Made in maple plywood, it is amazingly strong and lightweight for its size. I love having that historical connection with a sweet tool that is small enough to tuck into my pocket! The larger heddle (below, right) is a 25-thread Scandinavian-style heddle. The small 13-thread heddle (below, left) is based on a French example from the Roman Era. Both are made by Robin Goatey, the maker behind TheDancingGoats. The two shown below are very lightweight, smooth, and snag-free. Especially when getting started, having a lightweight heddle is really helpful. These traditional tools come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from simple to ornate. You’ll first need a rigid heddle and shuttle. This type of traditional bandweaving is just so much fun, and it only takes a little time, a small amount of yarn, and a few tools to get started. Patterned bands created with a pick-up technique look much more complicated, but after learning how to create plain-weave bands, pick-up only requires a few more skills. Plain weave bands are super easy to learn to warp and weave, and I’ll show you the basics in a short tutorial. Kate weaving a simple plain-weave band in her greenhouse using a small 13-thread rigid heddle from TheDancingGoats. With backstrap weaving, you are part of the loom-a beautiful thing. All you need to do is tie the far end of the warp to something secure and the near end of the warp to your belt. Today I’ve been weaving in my greenhouse on a very cool spring morning, seated in a chair, but you can also stand or sit on the ground to weave in this method. I’ve woven bands on hikes in the forest, in my barn with lambs bouncing about, through meetings and lectures, and in random hotels when I needed a bit of peace. Just like my spindles or book charkha, a small rigid heddle used backstrap-style to weave narrow bands can be used just about anywhere. I love portable projects that can move with me out in the world.
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