Warp Weighted Loom

[Gobae]

Last night we started building a warp weighted loom based off of this loom from Castell Henllys.



Now, I'm aware of a couple changes that will need to be made because we're not re-enacting Briton, but 400CE Dal Riada instead. The big one will be type of warp weights used. Irish/Dalriada archaeology of that time period has produced no stone warp weights. A few people in the past have suggested sand bags or unfired clay. Both of which would leave no archaeological evidence. Recently, however, a member of our group suggested a third option; containing the regular stones in netting. The netting disintegrates over time and the stones are unidentifiable from the rest on the site. Additional thoughts, comments?

The next hurdle I'm looking at, is reproducing the shuttle. I've never even seen the shuttles used on a wwl, so I don't know where to even start. And so far, the photos of wwl's aren't close enough to include the shuttle either.

[Medicus Matt]

Sounds like a lot of hassle compared to making them from clay or stone. Making little net bags for each one? If you were going down that route you might as well have cloth bags of sand/clay/rocks. Or leather bags.
Wouldn't be so easy to move them up the warp as you progress either?

I made 60 weights for our wwl a couple of years ago, fired most of them (just around the fire, not in a kiln or anything fancy like that) but left a couple unfired. They went hard enough to use after a couple of days in the sun but obviously remained quite brittle, not really suitable for the sort of bashing together they'd get on the loom. One get left out in the rain. It rapidly turned into lumps and eventually washed away completely.

I don't think that anyone's find a shuttle for our period (5th/6th C) in this country so we've not used one, hust passed the ball of weft back and forth. However, I did see what claimed to be a late Pannonian, possibly 4th Century, shuttle on a recent trip to Budapest. If the picture came out I'll send you a copy.

[Kate Tiler]

Hi Gobae, this sounds fascinating & thanks for posting the info - I worked at a museum in Wednesbury in september, alongside some members of Regia Angelorum - they had a portable loom that they brought:

[Kate Tiler]

Sorry the first picture is of the replica loom in the Wednesbury museum, the second & third are the one belong to the people from Regia.

[Gobae]

Matt - Yeah, the sand bags sounded like a lot of work and not a praticularly efficient method. The guy who suggested the nets though, indicated that once you got the pattern down, it was very quick and easy to make them.

You're info on the clay is really helpful. I've got plenty of clay (we use it for the smelter and forge tuyeres), and that'd be right up my daughter's alley for contributing to the project.

Kate - Those photos are great. In the first one, is the piece of bone/horn/antler what they're using for a 'sword beater'?

It's good to see how they've tied the weights. I was just discussing last night how you could do a long run if the travel distance from the weight to the lower bar is only 12". Now, I see you just tie it off in the middle and let the exess lay on the ground; re-tieing as it gets taken up.

I'll post some pics of our progress soon.

[Kate Tiler]

More pics of weights - I get asked a lot about clay loom weights & thought these pics might come in useful should I ever run out of things to do & decide to make some! The lady that owns the loom was very happy for me to take these pics by the way, her husband made it for them.

[Kate Tiler]

This picture is from a copy of the article about the museum loom, on the wall, showing the antler beater bar in use:

[Kate Tiler]

If you click on the picture you can read the text & it says that the beater is a whale rib! I am guessing that has come from finds in Orkney maybe?

[David Freeman]

There examples of possible shuttles in the excavations of the Glastonbury Lake Village, (iron age)
The items in question are in the Tribunal museum in Glastonbury town.
I have (somewhere) a photo of said item.
I will try to find it and post it.

David

[Gobae]

Any luck with those shuttle pics?

[Mary Craig]

I work with 'butterflies', long thin coiled hanks of wool...like new and still rolled up washing lines, on my wwl. Quite traditional on hand looms and since there is no additional weight in them they don't keep pulling down when one is trying to beat the weft up on the wwl.
I agree about the netting bags to hold small stones; they are very effective and allow fiddling about with the weight until it's just right at that pull it taut stage evenly across the warp. Since it's only holding the stones together, the net can simply be looped like neolithic knotless netting, or basic crochet works well too.
I'm using bags of marbles on one loom just now and they are surprisingly effective.

Cheers,
Mary

[David Freeman]

Still not found the photo of the shuttle, may have to go take a new one.

