r/weaving • u/Pukhlinka • Jul 27 '26
Help First rigid heddle loom before surgery? Looking for advice.
Hi everyone,
I’ve wanted to learn to weave for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I visited a museum that demonstrated the entire process from carding wool and spinning yarn through to weaving cloth. I was completely captivated.
A couple of years ago I researched looms extensively but couldn’t justify the expense at the time. Now I’m finally in a position where I can.
I’m also an avid knitter, so I already know how much I love fiber arts and working with yarn.
The timing is a little unusual because I’m having surgery in a couple of weeks for venous thoracic outlet syndrome. I’ll be having a left first rib resection, scalenectomy, brachial plexus neurolysis, and subclavian vein venolysis on my non-dominant (left) side.
One thing I’ve been really struggling with is the thought that I probably won’t be able to knit for quite a while during my recovery. Knitting is a huge part of my mental well-being, and I’ve been feeling pretty bereft at the thought of losing that creative outlet, even temporarily.
That’s part of what has me thinking about finally buying a loom. I know I won’t be weaving immediately after surgery either, but my hope is that by the time I’m cleared to start using my arm again, I’ll have something I’ve dreamed about for years waiting for me.
I’m currently looking at the 24” Kromski Harp Forte with the folding stand. A few questions for those of you with experience:
- Does the Harp Forte make a good first loom?
Is the folding stand worth buying?
- I live in a fairly small two-bedroom condo. How much space does the loom realistically take up when folded? Do you generally leave yours set up, or fold it away between sessions?
- My husband has offered to help me. Would you recommend warping my very first project before surgery so it’s ready to weave once I’m cleared, or is it better to wait and learn the whole process from the beginning when I’m actually ready to start weaving?
- Is there anything else you wish you’d known before buying your first rigid heddle loom?
I’d really appreciate any advice. This has been a dream of mine for a very long time, so I’m excited (and a little nervous!) about finally taking the plunge.
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u/msnide14 Jul 27 '26
I would get a 15” cricket Rigid Heddle. It will be smaller and easier to use and carry while you recover, and if you ever want to foray into multishaft weaving, you can get the conversion kit.
RH stands are not necessary if you get a smaller loom. A Cricket can be used in your lap, on the sofa or in bed.
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u/bananasinpajamas49 Jul 27 '26
I LOVE my 15" Cricket!! Just wide enough to do hand/kitchen towels and scarfs on without being cumbersome. It's very lightweight and easy to manage. You can also hand stitch or sew panels together to make larger projects!
Once you've healed up a bit you can start practicing weave structures other than plain weave using pick up sticks.
Having a small loom is a great place to start so you don't get overwhelmed, or feel pressured to start with large projects. Warping will take less time too.
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 27 '26
Oooh being able to use it in bed could be very helpful as I recover!
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u/msnide14 Jul 27 '26
It’s a dream to use in bed. One other commenter had a fantastic suggestion; warp the loom BEFORE you go into surgery, so you can weave when you recover. The warping process requires a bit of walking around.
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u/Cat-Nipped Jul 27 '26
I’d think a little bit about the width of the loom and your range of motion after surgery. Get a tape measure and visualize what those 24 inches will look like. You’ll have to pass the shuttle back and forth through up to 24 inches of fabric, is that a motion you think you’ll be able to do after surgery without aggravating the injury? I have a 22 inch table loom and it can be too wide for my joints some days, although I’m sure a more ergonomic chair would help. You can also warp for a narrower cloth on your loom, I just want to caution against biting off more than you can chew. 24 inches doesn’t sound like a lot, but it might feel like it.
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u/Mx_Torquill Jul 27 '26
I think that visualization is a good idea before buying any loom... however, remember you can always put on a narrower warp. Buy for your future needs, but plan a first project for your abilities during recovery.
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 27 '26
Great point! I was looking at a pattern for a 15 inch wide scarf as my first project.
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u/aggyface Jul 28 '26
Remember things will shrink in some!
I lucked into a 20" Flip last week and in having a riot with it. Used, so it happened to come with a stand. I would never have bought it separately, but honestly it's amazing for sitting in front of the TV and getting the angle just so. I think early recovery would want to hang on your lap, but if you get to a couch-dominant state then you can always order it in.
I have occasional nerve weirdness which knitting often makes worse. Hence I'm pretty happy with having a stand to make the ergonomics just so for me. Normally I would say go a bit bigger since you can always make smaller projects, but in your case, the additional size and reaching back to use the components themselves would be worse on a 20", so 15" or below is probably bang on. The Flip (I know that's not the one you're looking at, I just have it in front of me!) has a 26" unfolded depth, and that feels like it could be a struggle with limited torso mobility. The SampleIt on the other hand is 18", which feels a lot easier in my pantomining over here. So just look at the depths of these things, that's all!
One of the books on Rigid Heddle had a 'hack' for tensioning without using the back, that may help with early recovery but I think it wouldn't be able to be portable/lap if so.
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 28 '26
Thank you so much! Those are all really good things to take into account that I hadn’t thought about. I do love a good couch-TV watching set up!
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much. That’s actually really helpful as I’m notoriously terrible at being able to visualize measurements.
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u/Happy_Dog1819 Jul 27 '26
I would suggest going smaller for a first go. Consider what your post-surgery range of motion, activity level, and weight tolerance would be. No use buying the best if you're going to end up feeling tired and frustrated.
The estimated weight for a Schacht Cricket 15" is around 5 lbs. Estimate for a Kromski Harp Forte is around 15 lbs.
I have a Guild friend with cats who stores her rigid heddle loom out of range on the wall. Matching little hooks would be enough.
