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Why do weavers like Swedish looms?
There are many reasons why great looms come from Sweden. The weaving and loom building traditions in Sweden have an unbroken history and the knowledge about weaving and looms has been past down from one generation to another. A grandmother taught her granddaughter and an aunt taught her niece. Weaving has always been an important part of the Swedish culture. In the United States the industrial revolution brought cheap fabrics to the consumer and weavers took the old looms apart and put them into the barn. Much of the knowledge of weaving and looms was no longer necessary. When weaving was revived in the US in the 20th century there were no grandmothers or aunts to go to for the information needed to build the looms or to do the weaving. Without this knowledge of what makes a good loom, many looms designed in this century for weavers are nothing like the old looms packed away many generations ago.
Quality Weaving
So what have the Swedish looms maintained from the past that make them such good tools? And what is the effect on the weaver and the weaves coming from the looms?
They produces a high quality of weaving. In Sweden there is a respect for excellent craftsmanship and each woven blanket, rug or tablecloth must be long lasting, made well with precision and with expert detail. On a Swedish loom you can weave the lightest curtain material and the sturdiest rag rugs. And when you hang those curtains, they will hang straight. When you put that rug on the floor, is it straight and square. It doesn't end up in a heap when someone walks on it and it will last a long time.
The weaving is pleasurable.
This is because the loom is built to do most of the work of the weaving and is large enough to fit the human body. You can create a rhythm in your weaving which makes the weaving go more smoothly and more quickly. The heavy beater gives a firm beat and is easy to use because it is hanging from the top of the high frame. The treadling is light and sure so you are never off balance. The loom is tall, there is plenty or room for the lamms to move and the bench is high so you can sit comfortably.
The Swedish loom is a quality tool.
Swedish weaving equipment is made to work. They believe that you cannot skimp on the equipment if you want successful weaving. The Swedish loom makers do not need to give you frivolous extras to make the loom salable because it is such a perfect tool. The frame is sturdy, precision made, and the craftsmanship is superb. The parts fit perfectly together and the wood is smooth to the touch. And the loom is designed so that the process of putting the warp on the loom is comfortable and easy. The frame, beater and ratchets all make the weaving motions nearly effortless. You can feel the difference when you start to weave. You know you are weaving on a well designed solid loom. And the loom will last and can be passed on from one generation to another.
Features of a Swedish Loom
If you have seen a Swedish loom, you know they are tall, sturdy looking and mostly wood. The wood is a light colored pine and birch, made with outstanding craftsmanship and finish. You readily notice that there are very few metal parts and the frame is assembled with wooden wedges. It has a hanging beater, treadles attached in the rear, and large ratchet wheels for turning the beams. It is convertible from counterbalance to countermarch. The tie ups and heddles are made with a white polyester cord called Texsolv. The overall look is of a serious piece of wooden equipment with a smooth, elegant finish.
The Frame
The Loom Frame is easy to assemble, comfortable for weaving, comfortable for threading and deep enough to do excellent weaving. The framing pieces are large. The grain of the pine in Sweden has growth rings which are very close together, making it a very strong wood. The wooden wedges which hold the frame together insure that the loom frame will be strong even with changes in humidity and temperature. They allow you to put the loom together or take it apart quickly and without many tools. This makes the loom easy to transport and easy to store when not in use. You can even take the loom apart when there is a warp on it.
Swedish loom frames are versatile. You can change from weaving counterbalance to countermarch, even if you have already started to weave. You can add extra shafts when you decide that it is time to use them. And with a large frame you can easily make your loom into a drawloom.
Most standard sized Swedish looms are about 4 1/2' to 5' deep. If you have never experienced weaving on a loom with this kind of depth, it is hard to explain how this feels and how much easier the weaving is. The greater depth in a Swedish loom means that the treadling will be easier. When the treadling is easier, there is less tension in your legs, you are more comfortable, can throw the shuttle more easily, and you will not tire as you weave. And this depth is sufficient to provide a better shed and lessen the strain on the warp.
