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- Leclerc Fanny (1963)
- Leclerc Compact (1992)
- Masterweaver (@ 1940 )
- Guildcraft Speedlooms (1920's-1940's)
- Thackeray Looms (1920's-1940's)
- Lockweave (unknown age)
- Table Loom (@ 1950)
- Wurst copy (1929)
- Rigid Heddle Looms (1950-60)
- Salish loom
- Morgan Inkle Loom
- Small Inkle Loom
- And....a "mystery" loom
This photo was taken by Ann-Margret Plummer. It is the loom that her husband, Ian, made for her in 1973, not an original Thackeray loom, but a wonderful reproduction. The reed is a Guildcraft-Thackeray one, given to her by her friend and weaving mentor, Ruth Johnson. String heddles are used to control the shed. Ann-Margret is another happy Thackeray user looking for Guildcraft or Thackeray reeds.
| Protoype Thackeray |
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| This is either an English loom designed by Mrs. Thackeray or a prototype for the Guildcraft version |
The Guildcraft Speed Loom was purchased at my grandson's school auction. It takes about 10 minutes to warp and I can whip up a scarf or a table runner in an evening. Its only limitations: a 12-inch weaving width at 6 warp threads to the inch. It is one of my favourites and if almost never without a warp. This loom was designed and manufactured in Toronto. I would be delighted to contact other speedloom users and if you know of any place to get parts for it, I and other users would be delighted with that information. I am in the process of building a 24-inch Speedloom with found parts.
| Speedloom Reed in Open position |
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A smaller version of the speed loom This four-shaft folding table loom, another lawn sale purchase, has a label which identifies it as a Lockweave Loom, made in Como, PQ. I have checked with several weaving groups and with merchants in the area. No one remembers or has any information about the loom. Can you help me solve this mystery.
This large inkle loom was a great find at the Textile Museum sale. It was a identified by a visitor to this site as a Morgan Loom. This Salish Loom was purchased on a visit to the BC Museum In Victoria about 20 years ago. At various times I have replaced the dowels and parts of the stand. I recently rediscovered it in my basement and it is now rarely without a warp. I received this Leclerc Compact Loom as a gift from "all my friends and relations" who felt I should have a "real" loom. After several years of weaving on this honey of a loom, I added four more shafts so that I could play with 8-shaft patterns
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The Leclerc Fanny is a 45-inch four shaft counter-balance loom and was purchased about five years ago from a woman who received it as a wedding gift from her husband. They were celebrating their 29th anniversary. I made the loom bench using an Ikea slat bench and adding a 3-inch deep box to the top to bring it to weaving height and to provide side storage compartments. The seat cover is an overshot pattern in Icelandic wool.
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These two rigid-heddle looms were gifts from my sister. Both are made from highly polished natural hardwood. The smaller, an 11-inch weaving width is marked Kircher Rahmen. Its reed is a wood frame with plastic inserts, similar to a popsicle stick reed, at 4 dents to the inch. The larger has a 19-inch weaving width and is marked "Made in England." It has a wire reed with loops at the centre of each wire, producing a 6 to the inch sett. Any information about these looms would be greatly appreciated.
| Reeds for the looms above |
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This 2-shaft loom was another great lawn sale purchase. It took one minor repair which took approximately 15 minutes. It came with an 18-to-the-inch reed and sufficient heddles to create a 14-inch wide fabric. A visitor to this site identified it as a loom made from plans in the 1959 Good Housekeeping Needlecraft Book. It appears on p. 423 of my 1971 edition. This Masterweaver was purchased at the Museum for Textiles annual sale. The legend is that it was designed by an engineer for his wife so that she could continue weaving despite arthritis. Like the Speedloom, it can be warped in 10 minutes. However, setting the disks to produce the desired pattern can take several hours. Since finger dexterity is of prime importance in manipulating the disks, I somewhat doubt the legend. The position of the disks is identified by braille-like dots which are somewhat difficult to see. The brochure claims that it can emulate an eight-shaft loom, but I've only been able to achieve 4 shaft patterns. It's 24 inch width is good for shawls or place mats and I usually keep it set for rosepath.
| Close-up of Masterweaver Heddle |
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I bought this loom at a garage sale. It looks as if someone has taken a tapestry loom and converted it to a Thackeray-type loom by adding makeshift shaft holders. Despite its clear Leclerc markings, the Leclerc company says it has no recortd of its manufacture. Two viewers have written to say they have identical looms, one with the leclerc labels. Neither person has any further information. Any Ideas?
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| A loom made in Alberta in 1929 from Edward Wurst plans |
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