From time to time someone will casually mention on a chat group that 'you can't weave unbalanced weave structures on a counter balanced loom'.
Unfortunately they rarely qualify this statement to say that on a cb loom with horses you can weave anything you want to weave. The injunction is mainly aimed at cb looms with rollers like my Leclerc Fanny. And even then, if you have a Leclerc Fanny or Mira and a 'shed regulator' you only need to adjust the level of your warp and again you can weave pretty much anything you want to.
Even on my elderly Fanny without a shed regulator I can still weave an unbalanced weave with a little care. I'm weaving samples for an article for Handwoven and chose to weave a couple of weave structures with 1 against 3 or 3 against 1 lifts/sinks.
The Fanny is much happier lowering 3 than raising 3, but I still managed - with a little care - to get my samples woven - waffle and huck lace. A low profile shuttle would have made things a little easier, but I was too lazy to go to the other loom to get one. A wider warp would have been more of a problem, but for this narrow 10" sample warp, I managed just fine. :)
The photo above shows one shaft being lowered, 3 being raised.
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3 comments:
My little handmade counterbalance has rollers, no shed regulator, and I routinely weave lace with 3 vs. 1 harnesses. I, too, prefer to lower 3 rather than lift 3, but it is certainly possible. My counterbalance is my go-to loom. I just love it!
Hi,
I have an older model of Fanny that I bought second-hand. I've woven for a year or so on a jack-style loom but am having a terrible time setting the Fanny up. The treadles are very difficult to press down and the shed is almost nonexistent. Do you have any insights that could help? Or a link to documentation for the older LeClerc models? Thanks for your consideration!!
Not sure why you would be having trouble. Usually the shed on a Fanny is pretty big. Can you email me some pics of your loom? Laura at laurafry dot com.
cheers
Laura
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