This large frame also gives you plenty of space to get inside for the warping process. This is much easier and more comfortable than bending over the loom to reach the center.
Laminated beams
Beater cross pieces are made from laminated wood to keep these pieces from warping and causing a crooked beat. The uprights which hold the breast beam are also laminated and have a bolt securing the top, as this part of the loom takes a lot of stress from warp tension. All the cross beams: the breast beam, knee beam, back beam, warp beam and cloth beam are also laminated to hold up to warp tension. This makes the loom stronger. The circumference of the solid laminated cloth and warp beams is from 9" on small looms to 12" on the standard looms.
Fabric Protector
The standard Swedish loom has a breast beam which is more than 2"x 3" and has a fabric protector. This is a thin board which is placed outside the breast beam. This allows you to sit very close to your weaving without touching the weaving. This board when raised slightly prevents shuttles from falling off the loom when you are beating. This is especially helpful when weaving with more than one shuttle.
If you compare weaving on this larger frame to a smaller loom, you will feel how the solid frame makes the weaving more comfortable.
Shafts and Heddles
Swedish looms have shafts which consist of the two shafts bars and the string heddles. This is the simplest possible shaft and it is very easy to use. You can use different sizes of heddles and can use long eyed heddles for pattern weaving. Heddles are easily added or taken off. You do not have to hang more shafts than are needed for the weaving and the extra shafts are easy to store. You can take them out of the way when beaming a warp and you can hang them at the back of the loom for more comfortable threading. And when you purchase a loom, it doesn't cost much more to get extra shafts.
The Texsolv heddles were made for Swedish looms. They last much longer than hand tied heddles and are a convenience. They are kind to your hands when you are working with them, and the eyes are large and easy to thread.
Treadling
Treadling is easier and more comfortable on a Swedish loom. The treadles are attached at the rear of the loom which gives the treadling a light touch. They are also close together so that you can feel them with your feet and move from one to the other without looking at them. This closeness is also an advantage when you are using many treadles, as they will be close together and easy to reach. If treadles are too far apart, the outside treadles will be too far away. This causes you will be off balance and you may have to look at them to find the right one.
The treadles on a Swedish loom are also adjustable in height so that you can determine the most comfortable height for your weaving.
Another feature which helps with treadling is the foot rest. When you do not need to put your feet on treadles, they rest on the cross beam below the bench. This helps to keep your balance and reduces tension in your legs and your back. Some looms do not have a foot rest, and resting your feet on the treadles can cause treadling errors in the weaving.
Treadling is very light, so there is no need to have a slanted bench or to sit teetering on the edge of the bench. You can sit comfortably on the bench and you will not tire as fast.
The treadles are tied with Swedish Texsolv cord, which was developed just for weavers. The cord has small openings for making loops and they are secured with plastic anchor pins. The Texsolv heddles allow you to weave with many threads per inch and the heddles and cords last much longer than cotton heddles and cords. You can use precut cord kits or cut your own for tying up the shafts, lamms and treadles.
When you first sit down and treadle a Swedish loom, you will notice the ease of treadling and how comfortable you feel at the loom.
Hanging Beater
Hanging beaters beat perfectly square, are quiet, and don't require a lot of strength to use them. The beat is easy to control because the beater is very tall, producing a long sweep. This means that the beater can be heavy and the weight is doing most of the work. To weave very tight weaves just pull the beater faster. To beat lightly you beat slower with less force. The swinging quality of the hanging beater means that it can be in continuous movement. Because the beater does not strike the frame, it is very quiet.
You don't have to hold back for a light beat as you do on beaters which are attached at the bottom of the loom. And you are not having to lift the weight of the beater as you beat. Some weavers describe this lower beater as having a dead feel. That is in response to the beater falling dead against the frame or the fabric and to the lack of control they feel.
