#Build a backstrap loom at home how to#

I ended up making four continuous string heddles (after reading this post) per the pattern, and unfortunately, the farther the heddle is from the weaving, the more it pulls up the heddles in front of it.

#Build a backstrap loom at home how to#

Unfortunately, I can’t figure out how to do it, and actually suspect it’s impossible without string heddles. Using the same loom, I planned to make a twill with this yarn I fell in love with, and my weaving teacher assured me that I could do it with two harnesses. So far all I’ve done is a tabby/plain weave on an Ashford rigid heddle yarn loom, 7.5d. I am a new weaver, and don’t know all the correct terms. I am having an issue with string heddles, and I was hoping someone here might know how to fix it. A video of the process can be seen at the end of this series of step-by-step photos. Whether you are using doubled or single warps the method for making the heddles does not change.

Normally each heddle controls a single warp.

I wound a warp for double weave for this demonstration which means that each heddle will be holding a pair of warps. In this tutorial, my warp thread is a fairly heavy -weight mercerized cotton and I am using that same material for the heddle string. I dislike using nylon but you should experiment and find out for yourself which kind of heddle string you prefer.

A lot of my indigenous weaving teachers use nylon thread or cord for their heddles as it is less abrasive on the warp. I try to match the size of the heddle material to the size of the yarn. If I am using fine, unmercerized or softly spun cotton, silk or wool, I might choose to use a tightly twisted crochet cotton or even tatting thread depending on the size of the yarn. When using medium to heavy-weight mercerized cotton, I generally use the warp yarn as the material for the string heddles. The kind of thread I use for the heddles depends on the kind of warp yarn I am using. Here are step-by-step photos for making continuous string heddles.