The rigid heddle reed of your Cricket Loom or Flip Loom has three jobs:
- It spaces the warp ends evenly at the sett you want.
- It beats the weft into place as you weave each pick.
- It has slots and holes which allow the weaver to raise and lower specific warp ends.
Schacht sells rigid heddle reeds and variable dent reeds designed to maximize the weaving width of our looms. When you're buying a reed, it's helpful to understand how it's designed.
- Wooden bars run along the long edges of the reed.
- Plastic bars run vertically in the reed. They're spaced more closely or widely depending on the reed's dent.
- Each plastic bar has a hole in the center of it. There are spaces called slots between the plastic bars. Warp ends go in these holes and slots.
- Rigid heddle reeds do not have a top or bottom, front or back.
To determine the reed's dent, measure 1" with a ruler and count the slots and the holes. The reed's dent is also embossed on the plastic bars.
The measurement between the furthest holes is your reed's weaving width. When you warp the loom, you can fill all the slots and holes to weave full width.
Sizing Reeds For Your Rigid Heddle Loom
Your rigid heddle reed has to fit your Schacht rigid heddle loom. The 15" reed will fit both the 15" Flip and the 15" Cricket.
The Flip has heddle blocks with slots to hold the rigid heddle—the reed's total width has to fit within these slots. You will not be able to fit a 20" reed in a 25" Flip, or vice versa.
For the Cricket, the reed's weaving width has to fit between the loom sides, with the total width extending outside of the loom's sides. You cannot use a 10" reed on a 15" Cricket, or vice versa. The rigid heddle should sit securely in the neutral notch as you warp the loom. When you weave, you'll move the rigid heddle between the up and down notches.
