Retail Offerings

What Do You Really Need?

Let's think about weaving for a minute. What is it about weaving that you love? What kind of tools would best keep that fire going and sustain the joy?

• The first thing you really need is time. You need to be able to dedicate some space in your life (yes, we have lives, not schedules) to the craft you love. If you don't take the necessary steps to open up that time and give it to yourself, the most expensive equipment in the world won't make you a weaver. In fact, meeting the expense may take away time that you need for weaving. Do you have a difficulty with this issue? Either contact us for a visit, or consider the class, "Time and Space", described here.

• The second thing you need is place. You need to have somewhere to weave where you can be at peace and can lose yourself in your work. It's a place where the door doesn't get opened and the cell phones mysteriously turn themselves off. If for some reason you can't create this in your own home, then you need to find a place somewhere else. Our studio is available to you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Given time and place, you don't even absolutely need a loom. We can teach you finger-weaving techniques that allow you to weave with just a pillow, a pencil, and a safety pin. Or, we can teach you backstrap weaving, with or without loom bars. From there we move to simple frame looms of various sizes, upon which one can make masks, mats, rugs, tapestries, pocketbooks, and more, depending upon the size of the frame. The simpler the loom, the more extraordinary the weaving, because no mechanical device can replicate the abilities of the human mind and fingers. Have doubts about this? Look here.

• Perhaps what you want to weave is fabric, or items made of fabric, that display patterns such as colonial overshot, complex twills, or shadow weave. You want to make large items such as table runners, ponchos, or room-size rugs. You love pattern and want to understand how pattern is woven. Well, then, you probably need a loom, and we can help you with that.
  1. The least expensive way to obtain a loom is to purchase a used loom. We are talking about the difference between one to several thousand dollars and several hundred dollars. Of course, finding the right used loom takes time. We can help.
  2. The other way to obtain a loom is to purchase a new one. if you are considering this, please learn how to weave first, and then try out a loom of the model you are considering before purchasing a new one. By "try out", we mean: put a warp on it, and then weave on it. We have easily woven on looms that turned out to be less than optimal to warp, and easily warped looms that had weaving limitations. Unless you are in a financial position to buy multiple looms, you really need to try before you buy. If we do not have in our studio the model you are considering, find someone who does. If they will not let you try it out, find someone else.

OK, so do we want to do retail, or not? Well, FireWatch Weavers is primarily a school and study center. We do not offer a storefront or retail store hours. We are able to offer a limited supply of weaving accessories and can order fiber from Harrisville, Jaggerspun, and Supreme Corporation (UKI) for our students. Frankly, the demands of retailing scare the dickens out of us. BUT....

We also are agents for Harrisville Designs, Schacht Spindle Company, and Leclerc Looms . This means that we can order looms, parts, and accessories from these suppliers for you. We have Harrisville, Leclerc, and Schacht looms available in the studio for you to try, and can help you think about what loom would best meet your needs.

We also occasionally offer used looms for sale and serve as an information clearinghouse for used equipment which is made known to the central Massachusetts Guilds.

Which Loom to Choose? Some Suggestions:

There is no single loom that will satisfy all requirements, and the type of loom that you choose should depend on the kind of weaving you will do most, what you expect you will want in the future, your available space, and your finances. Below are some suggestions, based on experience we have had with various models. Other choices are available which we have not tried, and we will be happy to discuss them with you.

Rug and Rep weaving usually require an extremely sturdy loom with the ability to separate warps into a wide shed. For this, a counterbalance loom works well. The Leclerc Fanny is one of the few counterbalance looms on the market; it is available both new and used. The counterbalance looms available in the U.S. are all 4-shaft. The Harrisville Rug Loom is a high-end loom designed by Peter Collingwood for serious rug weavers, and offers excellent shedding, shaft-switching, and a number of other features that Collingwood designed specifically for rug weaving. A countermarche loom is also an option for this kind of weaving. Schacht offers the Cranbook countermarches. We have never worked on a countermarche, but if you are interested can introduce you to more experienced owners who can help us understand their operation.

Linens and garment fabrics, unless you are using an extremely "sticky" warp, can be woven on both counterbalance and jack looms. Of the jack looms, the Harrisville is the most affordable and comes with a 5 year guarantee. Lightweight and portable, available in 4, 4-now-and-4-later, and 8 harness models, it's an excellent way to get started and has satisfied many weavers for a lifetime. However, we have found the looms to work best with weights on the shafts, especially with close-set warps.

If its very lightness is a concern for you, then we recommend you investigate the Schachts. The Wolf line is a folding loom that comes in 26" or 36" weaving width, 4, 4-now-and-4-later, and 8 shafts. The Wolfs are heavier than the Harrisvilles, and about 50% more expensive. The Standard Schachts come in 36" and 46" widths, also 4, 4 now-4 later, or 8 shafts, with a variety of options. They are sturdy jack looms with excellent sheds and a light action (very easy to treadle). They are a little more than twice the cost of a Harrisville.

Portable/Workshop/Hand-Operated Looms Besides the Harrisville 22" looms that we have in the studio, we offer the premier table loom, the Leclerc Voyageur. The Voyageur is available in 9.5", 15.3/4", and 24" weaving widths, with 4, 8, or 12 shafts. We have the 9.5" 8 shaft in the studio for you to try. This loom is a dream to work with. Its shafts lift effortlessly and the levers are held with magnets, eliminating the "pinch" so common with mechanical levers on table looms. There is little loom waste; it's an excellent loom for sampling, for weavers who have difficulty treadling, or who want an 8-shaft capability without a large price tag.

Price Lists below reflect manufacturer's standard pricing. Please contact us for information regarding available discounts, shipping, and sales tax information. These links will take you to the manufacturer's web sites, so that you can view the most current information. Use the "Back Button" on your browser to return to this page.

Harrisville Looms Use browser Back button to return

Schacht Looms, all kinds Use browser Back button to return

Leclerc Catalog (.pdf file) Use browser Back button to return