Ski Shuttles

Ski shuttles are a great way to add variety to the types of weft materials you can use when weaving. They make managing fabric, bulky yarns, and other non-traditional weft options easy. Simply wind the material around the shuttle like you would a stick shuttle and you're well on your way to crafting more creative weaving projects. 

The large, flat bottom surface means they are easy to throw across even wide warps used for large, rag rugs. Like a stick shuttle you do have to unwind the right amount of weft material before throwing the shuttle or it won’t make it across the width of the project. However, since the shuttle can be thrown you don’t have to deal with the awkwardness of handling an overly long stick shuttle to get the shuttle through the shed. 

The downside of ski style shuttles is that they don’t work well on looms with a narrow shed. These shuttles work best on multi harness floor looms with a tall enough shed to accommodate the height of the shuttle. These do not work well on rigid heddle looms or most table looms since the shed on those looms are typically quite narrow.  The exception is our tulip shaped ski shuttle that we developed here at the shop specifically for rigid heddle and table loom weaving. The shuttle is shorter and both the top and bottom are enclosed to ensure that it will glide through the narrow sheds of rigid heddle and table looms with relative ease.