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Union Home Loom

This compact loom from the Union Loom Company was designed for the housewife who wanted to weave one or two rugs a year. It has a fixed horizontal reed. It is truly an aerobic model, as it requires the weaver to raise the entire warp and drop it onto the fixed reed. The top bar is then either pushed away or pulled toward you to create the shed. The original model had a spring that assisted in lifting the upper bar, but the instruction book recommended removing the spring to obtain a tighter weave. In our version, the springs were removed and "grandpa" apparently added a crude foot treadle to assist in raising the beam. We as yet have not mastered getting a tight weave. This loom was purchased at a flea market in NY.

Small Portable Four-Harness Floor Loom

This loom has great potential as a traveling four-harness loom because of its compact size. It was missing the harness, and since we aren't quite sure what company manufactured the loom, this is a restoration project on hold. The treadles have been removed and a 12-inch wide reed was ordered. This loom was purchased in North Carolina.


Rocker Beater Loom Rocker

Rocker-Beater Loom

This rocker-beater loom is one of Elizabeth's most prized looms. These looms are quite unique in that the beater reed remains relatively perpendicular to the warp throughout its swing rather than traveling in an arc as does an overhead beater or beater pivoted from below. In fact, Phyllis Dean of Ohio extensively studied this type of loom and has written a thesis on the subject. This loom is Number 38 in Phyllis' search and is the western-most one found to date being from Iowa.

This loom was found as a pile of wood in a flea market in Ranger, North Carolina. When it was purchased, it was unknown if all the parts were there and it is still unknown if all the parts are there! Pictured is a close-up of the small 9-inch wide rocker. The little rocker was what Elizabeth spied and immediately recognized as the distinguishing feature of these rare looms.