The hanging beater is hung from a cradle on the top of the loom frame. This cradle is adjustable so that you can adjust the beater to be perfectly parallel to the breast beam. The beater can be lifted out of the loom when needed. You can weave longer before you need to advance the warp because the beater has three positions. To change the beater position, I put my feet on the foot rest and lift the beater back into the next v shaped notch. You do not have to get off the bench. When you begin to weave, the beater is in the forward position. You weave 2 or 3 inches, put the beater in the second position, weave another 2 or 3 inches, put the beater into the last position and weave again. After this, you can advance the warp. The beater, in its third position is about 15" from the breast beam. This gives you a lot of space for weaving. This beater gives you about 8"-9" of weaving before you have to advance the warp.
The beater does not have a shuttle race, found commonly on jack looms. The shuttle race is required on a jack loom because the jack loom works only on a looser warp tension and the shuttle race is needed to keep the shuttle from falling through the warp. The shuttle race is not necessary on a counterbalance or countermarch loom because you can weave with a greater tension on the warp.
The first time you use a hanging beater, you will notice the difference, not only in ease of beating, but also in the control of your beat.
Advancing the Warp and Even Tension
The greater depth of a Swedish loom means that you can set the warp at the same tension each time you advance the warp. This will give you a more consistent fabric and your beat can be the same each time you advance the warp. The deeper frame also gives you the possibility of having a very tight tension and a very tight weave, which is difficult on a shallow loom.
Shallow looms need to have the warp advanced very often. And it is difficult to get the tension the same with such a short depth. If the tension is not the same, the wefts per inch will not be the same, and the quality of the weaving suffers. Small ratchets on small looms sometimes have too few teeth. You often have to choose between a warp tension which is either too loose or too tight. On Swedish looms, the ratchet wheels are very large and easy to move and tighten, due to the leverage of the wheel handles. And there are many teeth, giving you a very fine adjustment. When necessary, it is very easy to lift the pawl out to loosen the tension.
Small looms often have a ratchet pedal so that the warp can be moved frequently without getting up. Unfortunately, you have to release the tension on the cloth beam first, and this can be so difficult that you have to get up anyway. If you don't do this, the tension will cause a jerk when the ratchet release pedal is used. This causes the warp beam to move quickly and release much too much warp. So, to prevent this you need to release the pawl on the cloth beam before you press the brake pedal. This is often hard or nearly impossible to do because there are usually two or three pawls caught in the ratchet. One hand lifts the take-up handle and the other hand must hold the cloth beam at this tight tension so that you can lift the pawls out. This is difficult if your warp tension is tight. So the solution is to have a brake on the warp beam rather than a ratchet.
You don't have any of these problems on Swedish looms where there is greater depth, only one pawl is needed in the ratchet wheel, and that pawl is very easy to remove.
The ratchet wheels on Swedish looms are on the outside of the frame at a convenient height where they are easy to use. Being outside the frame means that the ratchets will never interfere with the warp or the fabric.
On many other looms the ratchet wheels are on the inside of the loom frame where warp threads can get caught and break. Beaming sticks and selvage paper can also get in the ratchet teeth and this can interfere with the working of the ratchet. Their handles are very low so you need to bend over to use them. This is not the way Swedish looms are made.
The ease of advancing and tensioning the warp makes weaving on a Swedish loom very comfortable.
Counterbalance and Countermarch
Swedish looms have counterbalance or countermarch systems of moving shafts. These systems give you the very best weaving with no sticking of warp threads, sure responsive treadling and the most quiet system available. It is the best way to weave tight weaves such as rugs and is also the best for fragile warp threads. These are the best systems for developing a rhythm in weaving motions.
Tie-ups are made with Texsolv cord, which you can purchase by the yard or in the form of tie-up kits. The Texsolv cord is much easier to tie than ordinary cord, and is very easy to adjust.
Swedish looms are quiet, have clear trouble free sheds and very light treadling.
Click here to read about counterbalance and countermarch. Or use the menu item on the left of the page
See a photo of the counterbalance pulleys.
See a top view of the countermarch jacks. Side view of horizontal jacks.
Click on Glimakra for more information on Swedish looms .
Elkhorn Mountains Weaving... 866-890-7314 or 406-442-0354
update 12/05