AVL Looms Little Weaver User manual

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Little Weaver
Revision 2
User’s Manual
Version 1.0
May 9, 2023
AVL Looms
2360 Park Avenue, Chico, CA, USA 95928
Ph. 530-893-4915 | Fax [phone]
www.avllooms.com | [email protected]

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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 1
Getting to Know Your Loom .................................................................................................................................. 2
Loom Diagram ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Picking Up Your Loom ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Folding and Unfolding Your Loom.................................................................................................................................. 3
Power ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Changing Your Reed ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Tension Release Lever......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Setting Up Your New Loom................................................................................................................................................ 4
Getting Started........................................................................................................................................................... 4
Software .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
First Time Starting Up Your Loom.................................................................................................................................. 5
USB ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Wi-Fi Direct & LAN........................................................................................................................................................... 5
Opening a Weaving File.................................................................................................................................................. 5
Weaving Action ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Advancing the Warp ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
Standby Mode and Shutting Down ................................................................................................................................. 6
Glossary of Terms.................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Learning to Weave ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Finding or Designing a Pattern.................................................................................................................................... 9
Warping Your Loom ........................................................................................................................................................ 9
Calculating Yarn Usage ......................................................................................................................................................9
Using a Warping Board ...................................................................................................................................................10
Warping Your Beam..........................................................................................................................................................12
Threading, Sleying, and Tying On.............................................................................................................................13
Moving, Removing or Installing Heddles..................................................................................................................13
Threading ..............................................................................................................................................................................14
Sleying.....................................................................................................................................................................................15
Tying-On.................................................................................................................................................................................15
Automatic Warp Tension................................................................................................................................................15

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Weaving..............................................................................................................................................................................16
Winding Shuttles ................................................................................................................................................................16
Begin Weaving.....................................................................................................................................................................16
Advancing the Warp Using Standard Warp Tension..........................................................................................17
Continue Weaving..............................................................................................................................................................17
Finishing Your Woven Fabric.....................................................................................................................................17
Edges........................................................................................................................................................................................17
Washing.................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Resources ..................................................................................................................................................................19
Books and Print....................................................................................................................................................................19
Online.......................................................................................................................................................................................19
Workshops and Community............................................................................................................................................19
Transporting and/or Shipping Your Loom....................................................................................................19
Troubleshooting .....................................................................................................................................................20
Weaving Issues.....................................................................................................................................................................20

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Introduction
Dear Weaver,
Congratulations on your new Little Weaver!
Your Little Weaver stands on the shoulders of some pretty phenomenal advancements in the world of
weaving. AVL Looms has been in the business of designing and building some of the world’s finest
handweaving looms since 1976. Our innovation in floor looms established the benchmark for production
hand weavers. AVL was the first to come out with a computerized dobby
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, or Compu-Dobby® as we call it,
for the hand weaver. This innovation opened up a world of complex patterns previously unattainable
without tremendous tedium.
Now, in an effort to make weaving more accessible and appealing to a greater number of crafters, we’ve
created Little Weaver. Little Weaver is a computerized table top loom that automatically selects your
harnesses according to the pattern you’ve chosen on your computer. All you need to do is weave!
Finally, welcome to the AVL family. We pledge to provide you a lifetime of excellent support and service.
For support, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 530-893-4915 and follow the prompts to
the support desk.
With warmest regards,
The AVL team
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A dobby is an apparatus that selects harnesses on the loom according to a predetermined pattern. Traditionally, a weaver had
to use flip levers or treadles to lift harnesses individually. This required a lot of mental work and restricted the pattern to the
number of treadles or levers that could fit on the loom, or that the weaver could use at one time.

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Getting to Know Your Loom
Loom Diagram
Picking Up Your Loom
A Little Weaver with a full capacity of 24 harnesses weighs about 50 lbs. (22.5 kg) with a reduction of
about 5 lbs (2.2 kg) for each group of 8 harness removed. It is important to recognize that this weight is
heavy enough to injure yourself if you are not careful.
The handles for picking up the Little Weaver are conveniently located under the locking knobs on the sides
of the loom. With the legs folded and locked in place, these handles are the best option for lifting and
carrying your Little Weaver as it allows you to bring the weight closest to your torso.
Cutouts in the side frames may also be used for lifting though they may not fit all hand sizes. We do not
recommend lifting the loom by the front and back rollers, especially when a warped loom may not provide
sufficient or balanced hand holds.

