In 2026 I will run courses at National Trust's Heritage and Rural Skills Centre at Coleshill   https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-berkshire/heritage-and-rural-skills-centre, in Bucklebury for Ardington School of Crafts https://www.ardingtonschool.com/onsite and at the Vale and Downland Museum in Wantage https://valeanddownlandmuseum.org.uk. In addition I teach at my home in East Hendred.

  Pamela, a member of the Kennet Valley Guild, kindly gave me six rigid heddle looms when I started teaching. I have acquired three more old style ones and have bought a modern one. I also have 2 four shaft looms and an eight shaft one which I use for teaching at home. I take one to all my courses so I can explain the term "rigid heddle". Although rigid heddle looms are only designed to do plain weaving, they are a good option for inexperienced weavers as they are easy to set up and new ones are relatively in expensive. 

Have a go at Weaving on a Rigid Heddle loom.  Vale and Downland Museum. 24th February 13.30 - 15.30. Weave a small mat on a loom set up for weft faced weaving.

Introduction to Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom 

Students weave patterns using two colours on a loom set up for balanced weave and on one set up weft faced weave.  They swap looms at lunch time. 

These pictures show the weaving done at the NT's Centre in March. I will be running the course there again on Sunday 29th March 2026 and in Bucklebury for Ardington School of Crafts on Monday 13th July.

 

 

Weave a Scene

Weaving on a rigid heddle loom and choosing a landscape or seascape without steep slopes makes it possible to complete a picture in a few hours whilst practicing techniques which can be used on a simple frame. See pictures for more information. The scenes below were woven by the participants in June at Coleshill. I will be running the course again on 17th May 2026

 Six people experimented with textured weaving with a Rigid Heddle Loom in October. There will be an opportunity for those who have done some weaving to have a go at my Weaving Workshop on 24th October 2026 

Some explanations

With a rigid heddle loom every other warp thread goes through heddles which are fixed in a frame called a reed. These threads move up and down when the reed is moved. The other warp threads are in gaps between the heddles and do not move with the reed. The reed is also used to put the weft threads in place.

 

.If the warp is spaced at about 4 threads an inch the weft completely covers the warp. This is used for rugs and pictures.

As I do not have reeds at this spacing I thread the warp through every third heddle and slot 

 

For balanced weave, the warp is closer together and the spacing is the same as the weft. The warp shows and contributes to the design. The colours of the warp and weft form the patterns in the blue and turquoise sample.

With a four shaft loom the warp threads are all threaded through heddles which are placed on the shafts. One, two or three shafts are raised before putting the weft in place. The warp is also threaded through a reed which spaces it and puts the weft in place. The heddles are free to move sideways which allows a variety of thickness of warp yarns to be used. The dark blue and white sample has been woven on a 4 shaft loom. The twill patterns are formed by the way the warp was threaded and the order in which the shafts were lifted.

 

Interesting patterns can be woven on the rigid heddle using a stick at the back of the loom so that either one thread is up and three down or vice versa.

 

The warp can also be maniupulated  by wrapping the weft round a group of threads (known as Brookes Bouquet - see top of sample).   Alternatively, you can twist the warp (Leno - bottom of sample)