bit larger with a tensioning system.

    The pegs are 2.5" long and the inklette came with 12 of them.  The band I made was about 16" long and 1.5" wide.  Four pegs at the top are permanent and the rest move around but you have to bang them in with a rubber mallet and then it's hard to remove them.  I set several pegs in a zigzag pattern at the beginning and as I wove more, removed pegs to maintain tension but allow for the take-up from weaving.

Hope that helps.  I hope you are considering selling your inkle looms.  Minis are hard to find.

Claudia

Charys (not verified)

My inkle loom was build by my husband based on pictures from the internet. De tension bar is at the front and the only problem I've got with it is that it's quite a strain on your hands to simultaneously pull the bar forward and tightening the nut after advancing the warp. The Ashford sollution with a tension block at the back might work, but since I haven't tried it, I can't say wether it will hold the tension properly.

loomyladi (not verified)

My floor inkle will hold about 4 yards, although I've been able to push it  slightly further.  This is tough to advance and I encounter issues with having to move peg location about 3/4  of the way through.

Noreen Crone-Findlay

I am so sorry that it took me so long to respond, but I didn't see this topic come up. Sometimes, it seems that my group listings don't update.

Anyhow, on to topic: My husband built me a wonderful inkle loom more than 15 years ago. It's based on a drawing in the Helene Bress Inkle Weaving book, with a few modifications.

I love the simple but highly effective tensioning system that built into the loom. It's slots and holes with nails in them.

Someone asked me to post dimensions and photos of the loom, so I wrote a blog post about it:

http://tottietalkscrafts.com/2008/12/31/inkle-loom-dimensions/

Having the 2 sided loom makes it extremely sturdy, and adding extra dowels has really increased the length of the warp.

Happy weaving!

:o) Noreen

www.crone-findlay.com

 

sarahnopp (not verified)

I am borrowing a floor inkle from school right now and it has the normal peg/hole set up for adjusting length (add more pegs) and major tension (move peg to a different hole). But for finer tension it has a dual eyebolt. It is an excellent feature which I am going to use when I build my tablet loom.

Noreen Crone-Findlay

Wow, Sarah, what a neat loom! Thanks for posting the photo- that is truly neat.

Aunt Janet (not verified)

I have a mini with no brand name on it, so I don't know that info.  The tensioning device is backwards.  When you turn it to tighten it, it loosens it up.  Don't do that!  It is also cut with sharp edges.  I have to hold it between my knees to keep it steady, but it is so sharp that I have to use felt pads to protect myself.  so if you are making mini's, make them rounded on edges.

My floor loom Cendrel, holds too much yardage IMHO.  I think four yards is plenty.  Otherwise, I will get bored with the project.  My Glimakra has beams at each end.  I can put 10 yards on it if I wanted to.  I have four yards on it now of fine silk and I'm getting tired of it.  That stuff is slow weaving, even on the speedy loom.

I don't think $150 is too much if it looks good, functions well, and has special features, like the steel reinforcements.  I might even want to purchase one.

Happy loom building.