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Folding and Unfolding Your Loom
The Little Weaver is able to be folded for easier handling and transporting, to save space in storage and to
protect the loom during these activities. When folded the loom depth decreases from 26 ½ to 16 ¼ inches
(67 to 41 cm).
You will notice a small black Locking Knob on each side of your loom. The Locking Knobs secure the loom in
the weaving and folded positions. Beam Support Locks slide between weaving and folded positions with
established detents for each position to help secure it.
To fold your loom, loosen the Locking Knob on each side of the loom and then simultaneously lift both
front Beam Support Locks on each side and slide them all the way forward, positioning the breast beam
close to the harnesses. Press down on the support locks to lock into place. Repeat the process with the
rear Beam Support Locks and then tighten the knobs on each side to secure. If the loom is warped, use the
handle on the warp beam to crank the loose warp back onto the warp beam.
To unfold your loom into the weaving position, reverse the above steps. If there is a warp on the loom, you
must first flip the warp beam tension release lever to allow the warp beam to unroll freely. See Tension
Release Lever (page 3).
Power
Little Weaver includes a computerized dobby (Compu-Dobby®) which requires power to operate. Around
the world electricity is supplied to most household and business locations in one of two alternating
current-based voltage ranges (VAC): 110-125 VAC and 215-240 VAC. In the US, 110-125 VAC is most
common. In many other countries 215-240 VAC is more common. Your Little Weaver is equipped with a
self-switching power supply. It will automatically detect and select the correct voltage setting for your
loom.
A power cord is provided with your loom in order to connect to loom to the electrical power at your
location. Where possible, your power cord will come with the correct plug type for your local outlets.
Unfortunately, not all plug types are readily available from our suppliers. If your power cord does not
match your outlet type, you will need to supply a suitable plug adapter rated at 400 Watts or better.

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Changing Your Reed
Little Weaver can accommodate epoxy or solder-bound reeds 16 ¾ inches (42.5 cm) length or narrower
and approximately 5 inches (12.7 cm) in height. The bindings on older pitch-bound reeds are less likely to
fit the beater bottom and top grooves. Please note that the reed binding should be completely contained
within the groove. If the binding protrudes from the slot, it is a good indicator of a poorly fitting reed.
To change the reed, loosen the wing nuts on the beater top, lift the beater top up off the reed, and then
remove the reed. Reverse the procedure to install the new reed.
Tension Release Lever
If you need to release the tension on your warp, such as when you are folding or unfolding your loom for
storage or travel, there is a tension release lever on both the cloth storage and warp beams. Flip either
lever up into the release position which will allow the beam to rotate freely.
To put tension back onto the warp, flip the lever into the down position and then wind the Cloth Beam in
the appropriate direction to rewrap onto the Cloth Beam.
Setting Up Your New Loom
Little Weaver comes factory pre-configured and tested. It will arrive in its specially designed packaging
ready for weaving. You only need to plug in the supplied power, warp the loom and connect to your
computer to select a pattern to weave.
IMPORTANT! Save your Little Weaver packaging. The box and foam insert are designed and tested to
protect your Little Weaver through the rough treatment of shipping. Keeping them will save you the hassle
and cost of acquiring replacements should you ever need to ship your Little Weaver. Also, the foam inserts
fit perfectly into the Little Weaver Rolling Case (sold separately) for added protection during travel!
Getting Started
Software
Little Weaver utilizes the Compu-Dobby 5 architecture and internal loom driver software, AVLDrive™.
AVLDrive is accessed via any modern browser, including: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and others. This
means you can monitor and operate your Little Weaver with nearly any computing device, including

