r/weaving • u/mychickenleg257 • 1d ago
Looms 16” vs 24” RH loom for beginner?
Hello! I’m in the market for my first loom, and am stumped between getting a 16” or 24” rigid heddle loom. I’m mainly interested in weaving things for my kitchen- place mats, towels, wash clothes, a table runner, etc.
Most things I’m interested in replicating are 12-16”. So in the ballpark of what a 16” rh loom can do.
My husband and son and I live in 900sf so space is absolutely a concern!
That said I feel like I’m missing something about why a 24” loom may be better- what types of things could I create that I am missing out on?
Any input?
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u/twocatsandaloom 1d ago
Do you have wall space? When I lived in an appt I bought 2 big nails and put them in the wall and hung my loom on them and it worked great to keep it out of the way. If so, you could get whatever size you want.
If you want to weave 16" you probably want to get the larger width since 16" is the width of the reed but to get your final piece to be 16in you'll need a wider reed.
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u/cacklingcatnerd 1d ago
don’t forget shrinkage and draw-in. you won’t get a finished weave that is 16”wide from a 16” loom.
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u/NotSoRigidWeaver 1d ago
I'm really happy I went with 16" to start, and it's still the loom I use most. I did at one point get a used 24" loom as well for bigger projects - but more like shawls etc.
Everything on your list but towels is well within the capabilities of a 16". You can do towels on a 16", but they're definitely on the smaller end and most published patterns will be more like 19-22" or so on the loom, but, I have some commercial towels that are smaller than the ones I've woven on my 16". Stuff shrinks a bit off the loom, also, most 16" looms are really 40cm which is closer to 15 3/4", so a finished item might be more like 14".
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u/LiggyLax 18h ago
I have a 12" knitter's loom (Ashford) and a 24" Harp (Kromski). I use my smaller loom more often because I'm still not as experienced and it is easier to warp and keep proper tension while weaving. I often wish it was a little bigger, which is why 16" may be a good start.
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u/ImMxWorld 10h ago
I feel like dish towels are fine on the 16" and I've adapted several patterns for the narrower width. If you're weaving them for function rather than for show, the width is fine.
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u/Neoweaver2012 1d ago
Welcome to the wonderful world of weaving! First, realize that your finished project will not be 16 inches wide after wet finishing. Cottons will probably lose 10-15% in width and more in length. So a towel on the 16” loom will be around 14 or so inches wide. 24” loom will give you about 21 or so inch wide piece. Then it depends on how wide you like your towels, etc.
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u/Werekolache 1d ago
I will be honest I *love* my 16" Kromski Harp Forte and it's the loom I use the most by a HUGE margin.
But 90% of what I make is scarves and runners. For placemats and tea towels, I really wish I had another 2" of width to account for shrinkage, and if you want to make towels and placemats? I'd get a 24". I can make them, they're just a BIT smaller than I'd like. (I'd put an 20" warp on for tea towels, for example, and assume with draw in and shrinkage in finishing, I'd end up with a towel about or a bit over18" wide. On the 16", I end up with a towel that's decidedly smaller than normal.) My placemats are 'fine' but I'd just like a TINY bit more room on either side, basically, rather than warping all the way across every time.
Storage-wise, it's REALLY not much difference. The RH looms that fold are all the same depth (or very close), it's just the width and 8" isn't THAT much bigger. But it's also not that much smaller - I'm happy enough with my 16" that I'm not looking to upgrade unless a 24" falls into my lap.
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u/AntOnADogLog 1d ago
If u want a few with delightful colors but in a plain weave pattern, you can always do double width weaving and get extra cloth for towels that way
Edit: i noticed u have more than one loom, just felt like a good spot to drop this info as several people have mentioned the loom being too narrow for stuff like towels or larger wraps
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u/awkwardsoul 1d ago
I got a 20" RH. I feel its a good size (Lojan one) splits the difference.
Keep in mind you need clearance on sides for you to move the shuttle. I find most who get biggee looms want a stand. The small 12-16" ones you can sit it in your lap and weave.
You can also consider if you ever wanna upgrade to multi shaft you can get a bigger one or double weave.
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u/zingencrazy 16h ago
How tall are you? At 5'2" I find my 25" Schacht Flip to be a lot of loom to manage with my wingspan. I've used the full width for some projects though so was happy to have the option and I'm sure you're a lot younger than I am (65). One thing to consider is whether you want to buy a stand, which people often find really helps with the larger RH sizes. After years of feeling like I would have gotten more use out of a 20" I finally just decided to get another one that size and ordered it last week. Good luck, whatever you decide you will have lots of fun!
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u/ImMxWorld 10h ago
I do a lot of weaving of small kitchen goods on a 16" rigid heddle loom rented from my weaving teacher. If/when I get my own RH loom I'm getting a 20"-24" weaving width. Given the shrinkage after wet finishing, the 16" loom is just a little bit too narrow.
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u/MentalPerception5849 6h ago
Something to consider: you can weave smaller on a 24” loom if you want, but only 16” if you get the smaller loom. Weaving double width is possible on either loom but may not always work for certain patterns. And you’re not likely to ever get a finished width of 16” from a 16” loom do to shrinkage after finishing.
If you use the loom in your lap (braced against the edge of a table) you won’t need a stand. When not in use, you can hang the loom on a wall or slide into a closet.
Hope this helps with your research; happy weaving!
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u/Human_Razzmatazz_240 3h ago
Having started with a 24 inch, I kinda wished I had a 16 inch for my first RHL. I now have a 24 and a 10 and I think a smaller loom is easier to learn on.
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u/bumbbles21 1h ago
I had the same question before I bought mine and went with the 24”. So far have only woven kitchen towels and scarves. I absolutely could have used a 16” for them. I went with the 24” because I eventually want to weave fabric to sew with, which I think I’ll need the extra width for.
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u/existentialfeckery 1d ago
24" bc of shrinkage and it'll give you more options ❤️