The Harrisville Rug Loom

To purchase the Harrisville Rug Loom please call 1-800-338-9415.

Handmade in our loom shop, here in NH. We take orders thru December and begin production January of the following year.

The successful introduction and growing reputation of our Rug Loom were a direct result of our design collaboration with Peter Collingwood, who was recognized as the world’s most renowned rug weaver. He was an innovative weaver, authority on weaving techniques, fabulous writer and teacher and the inventor of “Shaft-Switching”. He lived in Nayland, England and was the author of numerous books including, The Techniques of Rug Weaving, still considered the bible of rug weavers, and Rug Weaving Techniques: Beyond the Basics. He was the first weaver in Great Britain to be awarded the OBE (Order of British Empire). I had the privilege of developing our loom with Peter and my late father. They were both geniuses at mechanical problem-solving and to see them working together was inspirational.

If you ever met Peter Collingwood, you know how clever he was. If you didn’t have that pleasure, we want you to know that the things he did to his own looms to make them better were truly fascinating. We have incorporated all of those ideas into our Rug Loom. The result is a heavy-duty loom that is great for weaving lighter fabrics and beyond comparison for rug weaving.        - John Colony

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Warp Extender/Tension Equalizer is an innovative mechanism that Peter Collingwood developed to solve the problem of maintaining equal warp tension throughout an entire rug. With this device, you unroll enough warp for a rug or piece of fabric up to 8’ long, then tie onto the cloth beam apron, tensioning the warp ends as necessary. During weaving you advance the warp not by releasing the warp beam, but by simply lowering the Warp Extender/Tension Equalizer, thereby avoiding the risk of introducing unevenly tensioned ends from the beam. The result is tension that is maintained perfectly throughout the entire rug or project. If you require more than 8' of warp per project, we can provide extension posts and parts as a custom feature with your loom to allow for a longer extension of the warp.

The action is Countermarch, giving a large shed and smooth, easy treadling. Unlike other looms, the lifting cables do not pass through the warp, so any possible interference is eliminated.

A heavily weighted Overhead Beater swings almost effortlessly to make the most demanding rug easier to weave. Weights are placed discreetly and conveniently at the bottom of the beater and can be removed for the weaving of fabric. The beater can be set so that, at rest, it hangs either vertically, or angled back toward the castle. The height and position of the beater are also easily adjusted in order to maximize the weaving area.

Our innovative Tie-Up System uses heavy-duty “ball chains” that eliminate frustrating knots and cords. The result is one of the fastest, most effective countermarch tie-up systems. Changes and adjustments can be made in seconds.

Our Built-In Bench is completely adjustable in height and designed for closeness to your weaving.

A heavy duty Canvas Apron is attached to the cloth beam and the clever dust apron will protect your rug or fabric as you weave.

TreadleGates keep treadles in place so even though they are long for better leverage, they are always where they should be.

A beautiful bronze Worm Gear advances the cloth beam and gives infinite adjustment and very high tension.

SPECIAL OPTIONS

The Collingwood Shaft-Switching Device

Developed and perfected by Peter Collingwood over twenty-five years, the Shaft-Switching Device is offered as a special option with our rug looms. It has proven to be a simple but effective tool for achieving the exciting designs that Shaft-Switching makes possible. In its simplest form, Shaft-Switching allows you to activate a warp end on either of two shafts (harnesses) without having to cut and re-thread that end in the process. Being able to effectively change the tie-up with just the flip of a lever makes possible designs that are otherwise extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

The Collingwood Shaft-Switching Device is available for the 45" and 60" rug looms with ½" spacing. There are 84 levers on the 45" loom and 114 levers on the 60" loom.

Please refer to Peter Collingwood’s book, Rug Weaving Techniques: Beyond the Basics for a more detailed discussion of Shaft-Switching and its possibilities.

Sectional Warp Beam Adapters will turn your warp beam into a sectionally divided beam providing more accurate tension.

Bolt Down Steel Brackets are for bolting the loom right to the floor.

You can download the Harrisville Rug Loom Catalog here.