An observation........applied to iron age in particular.
Having been involved in experimental archaeology for too many years, I realised that all the upright warp weighted looms that have been constructed (so far) from 'evidence' are incapable of being used with 4 sets of heddles due to the fact that half of the warp is hanging out at the back...........
We have examples of twill and hounds-tooth cloth in the archaeology.
We have the loom weights.
We have no looms.
Except..............
On greek vases, and Roman paintings, which show the the loom vertical, not sloped, and the warp in a single line, with the weights in a line at the base, enabling 4 heddles to be used.

Discuss

David

[Perdita]

Hi Dave,

Looking good! I know this is quite an old post but thought you might still be interested.

Marta Hoffmann in the "The Warp-Weighted" loom shows Icelandic examples of vertical looms with multiple heddle bars drawn by Holm in 1778 but Hoffmann said that these drawings were "mischievous and misleading" because the Scandinavian loom usually slopes to the rear, although the diagrams look quite convincing to me. Not sure if this helps or not!

Georgie

[Gobae]

Here's the current status of the loom.



We don't always have the luxury of proping the loom up against a wall, so we've added legs to allow it to free stand.

[m300572]

Can you take a picture from a different angle so we can see the surroundings - then it'll be a Loom with a View

[Thor Ewing]

Interested in David Freeman's observation that the looms known from the limited iconographical evidence are fully vertical, not slanted.
I can only vaguely call these images to mind at the moment, but are they definitely warp-weighted looms, or could they be upright two-beam looms?
Best, Thor

[Kate Tiler]

Just found this image (two more views available) of a warp weighted loom:

http://www.gtj.org.uk/item.php?lang=en&id=17358&t=1

[auldMotherBegg]

I really wish I could see one of these looms in action. I struggle to imagine how the sheds are worked, and how the finished fabric is contained (on the roller at the top?) as you weave.

[sally]

I really wish I could see one of these looms in action. I struggle to imagine how the sheds are worked, and how the finished fabric is contained (on the roller at the top?) as you weave.

its really simple when you have a go, you just pull the heddle bar towards you to open one shed or drop it back for the other. You roll the fabric upwards onto the bar periodically at need.

You can rig very complicated heddle arrangements, but the simple sorts make very nice fabric on this sort of loom. We made a child sized one that we use for education work and its great fun to weave on.

[auldMotherBegg]

Oh right, I think I get it... You tie each of the alternate warp threads to the string and stick heddle, pull it towards you, slide your shuttle through the shed, then drop it back, slide shuttle through the other way, etc, is that it?

I want to make one and have a go, thanks for your help!

[Gobae]

Oh! Thank you for reviving this thread (no pun intended).

Here are some up to date photos of the loom in action. We used it during a local Celtic festival (Celebration of Celts) The complete page of that even can be found here: http://www.celticclans.org/demos/coc2007.html





I'll try to get a close up photo of the loom with some of the weaving that happened on that weekend, including the how the heddles were strung.

[auldMotherBegg]

Cheers, that'd be great!

[Gobae]

As promised here are some additional closeups of the loom.

Here's where we left off with the weaving. Both the warp and the weft are wool.



The heddles in the relaxed position. They're simply loops of linen thread.



The heddles pulled taut to open the shed.



The weighted bags we're using instead of stones or clay.

[auldMotherBegg]

Gosh, thank you, that is so helpful!

I didn't imagine the heddle strings were *loops* of thread, I thought they had to be tied onto each of the warp threads with a knot. (And now that I think of it would make it really hard to actually move the heddle when you wanted to roll up the fabric... doh!)

Many thanks for that.

[ViscontesseD'Asbeau]

The chapter in Rachel Brown's 'Spinning Weaving and Dyeing Book' tells you enough to construct a similar loom (although there it's called Navajo, but eseentially no difference to a Dark Ages European one).

Inkle loom weavers still often use home-made heddle strings to create a shed, so that's a comparatively cheap way to get your head round this kind of weaving if you'd like to have a go. Have never used this kind of loom, but am guessing they were leant against a wall or at an angle to help create a better shed? Those here who have used them will know if that's the case?

I remember the programme about those people who spent a year living 'in the Iron Age' in the 70s, and they got addicted to weaving on a vertical loom like this at night, as there was nothing much else to pass the time!