Typical reeds for rigid heddle looms have holes and slots evenly spaced for a particular weaving sett. When you want to weave at 10 ends per inch (EPI), you use the 10-dent reed for your loom, or you use a 5-dent reed and double the warp ends in each slot and hole. A variable dent reed lets you vary the sett in your weaving project for deliberately uneven spacing of the warp ends. You can mix up yarns of different weights for Freeform Saori Weaving or the Summer Plaid Tag Table Runner. You could also weave one warp yarn at different…
New Search
Use more specific terms if your search results are inadequate
Product
Add some variables to your rigid heddle weaving! The Variable Dent Reed is a rigid heddle reed with interchangeable 5, 8, 10, and 12 dent sections of reed. Each section is 2-3/8" in width, and you can mix and match these sections to create your own custom reed. The number of sections you receive varies with the length of the reed—see the table below. The overall weaving width will be slightly narrower than a traditional reed.
Blog Post
Many of you were probably thrilled to hear the news that Schacht now has a variable dent reed available for both the Cricket and the Flip rigid heddle looms. But what is it, what exactly does this mean for your weaving experience, and how do you go about using it? First of all, what is it? Simply put, the variable dent reed is a rigid heddle reed with interchangeable 5, 8, 10, and 12 dent sections of reed. Each section is 2-3/8” in width, and you can mix and match these sections to create your own custom reed. The number…
Let's talk rigid heddle reeds! There are 5-, 8-, 10-, and 12- dent reeds available for the Cricket and Flip Looms, in addition to Variable Dent Reeds. 5 dent reed: Bulky! Contrary to some people’s belief, bulky yarn is great as a warp yarn, especially with a fingering in the weft. It shows off the warp nicely, so thick and thin handspun or hand dyed chunky yarns shine. It is also great for beginners because it goes fast. Denise's Thanksgiving Scarf 8 dent reed: Worsted The Cricket looms come with 8 dent reeds because worsted weight is the most common yarn for beginner weavers. …
Blog Post
Let's talk rigid heddle reeds! There are 5-, 8-, 10-, and 12- dent reeds available for the Cricket and Flip Looms, in addition to Variable Dent Reeds. 5 dent reed: Bulky! Contrary to some people’s belief, bulky yarn is great as a warp yarn, especially with a fingering in the weft. It shows off the warp nicely, so thick and thin handspun or hand dyed chunky yarns shine. It is also great for beginners because it goes fast. 8 dent reed: Worsted The Cricket looms come with 8 dent reeds because worsted weight is the most…
Blog Post
by Judy Pagels The Plan: For my variable dent reed project I wanted to use the reed sections in a graduated dent configuration. Beyond that I wanted to have a wide enough weaving width to showcase the gradation. My trusty 20” Flip Loom was the perfect size for what I had in mind. I then needed to decide what yarn to use. It was high time, I figured, to use the reclaimed, 2-strand, 100% alpaca I'd unraveled from a pretty-darn-ugly sweater I'd found at a garage sale years ago. The sweater had yielded a lot of yardage…
Blog Post
We are lucky to have a company such as Natural Fiber Producers in the fiber world. Their mission includes supporting farmers and providing quality Certified Sorted® yarn for shops. The benefit of Certified Sorted® is two-fold. The farmers are able to sell the whole fleece and Natural Fiber Producers sorts it and sells it. The consumer benefits because they get a consistent quality of yarn tailor-made for their chosen project. The yarn I chose for the body of this vest is a worsted spun yarn with long fibers that are more aligned to get a crisper look to the yarn. Since it is 80% Alpaca (grade 2-…
Blog Post
Ruffled Scarf - Designed and Woven By Jane Patrick This silk and wool scarf was inspired by one Stephanie Flynn Sokolov designed for our Woven Scarves book (Interweave Press, 2014). For this earthy interpretation, I offset the wool stripe for an asymmetrical look. The 8 dent section allows for extra space for the wool to felt. Section placement: 12, 12, 8, 12. Yarn: Habu #N-85 2/17 Tsumugi, color 13 (485 yards needed), Mountain Colors Winter Lace (50%wool/50%silk) in Wild Raspberry (54 yards needed) and Emma’s Creations Crystal in color 8 (18 yards needed). 3 x 3x #N-853* 121 501 3 83Crystal 1 1 6M color 18 18 Total warp ends107*begin…
Blog Post
Summer Cowl - Designed and Woven by Benjamin Krudwig When I was a child, summer was my favorite season. White t-shirts, blue jeans and grass stains on both meant I had a "productive" day. For this variable dent reed cowl, I wanted to capture that summer feeling in an accessory I could wear throughout the year. I wove this piece with cotton yarn and left large spaces in the fabric for a cowl that is airy and lightweight, even though the yarns are somewhat heavy. Supplies for…
Summer Tote Bag Designed by Amy McKnight One of the things that I love most about rigid heddle looms is their versatility—adapt the heddle, and they can work like other looms. Add a second heddle, and you're working with a 3-shaft loom. Use the heddle differently, and you can weave the warp-faced bands associated with the Inkle loom. Switch to a variable dent reed, and you're creating fabric with multiple setts. For this tote bag, we'll use the Variable Dent Reed and the Cricket Loom to create amazingly textured cloth. We will also use a section from the reed by…