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desktops, laptops, tablets and even phones with sufficiently large screens. Since AVLDrive is already
installed on the Little Weaver, installation is not needed.
If using the USB connection point between your loom and device, a USB driver may need to be
downloaded and installed from the AVL website: https://avllooms.com/apps/help-center under MANUALS
& DOWNLOADS > Downloads.
AVLDrive allows only WIF format weaving design files. WIF is the universal “weaving interface file” format
that was developed in the 1990s and is supported by nearly all weaving design software. For a small
membership fee, a large WIF library can be accessed at handweaving.net.
First Time Starting Up Your Loom
To run your loom, plug in the power cord and select the ‘On’position for the power switch. Little Weaver
requires approximately two minutes to boot up. Watch the Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) on the front panel
under the beater. During the boot up sequence, all the LEDs will come on (except for the Error LED) for
approximately 45 seconds, turn off, and then Power & Network LEDs will power back on. Now, your Little
Weaver is ready.
There are two options for connecting to your Little Weaver for the first time: USB or wirelessly using Wi-Fi
direct or LAN.
USB
Connect the supplied USB cable between your Little Weaver and computing device, open a browser and
type 192.168.6.2 into the URL line for a device running the Mac OS, or 192.168.7.2 for every other device
(including Windows), and then hit enter. If a connection is made, the green COM LED will light and
AVLDrive will pop up on your screen. If an error message appears noting no connection made, install the
USB driver from the AVL webpage noted above in the Software section.
WiFi Direct and LAN
The Network LED color indicates to which WiFi type your Little Weaver is configured in AVLDrive. Green
indicates WiFi-direct is active and your Little Weaver is broadcasting its own WiFi SSID signal. Red indicates
that the WiFi-LAN is active and your Little Weaver is connected to your local WiFi router. When the
Network LED is flashing red, Little Weaver is attempting to connect to a router. If it fails to connect, Little
Weaver will automatically switch to WiFi-direct mode.
To connect via WiFi-direct, find Little Weaver’s WiFi signal on your computing device’s WiFi connection
menu. The id will typically be AVL_XXXXX where XXXXX is your Little Weaver’s serial number. Your Little
Weaver’s serial number can be found on the AVL plate on the side of the loom. Select it and type in the
passphrase CompuDobby5. Next, open your browser and enter the 192.168.16.2 in the URL line to open
AVLDrive. If a connection is made, the green COM LED will light and AVLDrive will pop up on your screen.
Using WiFi-LAN requires that Little Weaver be configured to connect to your local WiFi router. This
requires opening AVLDrive via USB or WiFi-direct, accessing the Network tab, enabling local router
connection, typing in your local WiFi router’s passphrase, and then selecting Restart network. If Little
Weaver logs onto your local WiFi router, the Network LED will light up red. Once Little Weaver is
connected, AVLDrive will provide instructions for restarting itself. And again, if a connection is made, the
green COM LED will light and AVLDrive will pop up on your screen.
Opening a Weaving File
In AVLDrive select the File tab. Your loom will come with a test file, which can be used to test the loom. Or,
use the File menu to access and download WIF files to the loom.

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Weaving Action
One of the best features of Little Weaver is how the shed is tied to the beater movement. With most table
looms, the weaver must reset levers for each shed, which destroys your weaving rhythm. With Little
Weaver, the shed action is tied to the beater movement. By pulling the beater forward to beat, internal
mechanisms close the shed and change it for the next pick. Push the beater back and the shed opens,
ready for you to throw the shuttle. Thus, your weaving action is simplified to beat –throw shuttle, beat –
throw shuttle, which allows a very nice weaving rhythm to follow.
More on beating… Little Weaver beating action is intended to be smooth, yet firm. This is in contrast to
floor looms in which you beat abruptly, fast and (possibly) hard. As you pull the Little Weaver beater
forward you will need to ever so slightly pause allowing the shed change to occur. You will hear or feel a
faint, rapid clicking to indicate the shed change. This happens in milliseconds, but it is still possible to move
the beater too fast and cause a mis-lift. It will take a little practice to get used to, but once you do, it will
become second nature. Also, should you prefer multiple beats per shed, push the beater forward half way
to avoid causing a shed change with each successive beat.
Advancing the Warp
Every so often, you will need to advance your woven cloth to keep the fell line in the working range of the
shedding mechanism. The most obvious indicator for this is that you will start needing to pull harder on
the beater in order to cause the shed change. Eventually, the fell line will move too close to the harnesses
and the beater will be unable to come far enough forward for the shed to change and shed changes will
cease. When this happens, it’s time to advance the warp. To advance the warp, use the Cloth Storage
Beam Crank by sliding the handle so one of the metal pins goes into a notch, then crank the beam to move
the fell line so it is a short distance from but not touching the breast beam.
Standby Mode and Shutting Down
The Little Weaver is in Standby Mode when the power cord is plugged in, but a file has not yet been
opened for weaving or the ‘Power’ button on the Weaving tab has not been clicked. The Power LED will
be yellow/orange in color, and AVLDrive is ready for the weaver to login and select a file for weaving.
To power down the Little Weaver, go to the Utilities tab in AVLDrive and select ‘Shutdown.’Wait for the
loom to completely shut down (all LEDs on the Little Weaver will turn off), then unplug the Little Weaver
from the wall outlet or power supply.

