Louët is a leading manufacturer for personal Weaving, Spinning, Carding, and Bookbinding equipment. Since 1974 Louët has strived for excellence in quality, design, and workmanship. Louët loom styles are easy to understand and use for both newbie weavers and experienced pros alike.
Weaving and looms, like all fibre arts, have been around for thousands of years. Long before modern looms with multiple shafts (harnesses) and treadles (foot pedals) the essence of weaving, interlacing thread over and under a set of perpendicular threads, twigs, or a variety of natural materials was done by hand with the support of primitive tools.
Fibre arts require some specific tools for a successful experience and product. Those tools can vary from basic to customized and have become an estimated $200 billion dollar industry.
With weaving, the more streamlined the setup process, the more pleasurable the experience is to get to the good part; actually weaving. Good tools are the most important investment. This is the reason I have chosen to partner as the Distributor in Israel for Louët.
My first experience with a Louët product was on a David 2 Loom. Each step of the loom set up was a pleasure, from placing the warp on the lease sticks, laying out the project on the integrated raddle, and threading the headless while seated at eye level. When it came time to weave I was already innately aware that I was going to own my own David 2 loom.
Let me introduce you to some of the Louët Family
Louët loom styles fall into three categories frame looms, table looms and floor looms, each of which is available in many styles, sizes, and features so you can find the loom that best suits your weaving creativity.
When you visit the TASUE studio you can view Lisa, Erica, Jane, and David looms in the full assembly in their many stages of dress or undress.
This being Louët's 45th year, they are celebrating, I want to share that with you!
Frame loom
The ‘Lisa Frame Loom,’ also known as a tapestry loom, is available in 4 sizes ranging from 20x25cm to 60x90cm. The low-cost price point and ease of use make this loom a no-brainer, particularly for beginners. All Lisa Frame Looms have a modern look as they are made from solid wood which shows is lasting power. The portability of the product is also not to be ignored. The Lisa Frame can be used in a huge range of ways, for freeform expression, with unrestricted weaving styles or for a more traditional approach sticking to a pattern and creating a tapestry of stitches.
Small Lisa looms are a product available through the TASUE website. Partner them with our Weaving Bundle for a starter set of complementing yarns that will your weaving off the ground.
Table Looms
For a smaller starting price with versatility and extensive weaving growth opportunity, table looms are a good investment as a starter loom for weavers interested in both inspirational and traditional pattern weaving. Louët makes three different styles called Klik, Erica, and Jane which each have their own unique attributes, As with all Louët looms these three styles are modern and user-friendly.
Klik is a 4 shaft loom that can be expanded up to 16 shafts. At a width of 40cm (15 3/4") tea towels, scarfs, or table runners are an ideal project for this loom as it allows for a focus on detailed pattern work. It is a slow-going loom in that each shaft is manually lifted and lowered for each throw of the shuttle. Woven pieces seem to blossom as they present this loom.
Jane is an 8 shaft toggle pull table loom that comes in both a 40cm (15 3/4") and 70cm (27 5/8") profile. A matching bench and stand is available to complement the experience. The overhead beater that stays out of the way when throwing the shuttle. One of the best features on Jane loom is the ability to collapse for travel. With a built I handle and optional carry bag she is a very versatile choice for a table loom.
Erica is designed to be a compact table loom fitted with either 2, 3, or 4 shafts in a weaving width of 30cm (11 3/4") or 50cm (19 3/4"). This multi-shaft option tool is an alternative to a ridge heddle loom. The system is designed much like Jane in that it has a toggle pull system and collapses flat while fully warped so that you can easily take it with you. Erica has a large shed of 4.5cm (1 3/4") allowing for flexibility in the number of threads per cm and a swinging beater that seems to always find the right thread placement. Made of unlacquered beech and laminated birch and designed with a built-in raddle, stainless steel reed (40/10), 200 Texsolv heddles (150 mm), stainless steel lease- and tie-up bars and warp strips.
Floor looms
Louët floor looms maintain the slender look, high-end features, modern style, and ease of use provided in the Louët table looms while offering a floor frame and foot-based treadle system. It is their weaving widths, shaft amounts, and tie-up (singular, countermarch, mechanical, or computer interface) systems that set the looms apart.
David is a compact eight harness loom that looks modest but surpasses many large floor looms in functional quality. It is available in 70 cm (27 5/8′′) and 90 cm (35 3/8" weaving width.
David uses a singular tie-up system and offers a wide shed which gives the impression of a countermarch: all harnesses that are not treadled down for the shed, are lifted by an ingenious spring system that offers a soft treadling experience. The warp beam is held by a friction brake, enabling you to advance the fabric sitting at your loom.
The unique rocking gliding beater bar offers even the newest weaver a very balanced placement of weft thread with each throw of the shuttle.
David is made of lacquered beech and comes with the castle section assembled to ease the set-up of the loom. It has a built-in raddle and shelf and included are a stainless steel reed 40-10 (10 dpi), 800 Texsolv heddles (280 mm), tie-up and lease sticks, sixteen warp sticks and the friction brake for the warp beam.
Spring is a countermarch loom available in 90 cm (35 3/8′′) and 110 cm (43 1/4′′) weaving width. The loom can be ordered with eight or twelve harnesses. Spring features the parallel countermarch system for harness action and the moving breast beam to control the tension of the warp.
These innovations make sure the loom matches the highest expectations weavers may have concerning the functional quality. Making or changing tie-up is very easy: simply hook on the supplied Texsolv loop cords, which are pre-cut to the right length. The warp beam is held by
a friction brake, enabling you to advance the fabric sitting at your loom. The beater adjusts for height and level.
Spring is made of lacquered beech and comes with the castle section assembled to ease the set-up of the loom. The design of the loom includes a built-in raddle on top of the castle and a storage shelf. Spring is provided with a stainless steel reed 40-10 (10 dpi), 800/1200 Texsolv heddles (390 mm), tie-up and lease sticks and sixteen warp sticks.
Delta is a comfortable and solid loom with all the innovations that make Louët products famous. The Delta uses the Louët parallel countermarch system and the moving breast beam. The springy tie-up device on the treadle gives a progressive shed. This means the shed widens gradually towards the back harnesses so that the warp threads, above and below, always are on even levels.
The treadles hinge on the backside of the loom, so they treadle light. The loom is equipped with a friction brake device on the warp beam and a convenient advancing system on the cloth beam. It is available with eight or twelve harnesses and in two weaving widths: 110 cm (43 1/4′′) and 130 cm (51 1/4′′).
Delta is made of lacquered ash and comes with the castle section assembled. The loom is equipped with a built-in raddle, a shelf for storage, a stainless steel reed 40-10 (10 dpi), 1200/1400 Texsolv heddles (330 mm), tie-up and lease sticks and sixteen warp sticks.
The castle section of the loom with the parallel countermarch cords, shafts and lams come preassembled.
Three additional floor looms are available though Louet. Magic Dobby, Octado, and Megado, these looms can be purchased with mechanical infrastructure or an electronic interface system. Each has a single treddle to continue to the next mechanical or computer-directed pattern mark. More to come on these home user wonders.
Louët products are available through direct order with TASUE.
Questions? I invite you to email me TASUEdesigns@gmail.com.