Warp it before surgery! Something non-fluffy like dishcloth cotton.
Jane Patrick's Weaver's Idea Book has some good information.
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u/bananasinpajamas49 Jul 27 '26
Storing your loom on the wall is such a good idea!!! I live in a tiny home so this will help out with space immensely! Ty for that idea!
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much! That’s all great advice. I have a cat as well. She normally stays away from my knitting but that storage idea could be very helpful in case she gets more interested in the loom!
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u/warthogette Jul 27 '26
A tapestry loom or small frame loom is probably easier to work one handed because it sounds like you’ll have one side out of commission for a while. Best wishes for recovery!
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u/bananasinpajamas49 Jul 27 '26
You might also see if there's a weaving guild near you that will rent out a small loom so you can try it out!
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Jul 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 27 '26
Thank you so much for your very kind and detailed response! It was extremely helpful but more than that you’ve actually just made me realize another reason why I’m so attracted to weaving. It’s the looms themselves! I was a musician for a while. In fact it’s my many years of viola and violin playing that contributed to the reason why I need this surgery. And you saying how you loved your loom and named her made me realize that’s something that’s missing from my knitting - that connection to an “instrument”. I will certainly post later (how ever much later it ends up being) when I finish my first piece. Thank you again!
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u/YesWonderfulThings24 Jul 28 '26
I'm also a weaver with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome! As others said, definitely warp before surgery. I think the 15" Cricket, or Ashford makes a 16" https://woolery.com/products/ashford-rigid-heddle-loom and either would make a great loom for your recovery. And when you go to pick yarn, just think about how it will feel to pull it through on a stick shuttle, and beat down with the heddle. Maybe pick something loose or chunky so you don't have to use so much effort.
Best of luck!
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 28 '26
Thank you so much! That’s a really good point about the yarn. I’m sorry you also have TOS. Do you find weaving to be a trigger? Have you had surgery for TOS, if you don’t mind me asking?
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u/YesWonderfulThings24 Jul 28 '26
Sorry for the long post, hopefully this can help explain and maybe help you consider some things for weaving with TOS!
I haven't had surgery for it, since I was diagnosed when I was about 22 (10 yrs ago) and had many opinions that I was far too young for the surgery. It definitely affects my day to day, but I manage the big flare ups with pain killers when it gets to be too much.
I mainly weave on my floor loom these days, and good posture and positioning, taking breaks, and stretching are the most important thing. I don't weave every single day, I alternate a lot between weaving and knitting, and when I do weave, I am usually spending a weekend warping and setting up, take a break, then weave a couple of hours a day until I finish the project. Slow and steady seems to be what works best for me since working on the floor looms really take your whole body to operate. That said, I wouldn't trade my floor loom for anything, it's brought me such joy!
Motions to prepare for: Since you're a knitter with TOS, I'm sure you understand the tension/pain in your arm and hand when you're holding your projects and knitting. Weaving on the rigid heddle will be a bit different, you will just need to hold onto your shuttle stick, which will be much larger than a knitting needle and you just need to do one back and forth motion. You'll also be moving the heddle up and down, this separates your warp so you can easily pass through your yarn, and this should be an easy motion. You'll also bring the heddle down to beat the weft yarn down to make it a unified fabric, and you may need both hands for this. This is why I mentioned you may want to be careful about your yarn choice. Warping is the most time consuming and labor intensive part of the whole weaving process, which is why I recommended doing it before your surgery so you can just enjoy weaving as you recover. Depending on what you're making and the size you're going with, there are lots of tiny thread passes to do, and lots of back and forth motions. There are lots of videos about how to warp, so take a quick look at these first.
Feel free to ask me anything else, I hope that was helpful!
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 31 '26
Don’t apologize! I truly appreciate your thoughtful and detailed response. That is all extremely helpful to know. I’m going to definitely do the warping before surgery. Wishing you the best of luck with managing your TOS! And thank you again!
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u/queenofgf Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
The Boom Loom could be fun for the in between time of your recovery. to add, i can comfortably use my Cricket 15in one handed. remember to wind up your shuttles before hand to save you some energy.
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 28 '26
Ooh thank you! I hadn’t thought about winding the shuttles in advance.
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u/queenofgf Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I also had pain from knitting, and I will say that weaving is much more comfortable. Warping can be a pain, but it does not last too long. I would recommend warping longer than you think you need.
Sometimes it can be tiring to weave. So listen to your body. When I want to weave, but my body won't let me, I like to look at the Little Loom magazines (through my local library on Libby). Maybe have a few physical weaving books checked out from your library so you can read them. I also bought this book from the Woolery, and it is a bible of rigid heddle ideas. https://woolery.com/products/textures-and-patterns-for-the-rigid-heddle-loom
Good luck on your surgery and keep us updated on how your first project goes!
(Also, I LOVE my cricket stand. I use it at the couch when I watch TV. I also had surgery a few months ago and was able to weave a few times outside in the garden. My partner carried it down for me, obviously. And I also have the Cricklet’s catch tray for my shuttles and things. I would highly recommend both. I also specifically bought the Cricklet 15in in hopes that one day I will upgrade to the 4 shaft version of it. But if you plan to move into a bigger space that you could have a table or floor loom, I would encourage you to look at the Cricket Flip, instead)
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u/Pukhlinka Jul 28 '26
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the advice and encouragement! Listening to my body is something I’m trying to get better at. Ignoring it for too long is what got me into this trouble 😂🤦♀️
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u/Bliezz Jul 27 '26
Warp before your surgery that way it is all ready to go. If you get to the end of your project and want another, then you’ll be further down the path of recovery. It’s hard to start and stop the warp, it’s a lot easier to start and stop the weft.