When I was a girl I dreamed of being a flying trapeze artist. No fooling! I practiced stunts on our backyard swingset, including hanging from my toes. I grew out of that. My new stunt now, is with a different kind of trapeze. A warping trapeze. (Some people call it a warping valet, but let’s call it a trapeze, okay?)
The warping trapeze is used for beaming the warp. The warp comes over the breast beam, under the foot beam, and then over the cross bar of the trapeze. I use two-pound walking weights and S-hooks to weight the warp bouts, since the warp needs to be under sufficient tension as it is wound onto the warp beam. The warping trapeze makes it easy to single-handedly beam a warp with even tension.
(Did you notice Becky Ashenden’s flippy book, Dress Your Loom the Vävstuga Way: A Bench-Side Photo Guide on my cart? I still like to follow her step-by-step instructions to make sure I’m not missing anything.)
Enjoy this little time-lapse video I created of myself dressing the loom using the warping trapeze. (You will not see me hanging from my toes.)
I fly through the air with the greatest of ease, my threads all in place with the warping trapeze…
Thank you to Becky Ashenden for introducing me to a warping trapeze at Vävstuga Weaving School.
Many thanks to my talented husband for creating my very own warping trapeze. He’s the best!
May you come up with fantastic new stunts.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
I have a wonderful visual of you hanging by your toes! Great job of explaining the trapeze.
Karen, I would love to talk to you more about your trapeze. I have been intrigued since I discovered them via blogs and you tube. I think Matt could build me one as well. Sometime, I would love to come see your set up as it seems a little different from others I have seen on the internet. So clever and doesn’t require fixing anything to the ceiling! It was wonderful to see you this week! Happy weaving!
Gretchen, I would love to show it to you! The next time I’m getting ready to start a new warp, I could let you know and you could come over and see how it all works. Anyone could make this. Steve made it so it’s easy for me to use and store.
Could I come see your trapeze, too? I’ve been wanting one for a while now, and I am sure Bob could make it for me.
Great explanation of how it works, Karen!
Hi d’Anne, I would love to have you come over and see the trapeze!
I’ll call you when I am about ready to dress the loom.
Karen
Great job, Karen! I have yet to try this, but hope to in due time. At the moment, looking forward to finishing some looper rugs!
Mary
Hi Mary! Looper rugs sound like great fun!
The warping trapeze makes dressing the loom so much simpler. But everything in due time, I know. There are so many great ideas, and you can’t do everything at once!
I hope you are doing well. I’m glad you find time to weave, between enjoying your fascinating animals and taking care of your shop. Thanks so much for dropping by here!
Happy Weaving,
Karen
I love your video and loom. What brand of loom is in the picture ? I have been seriously thinking about those lovely Countermarch looms.
Hi, Rita,
I’m glad you asked! The loom in the picture is a 120cm (47″) Glimakra countermarch loom. I also have a 100cm (39″) Glimakra countermarch. It is pure joy to weave on these looms. Let me know if there are any questions that I might answer for you.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
I’ve been using a trapeze for a while now. I can’t imagine warping any other way.
Great video too. I’m using handweights now also.
I first saw a video from Laura Fry ‘beaming mats.mpg’ on youtube. 10 meters in 10 minutes!
Hi Tom, I agree. Warping with a trapeze makes a world of difference! Thanks for stopping and leaving your thoughts!
Happy weaving,
Karen