Updated May 13, 2025
I thought I’d do a post about the tools I use to make things for both myself and the shop. (Product photos are from the manufacturers, as I can’t take a good picture of some of these.) A lot of my gear was either given to me by weavers passing on equipment, holiday gifts from family, or bought used. You rarely need to buy spinning and weaving equipment new. The good stuff is built to last generations, and if you buy used you can often sell it for the same price you paid for it.
My spinning wheel is an original Ashford Joy single treadle, made sometime before 2002. It’s a travel wheel that folds up and weighs about 11 pounds, if I remember correctly.
Instead of the original flyer, I use a Woolee Winder. Its bobbins are much larger than the Joy’s, and it takes up the yarn without me having to stop to change hooks. It looks similar to this:
I recently got a book charkha, a type of Indian spinning wheel meant for cotton. It was a gift, and I’ve loved using it. I make my own embroidery thread on it.
If you want to know more about charkhas, here’s a good article from Spin-Off.
For weaving, I have several looms. Some see more use than others.
My newest loom is a Leclerc Minerva floor loom, made in the early 1980s. It doesn’t look like it! It’s a 22″ weaving width, with four shafts. I have the kit to upgrade to 8 shafts but haven’t put them on yet. I’m paying for it with my time and energy, not money — helping the previous owner with warping looms, as well as giving her some equipment I’m not using. Isn’t the Minerva a beauty? You can see I have my tablet clamped to the castle. Makes it easy to follow a draft while I weave. The loom folds up to about 8″ thick, and only weighs about 50 pounds. I can easily get it in the back of my SUV!
For sampling and for weaving on the go, a Leclerc Voyageur table loom (8 shafts, 9.5″ weaving width). I wouldn’t recommend this loom to anyone. It took me almost a year to figure out a comfortable weaving position for it, because the beams are so high off the base. Oddly, the best position is sitting in my recliner, my feet propped up, with my knees on either side of the loom.
And a Schacht Cricket 10″ rigid heddle:
For inkle and card-woven bands, a loom from Windhaven Fiber and Tools. It’s called the Harpsichord, and is enormous and can do an 18 foot band.
The difference between the Windhaven pic and my loom is that I had them made left-handed. So much easier to use for me!
I also have a smaller inkle loom that I traded a skein of handspun for. There’s no maker’s mark on it.
I use my smaller tapestry looms occasionally. I have the Tiny and Intermediate looms by Hokett, which both look like this (but in different sizes and woods):
I also have a small one handmade by a guild friend’s husband. I need to take a picture of it.
My current favorite knitting needles are the KnitPicks Foursquare, both interchangeables and DPNs.
Former Tools
Things I’ve sold or don’t use anymore.
A 40″ Macomber weaving loom. It originally came with 4 shafts; I upgraded it to 10, and to 14 treadles. It was just too big for me, which is saying a lot because I’m six feet tall.
I used to do most of my knitting with Chiaogoo Twist (bamboo) interchangeable sets. I own both the 4″ and 5″ tips.
My poor, neglected XL tapestry loom from Funum Studio.
