Having had success modifying the Katie Loom, I turned my attention to the floor loom.

Problem 1: I’m too tall for the loom as it was built, so when my top half was in the right position, my knees were bent at 90 degrees and I couldn’t put my weight on the pedals. Also, my knees pushed up against the apron when I changed pedals.

Problem 2: There was nowhere to put my non-working foot when I was pressing a pedal except on either side of the eight pedals, so I was always straddling them and it made my hips ache. If I sat back far enough to rest my feet on the front ends of the pedals my top half was too far away from the beater to weave comfortably.

Solution: Raise the loom by putting it on planks of wood, and move the pedals to the underside of the supporting beam so they’re further away and I can rest my non-working foot on it.

I got stuck into removing the pedals before I took a photo, so here’s a pic from when I first put the loom together:

Paul and I played around with the position of the pedals until we had one where they were underneath the crossbeam and still had room to move. It meant drilling a new hole in the edge supports, but that was the only permanent modification.

This was MUCH more comfortable, as not only are the pedals now low enough that I can put my weight behind pushing them down, but I can brace my non-working foot on the crossbeam. My knees no longer push against the apron, too.

However, because front of the pedals are now lower than ends when they’re in the down position, they’re also at a greater angle when pressed. The shafts didn’t rise evenly with the chains I was using for the tie-up. I replace them with texsolv (after this pic was taken) as it is more easily adjusted. The up side to the change is the loom is a little quieter to operate now.

This all happened in the middle of weaving another leftover yarn scarf. I chose a plaited twill from an issue of Heddlecraft:

These are not my colours, but I love them. They put me in mind of a spring flower garden, though maybe that’s just because I’m longing for an easing of what seems a very chilly winter.