Blog Post
Designed by Amy McKnight One of the things that I love most about rigid heddle looms is their versatility—adapt the heddle, and they can work like other looms. Add a second heddle, and you're working with a 3-shaft loom. Use the heddle differently, and you can weave the warp-faced bands associated with the Inkle loom. Switch to a variable dent reed, and you're creating fabric with multiple setts. For this tote bag, we'll use the Variable Dent Reed on the Cricket Loom to create amazingly textured cloth. We will also use a section from the reed by itself to create…
Happy New Year, Schacht friends! 2021 is filled to the brim with events, product releases, and fabulous projects. Stay tuned for a special product release that is just around the corner! It's time to take your crafting goals to the next level, and these two projects will do the trick! We're talking about spinning thick-and-thin yarn, weaving with handspun, and learning an exciting technique called pulled warp. You can weave both projects on a 10" Cricket Loom or other rigid heddle loom. River Ripples Scarf Designed by Stephanie Flynn Sokolov This snuggly textured scarf combines several spinning and weaving techniques.…
Blog Post
Designed by Stephanie Flynn Sokolov This snuggly textured scarf combines several spinning and weaving techniques. Spin a thick-and-thin yarn and a smooth fingering-weight yarn. Set up your rigid heddle loom with a variable dent reed and warp it with the handspun. Slightly full the center of the finished scarf to create a wavy appearance. Voilá! You’ve created a one-of-a-kind gift for someone you love. Don’t be afraid to weave with your handspun. For millennia, weavers used handspun for warp and weft. We made two short videos showing how to spin thick-and-thin yarn for this project—follow my tips, and you can…
The holidays are right around the corner, and it seems like time is speeding along. Have you left your wish list posted on the front of the fridge for your loved ones? If not, it's not too early to start putting the bug in their ear about what tools you're most longing for! Here's a list that will help you take the next step in weaving or spinning with products that educate or help you grow in your craft--or even learn a new one! For weavers Don't under estimate the power of the pick-up stick. This, along with a great…
Blog Post
We love working with Blue Sky Fibers, so when they debuted their new Eco-Cashmere and Woolstok Jumbo, we knew we had to weave with it. I came up with this fun, textured scarf that combines two very different sizes of yarn. Our variable dent reed made it all possible Equipment: 10" Cricket Loom Weave Structure: Plain-weave Yarn: 1 - 100g (328 yards/300m) skein of Blue Sky Fibers Eco-Cashmere in the Arctic Shadow colorway; 1 - 500g bump (43 yards/39m) of Woolstok Jumbo in the Gray Stone colorway Finished Measurments: 4.5" wide X 6.5' long with fringe Number of Warp Ends:…
Blog Post
Our final installation of Pillow Month comes from Judy Pagels. You may know her as a vital member of our sales team and if you're a retailer, you've certainly spoken to her on the phone or at TNNA. Judy is known for her love of texture and color, and while she's an experienced weaver, her project had a little surprise in store for her! Judy's inspiration for her project was a recently completed bedroom remodel, for which she wanted to design some throw pillows. Finished Size: 12" X 16" Weave structure: Plain weave with pick-up band Equipment: Schacht 15” Cricket…
Blog Post
If you are an avid fiber crafter, there’s a good chance that you’ve taken notice of weaving and the incredible surge in popularity this craft has been experiencing. Perhaps you’ve even dipped a toe in the water, having purchased a small rigid heddle loom for yourself before you order that special floor loom. Soon, you think, you’ll be freeform weaving Saori-style, just like the pros you see on Instagram. Well, here’s a little known fact: Saori-style, freeform weaving can be done on any kind of loom, and The Cricket Loom is the perfect vehicle for delving into all of…
Blog Post
“It depends.” That is often the answer I give when I’m asked how to sett a yarn. It depends on the fiber content of the yarn. It depends on the size of the yarn. It depends on how the fabric will be finished. It depends on the intended use of the fabric. Generally, once you’ve established what it is you’re going to make and what yarn you’re going to use, I always recommend sampling. (Now begins the common refrain, “I hate sampling!”) Without going into excessive detail, just let me say that sampling will tell you up front if your…
Blog Post
When Krysten from Gherkin's Bucket showed me the new colorway she dyed up for this collaboration, I was floored! The stunning blues, greens, greys, and browns are a perfect way to celebrate the coming of spring. When I started planning this project, I knew I wanted to spin a thick and thin single, then ply it with one of Krysten's lovely laceweight yarns. I would then pair this new art yarn with the laceweight in a woven project. (Note: Gherkin's Bucket will have a limited number of kits available in her shop that come with the fiber and the lace…
