Hello, I am a newbie of all things woven! As I work my way through Season 1, I just finished watching Episode 1.4.2 and was heartened to hear that Jane's son, Evan, had some great success weaving on a table loom. However, right at the very end she expressed some surprise at the last piece she showed that he had done on the table loom because of the 20 sett he chose (sorry if I am using the numbers and terms wrong) and then she showed a piece from a kit they designed that based off of Evan's last piecem but said they changed the sett to 24. This whole video ending has me concerned because she mentioned that she couldn't believe he had done that on a table loom, and it is a table loom, an Ashford 8 shaft loom, that I am using, already on hand, awaiting to put my hands to once it is time in season 2. Have I made a mistake in assuming the JST School will work for those of us using table looms rather than floor looms? Thank you for clarification! :-) -Kelley
Welcome to the exciting world of handwaving, Kelley! You did not make a mistake in that assumption. I, for one, started my weaving life when my house was still full of sons and I bought a Woolhouse table loom that now sits in the living room and - it's "brother", a David floor looms lives in the first vacated bedroom ;-) You can do almost anything on an 8 shaft table loom and mine is still in use as there are times when I have 2 projects on the go. How wide is your Ashford - that is a challenge you might have depending on its width. However, there are lots of table loom weavers who have adapted projects that were too wide for their looms and have happily woven their own version of the cloth. Let us know if you run into challenges and you'll have a "world" of weavers willing to give you a hand.
Hello Sandra, thank you for the speedy response. Yes, I forgot to mention the width. It is a 24 inch weaving width. I know it is not big, but as a newbie, I did not want to dive in with something large. I have a 32 inch Ashford Rigid Heddle and just do not feel ready to have a shafted loom that wide. Thank you for the encouragement. I understand the waiting for an empty bedroom! Ours are all finally empty (raised 6 kids) and one has become my sewing/art room, the other has become my knitting room (I knit on the flatbed knitting machines and have several in there). If weaving proves to be something I want to get real serious with, I will sell off some of my excess knitting machines to make room for a floor loom. :-) Only time will tell!
My Woolhouse is 23 inches and I've never regretted it! My daughter-in-law has been weaving canvases on it for her passion as a painter and is doing absolutely stunning work! Welcome to the School of Weaving - Jane is an amazing teacher and fun to learn from ;-)