How to Start Weaving: Your First Loom and Scarf

Start with a rigid heddle loom and a scarf. Clamp the loom to a table, warp it (Ashford’s scarf uses 84 ends on a 2 m warp), weave with a shuttle, then wash. Ashford’s booklet and Kromski’s Presto sheet both start beginners this way, on scarves 28 cm and 15 cm wide.

Choose your first loom

The two Ashford looms have a 7.5 dpi reed and come with stick shuttles. The Erica has 2 shafts, expandable to 4, with a 40/10 reed and 200 Texsolv heddles.

Which one for you:

• You want to weave a scarf: a 40 cm rigid heddle loom. Ashford’s 28 cm scarf is wider than the 25 cm size, so it needs the 40 cm. Kromski’s 15 cm scarf fits either.
• You want blankets or wide cloth: the Standard Rigid Heddle, which goes up to 120 cm.
• You already know you want more than plain cloth: the Erica, with 2 shafts, expandable to 4.

What you need

Ashford’s scarf project asks for:

• Sharp scissors and a measuring tape
• Cardboard warp sticks
• One long table, or two smaller tables
• Yarn (the booklet uses Ashford DK, 100% wool, 202 m / 221 yd per 100 g)

The Standard Rigid Heddle and the SampleIt both come as kits, with clamps, a threading hook, a warping peg, cardboard warp sticks and the booklet.

Your first warp and weave

Here’s Ashford’s scarf: 84 ends on a 2 m (79 in) warp. Kromski’s Presto scarf has 28 loops (56 strands) on a 200 cm warp, and its sheet has you fit Warp Helper Loops between the heddle and the dowel rods.

1. Set up your table. Clamp the loom’s back rail to one end of a table and the warping peg to the far end, 2 m (79 in) apart.
2. Thread the slots. Tie the yarn to the back warp stick, pull a loop through a slot with the threading hook, and loop it over the peg. Alternate under and over the back stick for each slot until you have 42 double threads (84 ends).
3. Wind on. Wind the warp onto the back roller, adding cardboard or paper between layers so the tension stays even. Stop when the end reaches the front roller, then cut the loops.
4. Thread the eyes. Pull one thread from each slot through the eye to its right, so every slot and every eye holds one thread.
5. Tie on. Divide the threads into small groups, take each group around the front warp stick, tie a single knot, check the tension, then finish with a half bow so the knots are easy to undo later.
6. Spread the warp. Weave in loops of scrap yarn, alternating reed positions, and push them toward the knots to close the gaps.
7. Weave. Pass the shuttle through the shed, move the reed to the other position, and beat gently. Lay the weft at about a 30-degree angle so the edges don’t pull in.
8. Advance the warp. When the weaving is about 8 cm (3 in) from the reed, release the pawl, wind the front handle, and re-engage the pawl.
9. Join new weft. Overlap the new yarn across the old in the same shed and beat both down together.
10. Take it off and finish. Cut the warp at the back stick, undo the front knots, tie the ends in groups of four with overhand knots, then wash gently in warm water with a little detergent.

Once you have one scarf done, try Ashford’s Indirect Warping leaflet.

Common first problems

Loose, gappy rows. Ashford’s booklet says work under tension can look open and will close when taken off the loom, and that washing closes the gaps a little. Its hint: “Always beat gently.”

Edges pulling in. Ashford says to lay the weft at an angle so there is enough yarn in each row. Kromski adds that a weft pulled too tight draws the scarf in, and one left too loose forms loops at the edge.

Reed falls forward, or is hard to move. Ashford says the warp needs only enough tension to hold the reed up. If the reed falls forward, increase tension slightly; if it’s hard to move, loosen it.

Uneven tension. Ashford says to adjust the knots until all groups match. Kromski says to bounce the flat of your hand across the warp and retighten any loose section.

Your first 3 projects

1. Ashford striped scarf. 84 ends, 2 m warp, 28 cm (11 in) finished width, Ashford DK. The full pattern is in Ashford’s booklet.
2. Kromski Presto scarf. 15 x 150 cm (6 x 60 in) with 10 cm (4 in) fringe.
3. A weekend small project. See Little Looms: Five Projects You Can Warp and Weave in a Weekend.

Made one of these? We’d love to see it.

See it done

Weavers and makers on YouTube.

• Which loom for a beginner weaver? Rigid heddle and table loom comparison., from Kelly Casanova
• Trying Different Basic Weaving Patterns On A Four Shaft Loom 4K, from Harry Rogers
• Weaving on a Jack Loom (1), from Georgia Sexton

Further reading

• Little Looms: Getting Started: Tools and Equipment for the Rigid-Heddle Loom
• Handwoven: Tips & Tricks for Warping Your Loom

Related

• All looms
• How to warp a rigid heddle loom

FAQ

What is the easiest loom to start weaving on? Ashford’s and Kromski’s beginner projects are both for a rigid heddle loom, so that’s the place to start.

How wide should my first loom be? Ashford’s scarf finishes at 28 cm (11 in) and Kromski’s at 15 cm (6 in). The 28 cm scarf needs a 40 cm loom; the 15 cm scarf fits either 25 or 40 cm.

Do I need a friend to help warp? Ashford suggests a friend hold the warp ends while you wind on. If you’re on your own, it points to its Solo Warping instructions.

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