How to Thread a Beka Loom

The Beka rigid heddle loom is a simple loom for a child or beginner weaver.

The Beka rigid heddle loom is a small, inexpensive loom that is a great beginning weaver's loom or a very good child's loom. It's surprising that you can weave fairly sophisticated structures on a rigid heddle loom, particularly if you use a pick-up stick. Putting a warp on the Beka loom and threading it is different from the process used to put a warp on a floor loom, so it's important to know how it differs.

Things You'll Need

• Warping board or pegs
• Yarn

Instructions

1. Calculate the sett for your project by winding the warp yarn around a ruler. Count the number of wraps per inch and divide by two to get your sett for plain weave. If the yarn goes around 24 times, your sett is 12, for example. You will have 12 warp ends per inch. For a scarf 10 inches wide, you'll need 10 x 12 = 120 ends. The scarf might be 45 inches long, and there will be some fringe and loom waste, so you could wind a warp that is 2 yards long, or 72 inches. Wind the warp on the warping board and make a cross at one end. Tie it off at both ends and bring it to the loom.

2. Prop the rigid heddle up between two books. Use a crochet hook to draw one warp end through a slot in the rigid heddle and the next warp end through a hole in the rigid heddle. Alternate threading between a slot and a hole across the width of the warp. Center the warp in the rigid heddle so that for a 10-inch wide warp, there are 5 inches of warp ends on either side of the center of the rigid heddle. Tie an overhand knot in the bundle of warp ends both in front of and behind the rigid heddle.

3. Bring the rigid heddle to the loom. Slide the knots into the space provided on the back beam of the loom. Wind the warp yarn around the back beam until about 24 inches is left over. Slide the back beam onto the loom sides. The warp should come over the top of the back beam toward the front of the loom.

4. Pull the other end of the warp, with its knotted ends, through the space between the front beam and the clamping bar. Center the warp on the front beam. Tighten the wing nuts, securing the front of the warp in place.

5. Check the tension on the warp threads to make sure that the warp is evenly tensioned across its width. If one thread appears to be too slack, loosen the wing nuts and untie the knot on the front bundle. Pull on that warp end and retie the knot to adjust the tension. Retighten the wing nuts to secure the front end of the warp and you're ready to weave.

References

• Beka; Product Assembly Instructions; rhloom