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Glossary of Terms
Beat/Beating: The act of pulling the beater toward you after placing a weft thread, to push it into place.
Bobbin: A reel, spool or cylinder that holds yarn.
Cross: Also known as a lease, the weaver’s cross is formed when preparing the warp threads. Every other
thread is crisscrossed, so that when you are ready to thread the loom, the threads are in order.
Dent: The space between the metal teeth on a reed. ‘Dents per inch’(DPI) refers to the number of spaces
per inch on a reed.
Draft: A weaving draft is the instructions for a particular weave structure, or design. It includes the
threading and treadling directions as well as a view of what the weave will look like –the drawdown.
EPI: The number of warp threads per inch is referred to as Ends per Inch. This is your warp density.
Fell Line: The line between what you have woven already and what has not been woven yet; the last pick
or weft that you beat into position.
Harness: Also known as a shaft, a harness is one of a set of frames on a loom that holds a set of heddles.
Each warp thread is threaded through one of the heddles. Each harness contains multiple heddles (and
thus warp threads). Your pattern is created by the combination of harnesses that are lifted for each pick
and the combination of warp threads that are contained on each harness.
Heddle: The heddles are installed on the harnesses and have a small opening (the eye) in the middle of
each one through which warp threads are threaded.
Pick: Each placement of a weft thread and beating it into place is considered a pick.
Pirn: A pirn is a specific type of bobbin that your weft thread is wound onto and inserted into a shuttle.
PPI: The number of weft threads per inch is referred to as Picks per Inch, or PPI. This is your weft density.
Quill: A small cardboard tube used as a bobbin in small boat shuttles.
Reed: A reed resembles a comb with metal teeth that are precisely spaced apart, through which warp
threads are placed. Located on the beater, the reed is used to beat the weft threads into place and to keep
a specific EPI. Also see Dent.
Selvedge: The edges of your woven fabric.
Set, Sett: This is the number of ends per inch (EPI). Set is the verb; sett is the noun. The scarf was set at 20
EPI. The warp sett was 20 EPI.
Shed: The opening that is created in the warp threads by lifting some of the harnesses. The shuttle passes
through the shed to insert the weft thread.
Shot: Also called a pick, one throw of the shuttle is called a shot (also see Throw).
Shuttle: A shuttle is a tool normally made of wood that holds the weft thread. The thread can be wound
around a pirn that is then inserted into the shuttle. The shuttle is thrown back and forth through the warp
threads and releases the weft thread as it goes, creating the weave.
Sleying: The process of pulling warp yarn between the dents of a reed.
Solenoid: Each harness has its own solenoid, an electronically controlled actuator hidden inside the Little
Weaver that physically selects or unselects the harness based on your pattern.
Swift: A tool for holding a skein of yarn in order to easily transfer the yarn to a different “put-up”such as a
ball, cone or directly to the warping board.

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Take-up: The amount of warp that is used up by going over and under the weft threads.
Thread: Thread refers to the yarn that you are using in the warp and weft.
Threading: Your threading refers to the order in which you have placed your warp threads onto the
harnesses.
Throw: Throwing the shuttle refers to moving the shuttle through the shed opening in the warp.
Warp: The set of threads that are held in tension on your loom from the back beam to the front beam.
This term is also used as a verb, which refers to the act of putting the warp threads onto the loom.
Warping Board: A warping board is a frame with pegs on it that weavers use to measure out their warp
threads and line them up in such a way for winding onto their warp beam.
Weft: The thread that is inserted perpendicular to the warp threads to create your fabric.

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Learning to Weave
So you’ve decided to weave, now what? Well, there are 5 basic steps to weaving:
1. Find or design a pattern for the number of harnesses you are using.
2. Warp your loom.
3. Thread, sley and tie on your warp.
4. Start weaving!
5. Turn your woven fabric into a finished piece.
In addition to the information provided in this manual, there are many books, workshops, and tutorials
available on weaving. See Resources at the back of this manual to see some of our suggestions.
Finding or Designing a Pattern
For beginning weavers, we recommend a 5/2 perle cotton yarn, set at 20 ends per inch (EPI). It’s also good
to start with a nice round number, like 10 inches, for your weaving width to make calculations easier. The
website www.handweaving.net is an excellent resource for weaving patterns. They have a directory with
over 60,000 patterns and weaving files that are free to download.
To start, you will want to look for a pattern that is simple in its threading and balanced in its weave,
meaning all harnesses are used equally. You’ll also want a pattern that is set at an EPI that is compatible
with the dent sized reed you have. The Little Weaver comes standard with a 10 DPI (dents per inch) reed.
This means that a 10 EPI fabric would have one end in each of the reed’s dents, a 20 EPI fabric would put
two in each dent, and a 15 EPI fabric would alternate between putting one thread and two threads in
every other dent. You can get creative with this as long as you try to spread the warp as evenly as possible
across the reed.
Warping Your Loom
Loom warping is one of the most important aspects of good weaving. The quality of your woven fabric and
the ease with which you can weave is largely dependent on the quality of your warp. You will want to
spend the extra time to make sure your warp is tight and even. Many common issues that weavers
encounter with their looms can be attributed to a warp that was wound poorly.
Calculating Yarn Usage
To calculate how much yarn you will need for your warp, take the width of the weaving and multiply by
the EPI, then multiply that number by the length of the weaving plus extra to cover shrinkage and loom
waste. So a 10 inch wide fabric set at 20 EPI will need 200 ends. Now take this number and multiply by the
length of your warp. You will need to account for shrinkage in the finished cloth according to the type of
yarn you are using, and the only way to know for sure what that percentage will be is to weave a small
sample, measure it, wash it and then measure the percentage amount that it shrank. In addition to
shrinkage, you will need to account for loom waste, which is about 2 feet on the little weaver, and take-up.
For simplicity’s sake, we will assume a warp length of 3 yards. Now multiply 200 ends by 3 yards and you
get 600 yards of yarn needed for the warp of this project. You will need a slightly lesser amount of weft
thread. It is always recommended to put on a little more than you need just in case. It’s also a good idea to
buy more than you need, so that in case you do need more yarn, it is from the same dye lot and will match
the rest of your yarn. Different dye lots can vary in color.
When buying yarn for weaving, cones are much more convenient. You will want your yarn in such a way
that it is easy to pull long, straight lengths of yarn quickly without it tangling. If you only have skeins of
yarn, don’t worry! There are methods and devices, such as swifts, available for converting skeins of yarn to
cones or spools.

