{"id":90598,"date":"2017-06-01T11:57:17","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T09:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katia.com\/blog\/rigid-heddle-loom-shawls\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T10:20:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T08:20:27","slug":"rigid-heddle-loom-shawls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katia.com\/blog\/en\/rigid-heddle-loom-shawls\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover the secrets of the Rigid Heddle Loom with these two shawls by \u2018El Cabo de Valentina\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you know about the\u00a0rigid heddle loom<\/strong>? Discover the secrets of this fascinating textile technique with Mariajo from\u00a0El Cabo de Valentina<\/em>. Warp, shuttles, warping board, heddle… get to know the parts of a rigid heddle loom; and how it works with these two woven shawls <\/strong>made with Katia Fair Cotton<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Saint Tropez<\/em><\/a>. A few years ago, on\u00a0a trip to Argentina “I saw the women weaving and knew I had to do that”, Mariajo recalls. She visited the American country various times with the intention to learn how to weave with a rigid heddle loom. “When you are entrapped by the yarns, you have to let yourself go…” And that is how El Cabo de Valentina<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>was born, with classes and woven artisanal garments made by this master weaver.<\/p>\n

\"Rigid<\/a><\/p>\n

Rigid Heddle Loom<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rigid heddle loom is characterised by the weft<\/strong> threads being threaded through the heddle reed<\/strong>. Furthermore, the heddle reed, which is made up of the heddles<\/strong>, is moved up and down with the hands whilst weaving the fabric. After each movement the shuttle <\/strong>(where the yarn has been loaded) is passed through the warp threads from both left to right and right to left. Finally, depending on the thickness of the yarn, you can use different rigid heedles: metal, acrylic plastic or wood.<\/p>\n

What\u00b4s what?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Warp<\/strong>: Set of longitudinal yarns which are kept in tension on the loom.<\/p>\n

Heddle reed<\/strong>:\u00a0This is used to adjust the weft whilst weaving. In the case of the rigid heddle loom it consists of slots and holes.<\/p>\n

Heddles<\/strong>:\u00a0Vertical wires (attached to reed) with an hole in the middle to pass the warp thread through, and which separate the warp threads with the two up and down movements of the reed.<\/p>\n

Weft<\/strong>: This is the transversal yarn that is woven in between the weft threads to form the fabric.<\/p>\n

Shuttle<\/strong>: This is used to load up the yarn that passes from one side of the weft to the other, above and below the warp.<\/p>\n

Warping board<\/strong>:\u00a0Board used to make and cut the warp threads so they are the same length and tension.<\/p>\n

\"Rigid<\/a><\/p>\n

Step by step<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Using the\u00a0warping board, <\/strong>obtain the quantity of yarns with the correct length for the garment.<\/li>\n
  2. Position the yarns<\/strong>\u00a0in the heddle reed and knot them.<\/li>\n
  3. Work the first row by passing the shuttle<\/strong> with the weft yarn through the warp yarns. Then fasten off the ends with thread and a sew needle so the weft thread doesn\u00b4t come loose.<\/li>\n
  4. When you reach the required length, fasten off the yarns in the same manner as the first row.<\/li>\n
  5. Lastly\u00a0cut the yarns and remove the garment from the loom.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Rigid<\/a><\/p>\n

    Take note<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    When the warp yarns pass on top of and below the weft, there is shrinkage<\/strong> of approximately 10%. Therefore, if we want to weave a scarf 68 7\/8″ (175cm) long, we need to add 10% for shrinkage, plus 5 7\/8″ (15cm) at each side for the fringe: = 68 3\/4″ (175cm) + 10% = 6 3\/4″(17.50cm) + 11 3\/4″ (30cm) fringe. The width will also shrink by 10%, so if we want a width of 13 3\/4″ (35cm), we must add an extra 1 3\/8″ (3.5cm).\u00a0With this loom you can work\u00a0different stitches<\/strong>: plaids, checks, twill\u2026<\/p>\n

    \"Rigid<\/a><\/p>\n

    Repeat the graphs<\/strong>\u00a0until complete the work. Graphs are composed of:<\/p>\n