Saffron pocket loom debut

I really love the Mirrix loom that I purchased for the online tapestry weaving class I am taking. I love it so much I purchased their latest loom, the Saffron pocket loom. Unless you have really large pockets, it won't literally fit into a pocket, but it is small enough for traveling, can be easily disassembled to fit into a purse or project bag, and requires no special tools (except maybe a wrench or two).

It's total length is about ten inches. Unlike some frame looms, the plates provide a fixed sett, 8 epi. I think Mirrix is planning to offer plates with other setts, and when they do, all you need is a screwdriver to change plates.

The bottom beam is fixed; the top beam with its wing nuts allow you to adjust the length of your piece. You can also adjust the tension of your warp. While the wing nuts can be tightened by hand, to avoid torquing the loom, you may need to tighten the nuts with a pair of wrenches.

Warping is a snap. Here I used 8/4 cotton carpet warp in gray. Since the tension is adjustable, you can start weaving right at the base and continue all the way to the top, which gives you a four selvage piece. No fringe! I used a plastic fork as a beater.

My plan was to weave a sample for a rug I have been contemplating, using some yarn I recently recovered from an unfinished sweater. I wove some weft using warp, then a few sequences of the yarn, then a row of soumak which creates a fold for the tapestry, then a few more rows of yarn before beginning the rya/flossa thing. I repeated this pattern from the top so that I would not have to try to weave it at the end when things get crowded.

The technique I used was a kind of rya/flossa thing, wrapping around a large knitting needle (US 10.5, I think), without cutting the loops. My skill at this is still a bit amateurish - I have trouble remembering to keep the selvages even. My goal with this sample was to see how it felt underfoot as a rug.

One trait of this loop-making method is that the loops hang in one direction, as the expectation is the piece would hang on a wall, not lay on the floor. Consequently, one end is exposed while the other is hidden. Were I to make a rug, I might do a few loop rows in the opposite direction to correct this anomaly.

While pleased with the results - it is very rug-worthy - I have to ask myself if I really want to go to all that trouble on a large piece. The loop rows take time and effort and every four inches takes two yards of yarn. I want the rug to be about five feet long. That would be a LOT of looping... and I might not have enough yarn. I have a tendency to be overly ambitious with my weaving, and right now I want to keep things simpler.

BUT I really like this little loom. It offers some advantages over the 3-in-1 swatch maker, is designed specifically for tapestry weaving, and is very sturdy.