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Using a Warping Board
Now that you have your yarn, it’s time to prepare it for warping onto your loom. Using a warping board
will help you to measure your warp threads to the precise length you need and help you to create the
weaver’s cross. A warping board is a frame that you can hang on the wall with strategically placed pegs
that stick out that you use to wrap your warp threads around. Warping boards are available for purchase
from AVL.
When winding your warp on to a warping board, make sure you put in two crosses: the threading cross
(about 20” in from the first peg) and the raddle cross (about 8” in from the last peg).
In the threading cross, each thread crosses the next thread in opposite directions and allows you to choose
the threads in exactly the right order when you are ready to thread the loom.

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In the raddle cross, groups of threads cross each other rather than the thread-by-thread crossing of the
threading cross. This cross allows you to distribute the warp quickly and evenly across the raddle prior to
beaming the warp. The number of threads in a raddle group can be determined by the number of ends to
be placed in each section of the raddle. This number is determined by the desired epi and dents per inch of
the raddle. For a sett of 20 epi and a raddle with 4 dents per inch, each raddle cross group would be 5
threads. Note that the Little Weaver raddle is 4 dents per inch.
A false cross doesn’t look like either a threading or a raddle cross. It looks similar to the threading cross,
except that the X is circled by threads. It is important to distinguish these two because if you tie the false
cross, you will have no cross at all when you take it off the warping board. This false cross disappears
during the warping.
Before removing the warp from the board or the reel, secure the crosses. Use four ties to secure each
cross. These ties go on each side of both pegs holding the cross. It is usually a good idea to use different
color threads for the ties on the tops of the pegs and another color to tie the bows underneath the pegs.
By color-coding your ties, you are less likely to twist the warp later.

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Remove the warp from the warping board by chaining or by winding on the kite stick. Start from the
threading cross and proceed to the raddle cross.
Warping Your Beam
AVL recommends warping your loom back to front, which means using a raddle. If you have a Little
Weaver Raddle, you will now need to insert it to the top of your loom using the holes provided and
remove the lid by undoing the hook & loop strips. Place two lease sticks in the raddle cross of your warp
and secure together with string through the holes in the ends of the sticks. (If you do not have lease sticks,
you can substitute smooth dowels or rods to keep the cross separated). Now remove the ties from the
raddle cross and spread the warp out on the sticks. Then distribute yarn in the raddle by dropping each
raddle cross group into a dent in the raddle, making sure to keep your warp centered in the raddle. The
loop ends of your warp should face the back of the loom. Secure the lid over the raddle with the hook &
loop strips. Insert the rod through the end loops of the warp and tie it to the apron rod.
If you do not have a raddle, you will probably want to warp your loom front to back. Start by sleying the
reed at the appropriate EPI, threading your yarn through the appropriate heddles and tying your warp
ends in evenly distributed groups to your apron rod that is attached by strings to the warp beam. This
arrangement will keep your warp spread to the proper width as you wind it onto the warp beam.
Wind the warp beam until you reach the rod, keeping the rod strings as flat and evenly across as possible.
Your strings and warp threads will go over the top of the beam and then back and around. If you’re

