barn loom

for the last several decades there has been a barn loom (c. 1850) in the Ziegler cabin on main street in harmony.    this cabin is generally only open during special events, and while there was a warp on the loom (with one finished rag rug wound onto the cloth beam and a second in process), no weaving had been done in 20 years or more.

several museum volunteers are in the process of renovating the 'decor' in the cabin, with the goal of making it more 'period correct' to the timeline of this particular dwelling.   they have decided that the loom doesn't fit into their vision.      there has been discussion regarding where this loom should go, and the hope was that it could be moved to the weaver's cabin.     unfortunatly there is no room on the first floor,  and we feared that the floor of the second floor might not be able to support the weight of this heavy loom.     it was finally decided to clean out the basement (which has been used for storage) and put the loom there.  

yesterday several of us embarked upon disassembly of this old beauty, and moved parts of it to the cabin.   the larger, more cumbersome parts will be moved by other volunteers.

looms of this type are called 'barn looms' because they are built using similar construction techniques to what would have been used to build barns during this time period.    often built by husbands, brothers or sweethearts of the intended weaver, the mortise and tenon joints are secured with removable pegs and wedges, allowing the loom to be easily disassembled for storage when not in use.  since space would have been at a premium in those days,   and household weaving was often done in a spurt rather than throughout the year, it was good to be able to take the loom apart and store the pieces flat when not in use.

i took a few pictures, pre-disassembly, for reference. in this one you can see the simple counterbalance mechanism.   this loom has 2 shafts and 2 treadles,  allowing for weaving of tabby (plain weave) cloth.   it would be relatively simple to add more shafts and more treadles if we want to do more complicated weaving.     the rope draped across the upper side controls the simple brake mechanism.

here we can see the warp beam with 20+ year old rug warp still in place.

close up of the brake mechanism on the warp beam (back of the loom.
also visibile is the hanging beater, complete with antique wooden reed.

slightly better view of the brake release.

view from the back, after removal of the warp, and hanging beater.

the plan is to clean her up, get her into good working order,  and weave on her.    when in use, the basement will be open to the public (when volunteers are availble).

my plan is to photograph the restoration process and post progress here.