First Woven Rug On A Kromski Harp

So I still love my Schacht Cricket for smaller projects, but I wanted to weave larger things, like rugs and blankies without having to stitch them together in blocks or panels. Hence the Kromski Harp 32" loom (I was warned that one loom is never enough) situated on two side by side TV trays (above), which was not working out at all for me. A lot of wrestling and intimidation going on here! :/

 

Hence the stand was also purchased, along with an 8 dent reed, because the loom came with a 10 dent reed, which didn't exactly cater to the Peaches and Cream cotton yarn I had planned to use for my first rug warp...

 



 

I had one heck of a time getting used to the larger rigid heddle loom, mainly because I didn't know what I was doing and couldn't hold it in my lap. Pulling the cotton thread through the too small holes and slots, which I re-started about 3x, was frustrating. I didn't know to skip slots and holes, so I put a thread in every one for almost the width of the loom. Above is what the warp looked liked when I got done. Waaaay too dense! But I couldn't bare to unravel it. :(

 

I wove a header (turquoise), then started weaving with the Lions Brand Homespun yarn that I REALLY wanted the rug made of. This is as far as I got. It didn't look right, plus the cotton warp was sticking and I was having to separate every shed with my pick up stick.

 

I didn't want to waste the Homespun, so I unraveled it and picked out some navy, denim blue, and red cotton yarn from my stash and decided to make this adventure a learning experience. I made up the pattern stripes and started weaving. I still had to separate every shed, which made it take a lot longer, and there are two unintentional stripes lengthways where I skipped one hole and forced two threads through another hole. The other side has some different yarn in the warp because I ran out of the solid, plus there are a few skipped threads. It's all good! I learned a lot about rugs and wrestling. Besides, it has character, I think! lol

 

 

Here it is finished! Not happy that it looks "netted", but I can live with it, and we've already thought of several uses for it. Chalking it up to a great, but frustrating, first experience with rug weaving!

 

Now on to the rug I intended to weave in the first place! I already have it warped and ready to go! :)