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standing on the right side of the loom, with the back of the loom to your right, you should be winding the
beam clockwise.
Note that if you have tied your warp to the tie-on rod, as opposed to slipping the loop ends over the rod,
you will need to make sure that your knots do not poke into your warp or cause a bump in your warp. As
you’re winding on, when you get to the rod with your warp tied on, you will want to use some sort of thick
and semi-stiff material to “hide” the knots. A piece of cardboard, or maybe even a paper towel roll with a
cut down the middle, will do the trick. You want a flat and even surface across the warp beam; which
means that you should not have bumps in your warp caused by the knots you used to tie the warp onto
the beam. You just need enough cardboard to wrap around the beam once and cover your warp across its
entire width.
To keep the rest of your warp tidy and keep the layers separate while winding on to the warp beam, you’ll
want to use a nice thick paper like cut-up brown paper bags to wind on in between the layers. You want
your warp to be as smooth, tight and compact as possible. Heavy wrapping paper or seventy pound craft
paper works well.
The length of your paper (or series of papers) will depend on how long your warp is. The width of your
paper should be 4 inches wider than your warp. You will then fold over one inch of paper down each side,
which will give a thicker edge of paper that sticks out one inch past your warp on each side. This helps to
keep your yarns from slipping off on the sides and keeps the thickness of each wrap around the warp
beam even all the way across. Be sure the warp is wound between the two folded edges, but not
overlapping them. You want your warp to be a smooth, firm cylinder.
You are now ready to wind on your warp! Keep a firm hand on the warp threads and use your other hand
to turn the beam. Your warp will go over the top of the beam and around the back (continue in the same
direction you wound on the rod strings). Be mindful of keeping all the warp threads tight and even relative
to each other. You will want to take a moment to pinch, pluck (like you would the strings on a harp), and
comb the warp threads every turn of the beam or so. This helps to keep the yarn from sticking to itself and
helps you to draw out any slack you might have in individual threads. Make sure that you have a layer of
your prepared paper between each layer of yarn and that each layer of warp threads is spread evenly and
centered across the beam.
Threading, Sleying, and Tying On
Moving, Removing or Installing Heddles
Your weaving draft will determine how many heddles you’ll need on which harnesses. Please note that the
eye size of the Little Weaver heddles is smaller than a standard sized 8” heddle. This smaller eye gives you
a bigger shed. If you use standard 8” heddles, you will get a smaller shed for each of those threads.

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If you need to move heddles from one harness to another, you’ll need to unclip the harness from the
linkage. Unhook the linkage strip from the harness, pull the harness out of the loom and then remove one
of the harness sides for each harness that you plan to move heddles to or from.
To unclip the harness, locate the clip attached to the bottom center of the harness, the open side of the
clip will be facing the back of the loom. Tilt the top of the harness towards the back of the loom. Gently,
still at an angle, pull the harness up and out of the opening of the clip. It may be easier to hold the clip with
one hand and the harness frame with the other during this process. The clip should stay attached to the
loom. Pull the harness vertically up out of the loom.
After removing the harnesses that you want to add or subtract heddles from, you will need a small Phillips-
head screwdriver to remove one side of the harness end. You do not need to remove both ends. Just
unscrew the small screw at the top and the one at the bottom. Remove or add the heddles needed and
then screw the end back onto the harness, taking care to orient the face-side (side with screw head) in the
same direction as the other end.
When placing the harness back into place, make sure that the face-side is facing forward toward the front
of the loom. Before reattaching the harness to the clip, locate the notch at the center, bottom-side of the
harness. At the same angle when removing the harness, tilting the top of the harness towards the back of
the loom, slide the bottom of the harness frame back into the clip, making sure the notch is going into the
clip.
Threading
Now that you’ve got the correct number of heddles on each harness and your warp is wound and ready to
go, it’s time to thread your heddles. Many weavers find it advantageous to use a threading hook to help
get the threads through the heddle eyes. Use your weaving draft to guide you as to which threads go into
which harnesses and in which order. A common, and possibly the easiest, threading pattern is a Straight
Draw. This means that your first thread would go on your first harness, the second thread on the second
harness, third on the third and so on till you reach the last harness and then start again from the first
harness. You could also start with your first thread on the last harness, the second one on the second to
last harness, etc.
When threading, make sure that there is a straight path from the warp beam to the front of the loom (and
all the way through the reed which we’ll get to). If any of your threads cross over another thread, they will
lift together and cause problems in your shed and your pattern. Some weavers find it helpful to move
aside all heddles except for one small batch at a time. With that small batch, you can space the heddles
apart so that you are sure to grab the correct heddle each time, and then move it to the other side once
you’ve threaded it. It is also a good idea loosely tie together each group of threads at the front of the loom

