Josefina's Loom Warp Question

[ladydi43]

Please,anyone who has this item please let me know ? Can you make the warps yourself or do you have to keep buying them each time you make a blanket? we got it today and it is so cute. DD lost her last baby tooth so the tooth fairy gave her this very specail gift... Thanks Diane [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Grapedy1982]

I've never seen the loom up close, but you could probably use heavy duty quilting thread.

[abz_of_steel]

The replacement warps are available for $5. The product code is JBAWW. You can find them on the website if you don't want to order by phone.

[JuliaAM]

I've done some weaving on a tabletop loom and various handmade looms over the years. Since I had Josefina and love weaving, I just had to get her loom! I also got a replacement warp at the same time.

I highly recommend getting at least one replacement warp. You can do it yourself but it is a major pain to cut and tie off all the warp threads yourself. Not knowing how long to make the threads and what kind of knots to make would be tricky the first time if you weren't sure what you were doing. But if you have a replacement warp, you can use it as a pattern to make more if you don't mind the work. For $5 it's definitely worth it.

Julia

[courtneysunshine]

Thanks Julia [img]smile.gif[/img] I, too, was wondering about getting the warps. My main concern was what if AG decided at some time to retire the loom. How would you be able to get more warps? My engineer DH was looking at ours and thinking you could make replacements. I think we will take your advice and get at least one replacement and see if we can make more.

Kim [img]smile.gif[/img]

[OSusannah]

I'm still confused as to what is the warp. The AG catalog I just got said that "yarn for weaving not included with replacement warp threads." Obviously not a weaver, can anyone describe the process and why you need replacement warps and why would it be difficult to make your own? I think I just figured out why you need replacements, [img]redface.gif[/img] but still not sure how they are attached to the loom, etc.

[JuliaAM]

Josefina's loom is an awesome reproduction of the real thing and is an excellent introduction to serious weaving for a beginner. It's easy to work once you understand the steps. The detailed, illustrated 16 page book that comes with the loom is great.

To explain the replacement warp, first open up the AG website and go to Josefina's loom in a separate window. Josefina's Loom
Click View Larger so you can see the detail.
The loom itself comes pre-threaded with all the warp threads, the threads that run vertically on the loom, wrapped around various dowels and tied in knots at various places exactly as in the photo. When you open Josefina's loom, all you have is the warp threads. The top two dowels with thread zig-zagging between them are the tension rods. These are not part of the area you weave.

To weave, you have to use weft (yarn) with the shuttle, and the batten, which is the second stick up from the bottom shown in place on the loom at the AG website. The shuttle with yarn is woven in and out of the warp threads. You can use the yarn that comes with the set or use your own yarn. AG does not sell replacement yarn.

The replacement warp consists of the warp threads already wrapped around and tied to new dowels. Looking at the photo of Josefina's loom on the AG website, you can see what looks like 7 horizontal dowels along with the warp threads. Numbering the dowels from the bottom up, from 1 to 7, the replacement comes with the threads already tied around #1(bottom warp end), #3(heddle rod) & #4 (shed rod) and #5(top warp end). (#6 and 7 are the tension rods at top.) #2 in the photo is actually not a dowel, its the flat batten but looks like a dowel rod in the picture. So to put the replacement warp in, you untie the original warp at 2 points on the bottom of the loom (under dowel#1) and 2 points under the bottom tension rod (#6) and tie in the replacement warp at the same 4 points.

Ok, you I probably lost you with all those numbers. Suffice it to say, Josefina's loom is one slick piece of equipment and has lots of potential for creative, authentic weaving!

Julia

[OSusannah]

Thanks, Julia. It actually does make more sense now. The loom is something I would like to get, even though the loom looks complicated. I think I have to actually read the directions and look at the loom to figure out how the weaving process is accomplished. It's something I have always wondered about, even before AG.

I'll be sure and order an extra warp when I order the loom. Thanks for the weaving info!