Equipment required: Strong cotton cord (approx 30” for each shaft) and a tapestry needle with eye large enough for the cord. If the loom is not warped, remove the shaft from the loom before moving heddles.
- Work with one shaft at a time. Make one bundle of heddles for each shaft. If you know how many heddles are on each shaft, label each bundle of heddles with the heddle count.
- Undo the heddle bar hooks and release the heddle bars from the hooks, leaving the bars in the shafts for the moment.
- Group all of the heddles in the center of the shaft. Thread 30” of cord on the tapestry needle and pull the cord through all the heddle eyes on the top heddle bar, and then through all the heddle eyes on the bottom heddle bar. Unthread the needle and tie the ends of the cord together.
- Remove the group of heddles from the heddle bars. Bend the top and bottom heddle bars, and pull the bars out of the side of the shaft. Slide the group of heddles off. If you are installing new heddles, slide them onto the heddle bars at this point.