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as you go, so that they do not accidentally pull back through the heddles. You’ll want to be able to undo
this knot later.
Sleying
Once you have threaded all the heddles and have checked that none of your threads overlap, you are
ready to sley the reed. There is a tool, called a patent denter, which makes it easier to sley the reed. Patent
denters are available through AVL. Evenly space your heddles across the harnesses. Try to make sure the
threads are as straight as possible in their path and are not pulling the heddles to the side on their way
through the loom. Now take your warp’s width (Number of ends x EPI) and center that measurement on
the reed to determine which reed dent to start sleying. Pull the threads forward enough so that they reach
several inches to a foot past the beater. You want to pull enough thread through the reed so that it cannot
easily slip back through.
If you’ve tied groups of threads, go ahead and untie the first group. If you are working right to left, find the
rightmost thread (make sure it is not crossed and has a straight path from the beam through the heddle)
and pull it through the reed. If you are doing multiple threads per dent, you can pull them through
together. If you are using a patent denter, you will have to pull all threads for each dent at once, as it will
advance to the next dent when you push it back to get the next thread or set of threads. Again, you will
want to tie loose knots that can easily be undone in each group of threads as you sley them. It is very easy
to accidentally bump the reed or pull the threads back through the reed, so the knot will prevent that from
happening.
Tying-On
Now that you’ve sleyed the entire reed, you are ready to tie on to the cloth beam rod. Take a group of an
inch or less of threads, untie the knot and pull each thread tightly. Make sure the thread is not hung up or
caught or twisted on anything and has a straight path from the warp beam all the way through to your
hand. Pluck and stroke the threads to get them all even and then tie a sturdy knot at the end of the
threads. Do this for each group.
After you have your groups of tied warp threads, you will lash them to the cloth beam rod with another
sturdy string. Use a thicker type string that will not break under tension. Start by tying this string to one
end of the cloth beam rod, and then thread the string through the first group of threads (through the
middle of the group, behind the knot) and then back around the rod. Repeat this for each next group of
threads. You will notice now that you can tighten or loosen the tension of each group to the rod by moving
the slack in the string. Even the tension between the groups as best you can, winding the cloth beam to
give you overall tension. When the tension is even between all the groups, tighten the warp beam and the
cloth beam so that the warp threads are taut and advanced enough to have several inches of warp threads
from the reed, going over the breast beam, and toward the cloth beam. You will want another piece of
cardboard or stiff paper to cover the knots on your cloth beam, so that the knots don’t introduce
discrepancies in tension across your warp.
A great resource is Peggy Osterkamp’s Weaving Tips on her blog site (See Resources at the end of this
manual). She gives great advice on “lacing on,” general warping, and many other weaving topics. A little
fun fact: Peggy and Jim Ahrens were great friends.
Automatic Warp Tension
Little Weaver is equipped with an automatic warp tension system based on the age-old live weight
principle that is well-known in weaving circles. It is much better than a locking brake warp tension because
it decreases stress on the warp and loom mechanisms, and it maintains a consistent warp tension even
through advancing the warp. Another really nice feature of this system is that without any adjustment on
the tensioning system the warp beam is allowed to turn relatively freely in the direction for winding on the
warp. Friction from turning the warp beam in the other direction creates your warp tension, yet allows

