Have you ever seen a project or pattern made for a Rigid Heddle Loom that you love but you’re not sure what to do since you don’t have a draft? Many Rigid Heddle Projects we create are Plain Weave, which is very easy to create on your Table Loom or Floor Loom. You can tell a Rigid Heddle Pattern is plain weave when it doesn't indicate that there are any pickup sticks and just assumes the weaver doesn't need instructions on how to weave the fabric. Our new Watercolor Scarf Project is an example of this. Once you determine a project is plain weave you can decide how you want to tackle the threading on your Multi Harness Loom. There are two options, 2 Shaft or 4 Shaft.

This is an example of a scarf we chose to weave in Plain Weave on a floor loom because we wanted to show off the gradient of Schoppel Lace Flower Superwash Merino Yarn. 

2 Shaft Plain Weave

When warping your multi harness loom, thread your heddles alternating between Shafts 1 and 2 all the way across. Then when it’s time to treadle all you need to do is alternate between lifting shaft 1 and shaft 2. You just continue to treadle Shaft 1, Shaft 2, Shaft 1, Shaft 2, until your weft is finished!

4 Shaft Plain Weave

If you want to use four shafts, the easiest way to achieve plain weave is to thread for a straight twill. Thread your heddles on Shaft 1, Shaft 2, Shaft 3, Shaft 4, repeating all the way across your warp. You MUST begin on Shaft 1 and end on Shaft 4. This means you need to make sure you have an amount of warp threads that is divisible by 4. When you treadle you will lift Shafts 1 & 3 together and Shafts 2 & 4 together. Treadle by repeating Shafts 1&3, Shafts 2&4, Shafts 1&3, Shafts 2&4 until your weft is finished.

Remember, if you have a 4 Shaft loom that doesn’t mean you need to use all 4 Shafts. You can just use 2 shafts and ignore the others. Choosing between 2 Shafts or 4 Shafts for Plain Weave is entirely up to personal preference. This is meant to be flexible for the users of multi harness looms.

We also love using Plain Wave for weaving with handspun yarns. This is a project made with different handspun that was spun from Malabrigo Nube.

Plain Weave is also a great option for showing off beautiful hand painted or gradient yarns. Give it a try by weaving Painted Desert Yarn in our Watercolor Scarf Project! 

More Plain Weave Projects To Try: 

• Watercolor Scarf Project
• Cozy Texture Scarf Project
• Plaid Tote Project
• Uneek Cotton Shrug Project
• Rigid Heddle Texture Infusion Project
• Sock Scrap Scarf Project