Weaving twill on a Warp-Weighted Loom

Here is a movie of weaving broken diamond twill on my warp-weighted loom:

I warped the loom using a diagram by Martha Hoffmann based on an extend piece from an excavation in Kaupang from the 9th century A.D.:

Martha Hoffmann also provides a diagram for knitting the heddles based on this piece:

To aid the knitting of the heddles, I drew simplified diagrams for the heddles for each heddle rod:

Figure 1: Heddles diagram for the upper or “1” rod.

Figure 2: Heddles diagram for the middle or “2” rod (the opposite of the natural shed).

Figure 3: Heddles diagram for the lower or “3” rod.

To reproduce the broken diamond twill pattern of the extent fabric fragment above, the order of the heddle rods is a sequence of ten sheds: N-3-2-N-1-2-3-N-2-1, where “N” designates the natural shed and “1”, “2” and “3” the shed created by pulling forward the respective top, middle or bottom heddle rod.

Figure 4: Close-up of a piece of the woven fabric.

Bibliography

Hoffman, Marta (1974) “The Warp-Weighted Loom: Studies in History and Technology of an Ancient Implement”, Robin and Russ Handweavers.