Counter-March Table Loom

Important note: I designed this loom to solve a very specific problem (the difficult separation of warp threads, which requires a large shede width). For other applications, please refer to the 8-shaft table loom I have also published on this site.

Why make it complicated rather than simple?

This project follows the 4-shaft table loom and the 6-shaft table loom that I already published. But its purpose is much more specific...

My goal was to weave only natural fibers. So I once tried to use a mixture of linen and natural wool, that has very different elasticity. Additionally, natural wool threads tend to cling to each other. This makes them very difficult, if not impossible, to separate in the shed.

So I have been looking to increase enough the shedding of the warp to separate threads, even under such conditions.

This technique is not new and has been well described as ‘Counter-Balanced’ or ‘Counter-March’ loom. However I did not found any reference of table loom using this principal. So I designed a system with pulleys, which mechanically raise or lower the frames, on either side of the plane of the fabric, to tackle the problem. All details can be found in the .pdf file.

Enjoy !

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