Converting a rigid heddle loom to a 4-shaft weaving loom with Schacht's Cricket Quartet
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Join me as I talk about Schacht's new product which expands on the functionality of a rigid heddle loom and converts it from being a rigid heddle loom to a 4-shaft loom. Let's get a closer look at the Schacht Cricket Quartet!
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Absolutely gorgeous video! ❤ We are obsessed.
I bought the quartet and have absolutely no regrets. I love it! Very easy to construct and use. Schacht have video tutorials too so you can’t go wrong. I bought the 10 dent. I’ve been wanting to branch out from a RH for so long and the quartet came out at the right time for me. It fits right back onto the stand after conversion. I had squeaky levers but a drop of sewing machine oil solved that problem.
That’s fantastic! I’m so glad to hear it is working out for you!
Thank you for this video. I just received mine a few weeks ago and it has been sitting in the box because the thought of dealing with putting it together seemed overwhelming. But after watching this video, I feel confident that I can do this. And seeing the finished product is a big help. PLEASE do some more videos on using this attachment i.e. dressing the loom, etc. I have been doing rigid heddle weaving for a little bit now and bought this because I wanted to explore a 4 shaft loom but do not have the space or the budget for a floor loom at the moment. I'm hoping this will fill that gap in helping me to get comfortable with a shaft loom and learning how to use one so that when it comes time to buy one I will know more of what to look for in a loom.
Very cool! Glad to see that this exists.
Good review of the Cricket expansion. My personal experience was to go from Inkle to a BabyWolf. Then larger with more shafts, because I wanted to explore weave structures. My girlfriend is into spinning, art fibers, and colors and has a collection of ridged heddles. So I guess it depends on what you want to explore.
I've thought about diy for that kind of thing for years and am making my own loom, gathered so much of it already, though my one reed is too big, was going to build a floor loom and with my mobility issues changed my mind, going to build a 36 inch table loom, but I want 16 harnesses to play with, but may start with 8 and allow space for adding more. This is a wonderful product. But people need to take their power back and investigate how to create or adapt something.
Ashford is releasing a 16 harness 32" table loom in April I believe
I wish I had seen this video before buying my 16" loom from Ashford. I now feel like learning to weaving on a 4 shaft loom but the cost is prohibitive.
I have a cricket and a four harness table loom. This is a good option for newbies wanting to learn w/o the larger up front cost. But, idk, when I out grew my cricket, it was also a width problem- not just numbers of shafts. I’m finding my table loom is a 24” and that’s not really wide enough for me. My next loom I’m hoping for a baby wolf- not too big, not to small and still “portable. “
I am putting my Quartet together right now and will try to remember to circle back and comment after I start using it. I have a Mighty Wolf but have not had a chance to use it because I do not have room where I currently live.
Good luck with the assembly and getting started!
I love it and it is, so much to learn from you thank you.
What I've been curious about is if it's more of a 1 time conversion or if it's easy to go back and forth between projects. I thought I'd seen it was easy to go back and forth, but, stuff like removing the back beam makes me think it's more of a one time or at least rare thing.
I find there's a ton to love about rigid heddles in their own right and there's a lot of interesting things you can do with them that can't be easily done on a 4 shaft loom, though of course there's other things that are much easier on a 4 shaft!
Lisa, FWIW removing the back beam is just a matter of 2 screws, but if you want, Schacht sells an extra beam, and the Quartet beam is 5/16" up from the Cricket back beam, so the QT will work with the CK beam still attached. Interchanging the 2 is fairly simple (4 screws), as long as it is not already warped.
Where did you buy it and how much did it cost?
New to using the Cricket Quartet. So new, in fact, that I haven't assembled it yet. Do you recommend adding a few more heddles, such as 25 or so, to each shaft? Thank you.
Thanks so much! Adding more heddles all depends on if you need to weave with finer yarns... if you need more "ends per inch" then you might need to add heddles. I didn't have extra heddles with my loom, so I just built it as is and I'm weaving at around 12 epi with knitting and handspun yarns. So far it's working for me! Good luck with assembling your loom!!
Wow!! That’s is awesome. I work on a 32 inch rigid Heddle loom as of right now but have been interested in the 4 shaft loom. Do you know if they a conversion kit for a 32 inch?
I have the same question, except for the 25” flip rigid heddle loom. I’ve wanted a floor loom, but finances and physical limitations prevent that. I’m hoping Schacht will have a converter for its wider rigid heddle looms.
went to your site to purchase the Quartet frustrated so I left the site with no purchase
THis is fantastic!
So if someone was just starting out and wanting to move from a handheld frame loom to something to make things like table runners and tea towels, is this something you would recommend over say a Leclerc Dorothy? I was considering going big and buying a Fanny but admittedly was a bit overwhelmed watching videos on it. Then I learned of a Dorothy but was surprised at how noisy and clunky it sounded. Just looking for something to get my feet wet and start out on to understand the process of weaving.
The Quartet is quite small, it cuts down on the width of the Cricket from 15" to 13.5" which is borderline for placemats or table runners and too small for towels (15" is borderline for towels, they shrink off the loom). The Louet Erica 50cm (about 20") would be more suitable for towels (still a touch small, some patterns will call for more like 22") at a similar price point as the Cricket + Quartet, or you can keep an eye on the used market in your area.
Agree with Lisa. My next step was a used Schacht BabyWolf 4S. It taught me well (it's moved on). IMHO, when you want to do table runners and towels you will be happier with a floor loom over a table loom. I have two 40inch Macombers now (4S,16S). Towels are a great way to explore weave structures and shaft needs. Check local fiber and weaving groups, they usually have used looms and frequently friendly advice.
I saw this in a magazine and then I saw the price. It’s outrageous! It costs more to convert my cricket than I paid to buy a Louet Erica with 4 shafts. Granted the prices on all looms have risen but geez.
Oh! That’s interesting… I understand that it’s a significant investment for someone who wants to convert an existing Cricket, but ultimately it’s an option for someone who wants to continue using the Cricket. Kind of like a reduce, reuse, recycle philosophy. But I can also see how prices of everything have risen in the past year. 2023 will be an interesting year for sure.
@@sweetgeorgia it certainly will.