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warp advancement, again without any adjustment on the tension system. See Setting Warp Tension under
the Weaving section on page 17 for instructions on manually adjusting the warm tension.
Weaving
Winding Shuttles
There are many different types of shuttles available, with different pros and cons. For the Little Weaver,
we suggest a low-profile boat shuttle or small end-feed hand shuttle. Table looms have a smaller shed than
full size looms, so having a lower profile shuttle will enable you to pass the shuttle through the shed much
more easily. Small boat shuttles are much less expensive than small end-feed shuttles and are more than
adequate for use with a Little Weaver. End-feed shuttles are more expensive but have a special tensioning
device inside that allows you to weave more quickly without having to adjust the selvedges as you go. They
only let out as much yarn as you need when tensioned properly for the type of yarn you have. Slubby or
bumpy yarn may be more suited for a boat shuttle or other free flowing shuttle.
Inside a shuttle, the weft yarn is wound around a pirn, bobbin, or paper quill. For sake of ease, we will
refer to all three as a pirn. To wind your weft yarn onto your pirns, there are winding tools available, such
as AVL’s Electric Bobbin Winder or other manufacturer’s mechanical winders.
To wind a pirn for an end feed shuttle, you will want to start at the back of the pirn and build up the yarn
to the appropriate thickness (so that will fit inside the shuttle without rubbing on the sides) before
continuing toward the top of the pirn. This is because the pirn will stay stationary and not spin while the
yarn is taken from the tip of the pirn. You don’t want to take yarn from the back of the pirn before taking
yarn from the tip because it will cause snags and dragging. So winding your pirn from back to tip will
ensure the smoothest pull of yarn for the whole pirn.
To wind a boat shuttle bobbin you have much more leniency in how you wind it, because the yarn is free
flowing and the bobbin spins freely, allowing lots of yarn to come from the shuttle no matter which side of
the bobbin it’s coming from.
Begin Weaving
Now that you have your design picked out, your loom warped and your pirns wound, you are ready to
weave! Make sure that your Little Weaver is plugged in, and your computer is connected by following the
instructions found earlier in the Setting up Your Loom portion of this manual. Open a tabby weave to test
that your threads are lifting correctly and that you don’t have any accidental mis-threadings or crossed
threads. If you do, visit the troubleshooting section at the end of this manual.
Once you’re ready to start weaving, open your weaving file in the AVLDrive Files tab. To lift the first set of
harnesses for your first pick, pull the beater all the way forward and then push it all the way back. Check
that the correct harnesses are lifted according to your weaving file. If all is good, go ahead and throw the
shuttle across. For the first pick, leave a tail on your weft yarn of about one to two times the width of your
warp. This will allow us to weave in the tail end of the weft yarn. To advance to the next pick, beat against
the fell line. If you do not hear the click of the solenoids, your fell line has crept too far forward, and the
cloth needs to be advanced. After beating, push the beater back and throw your second pick. Now take the
tail end of the weft that you left out on the first pick and pull it across through the shed as well. You will
continue pulling the tail back and forth across each shed until the tail is completely woven in.
Now continue throwing the shuttle and beating until you’ve woven about two inches before advancing the
cloth beam. There is a nice, sweet spot to weave in that is about 1 to 2 ½ inches deep. This means keeping
your fell line in the same consistent spot relative to the loom. If you weave too far away from the front
beam (toward the harnesses) you will begin to experience harness selection errors.

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Setting Warp Tension
Setting the warp tension on the Little Weaver is done through the warp tension adjusting knobs attached
to the warp and cloth storage beams. The knob is a black plastic button attached to the bottom of the eye
hook on the tension system.
Continue Weaving
You will want to keep an eye on your selvedges and keep the weft thread consistently firm as it rounds the
corner from each pick to the next.
You can beat twice or as many times as you need, as long as you don’t push the beater back to the spot
where it changes to the next shed. If this does happen by accident, use your software to reverse or go back
to the intended pick.
To stop weaving and resume at a later time, kill the browser tab and return the beater to the back
position. AVLDrive automatically saves your pick number so when you open the same WIF in your next
weaving session it will ask if you want to resume weaving from that pick number.
To resume weaving after a break, open the browser and type in the address in URL line, select your WIF in
the Files tab and select Resume in the popup menu. Bring the beater forward to have Little Weaver fire the
next pick, resuming where you left off.
To power down your loom, see the Standby and Shutting Down section on page 5.
Finishing Your Woven Fabric
Edges
So you’ve woven to the end of your warp; now what? Well, you will want to secure the warp ends from
unraveling after you take your fabric off the loom. There are different ways of doing this including sewing,
knotting and fringe twisting.
If you plan to sew up your fabric into something such as a purse, clothing or accessories, you may want to
sew the raw edges. You may also want to sew the edge if you want a clean, flat edge with minimal fringe.
To sew the edge by hand, some people find it easier to leave the fabric on the loom to sew. This keeps
your final weft pass straight and taut and prevents it from unraveling before you get the chance to sew it.
Take a needle (or tapestry needle) with matching thread and sew the edge using an overcast stitch, whip
stitch, blanket stitch or hem stitch. You can also cut the fabric from the loom and hand stitch or machine
stitch the edge. Make sure that when you cut, you leave enough unwoven warp threads attached (fringe)
to keep the piece intact before you get a chance to sew it. If you want to cut the fabric through a woven
portion, you can sew two lines across the fabric and then cut between them.
You can also cut and sew pieces of your woven fabric together. Just make sure to run a stitch along each
edge before cutting. There are times that you may want to sew two pieces of fabric together without the
bulky seam line that handwoven fabric tends to make. Instead of a traditional seam, you can butt the two
pieces together and use a tapestry needle with a matching thread and alternately pick up weft loops along
the edges between the two pieces.
If you plan to use the fabric as a no-sew piece such as a scarf, placemat or table runner, you may want a
decorative edge such as knots or twisted fringe. To knot the fabric, decide how many threads per knot.
You’ll want each knot to be as even as possible, so using a number that fits nicely into the number of ends
you have is recommended. You can sew a temporary line across the fabric to keep it together while you
are knotting, and then remove it once you’re done. Overhand knots work great and you can make these
knots all the way across from edge to edge. Once you have tied all your knots, use a pair of sharp scissors
to cut the fringe to the desired length.