Blog Post
Art yarn, whether you spin it yourself or purchase it readymade, is a catalyst for creative woven fabrics. Art yarn spinning techniques are so much fun to do and make such beautiful and unique yarns. What follows often, though, is the question, “what do I do with it?” Due to the stitch structure of knitting and crochet, the irregular gauge that art yarns tend to produce uneven results. Weaving, however, is the perfect technique to turn textured yarn into interesting, fun fabric. For those who don't spin, but would like to experiment with weaving textured yarn, I also experimented with…
Blog Post
Beth Smith and Jillian Moreno live about 30 minutes from each other, and spend a lot of spinning time together, trading ideas and cheering each other on. Recently, the two have found weaving sneaking into their thoughts more and more. “Wouldn’t it be fun,” they said, “to do a project where we spin our yarn and weave it and see what happens?” “Yes!” they said, “that sounds like an awesome plan.” We thought so, too. Through the end of the year, they will post on the Schacht Spindle blog, telling you about their journey weaving with handspun on a rigid…
Blog Post
Recently I had the pleasure of working with the Lhasa Wilderness yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch in a few of their new colors from their Outlandish colorway series which was inspired by Outlander, a book and recent TV series based in the Scottish Highlands. When I was thinking of projects for this yarn I immediately knew that I had to weave a tartan-plaid with it. (My Scottish ancestry is generations back and not well recorded, so I decided it was best to not weave a traditional tartan that I didn't have claim to.) To create my plaid, I arranged my warp…
Blog Post
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with some beautiful hand spun cashmere yarn from Afghanistan. From the Mountain is a great company working with folks overseas to bring viable hand made products to the United States to help support those artisans. The yarn was spun by women in Fayzabad, Afghanistan, and offers an alternative method of income in a primarily opium-based economy. This is the softest yarn I have ever felt and so evenly spun, it is a dream to weave! I got all four colors in worsted weight, 3 skeins of gray, and one of each of dark…
Blog Post
by Susan Inouye We are taking a brief break from our Variable Dent Reed series to bring you a special post. Last week we announced the winner of the Winter Zoom Loom Doll challenge; this week we have the inspiration behind the winning doll. We asked Susan what her inspiration was for the doll, and she sent us the following: "I dreamed and constructed the Winter Zoom Loom Doll Challenge one freezing stormy weekend. The winter road conditions pretty much left me snowbound so I stayed in all weekend. I saw the Challenge on the Zoom Loom Ravelry Board. I…
Blog Post
Designed and Woven by Gail Matthews Jane and I were finishing up work on the Schacht Guide to the Rigid Heddle Loom insert for the May/June 2014 issue of Handwoven when I was asked about making something using the Variable Dent Reed. I liked the rag runner in the insert and thought making one with the Variable Dent Reed would be an interesting variation. The change in warp density and the weft fabric strips give texture to the runner. Adding another yard to the warp would allow enough fabric for a couple of fun outdoor chair pillows. Supplies: 15" Cricket or Flip, 15" Variable Dent Reed, 2…
Blog Post
When autumn rolls around, I can’t help but feel excited about dusting off my scarf collection. Shortly after reviewing the ever-growing, yet neatly folded pile, I inevitably determine it is lacking that perfect scarf. And shortly after determining that my collection of scarves is lacking, I am sketching out a plan for a new scarf. This tends to happen a few times before spring comes along - quite a few times. I can’t help it. There can never be too many scarves in my life. This time around, I wanted to make a short scarf. I tend to make long,…
Blog Post
This is the perfect project to practice your pick-up skills. While honeycomb is suited to many applications, this fabric is intended for a pillow. Toned down a bit by the weft, this design picks up just enough of the sparkle to show off the honeycomb weave structure. Overview of Weave: This pillow is woven in honeycomb weave—a weave structure well-suited to the rigid heddle loom. The wavy lines, or deflected threads, result from alternating sections of plain weave and warp float sections. The heavy weft outlining the cells accentuates the bending of the weft and adds dimension to the weave.…
Blog Post
"Creative, innovative, exciting, and new, all come together in this wonderful woven rope vest from designer Benjamin Collyn Krudwig and Schacht Spindle Company." - Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns. These were the words uttered during the Summer TNNA (The National Needle Arts) fashion show in Cleveland as the Fringed Woven Rope Vest adorned the runway (watch the video). This woven garment created quite the stir: it combined yarns from 14 different companies in one piece, and it was one of only 2 woven garments in the show. After the enthusiastic reception it received in Cleveland, I wanted to share the…
