Vintage weaving shuttles

For years, I have been looking for a specific style of weaving shuttle for my inkle looms.

The ones that I have been questing after are based on netting shuttles.

I have been weaving on my band and inkle looms with ‘the usual band loom’ style of shuttle, and they have been working just fine:

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

The top shuttle in the pic above,  is made by Harrisville, and comes with their Backstrap loom.

It’s a very pleasant shuttle… lightweight and sturdy.

The lower brass shuttle is one that my son in law made for me. I love it. It’s a hefty shuttle, great for beating in a thick warp.

So, why was I looking for the netting style shuttles?

Well… shuttles are to a weaver what a paintbrush is to a painter or a chisel is to a sculptor.

They are lovely tools that have a different feel in the hand and their own way of moving through the warp.

When we were away on holidays, I was dumbfounded and  absolutely thrilled to find not one, but THREE of the netting style shuttles!

Here they are:  Second hand store treasures! (From three different second hand stores in different communities).

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

My husband was not happy at the thought of me working with the top shuttle… it’s a lovely piece of ingenuity-

It’s wires soldered together to form a pleasing little shuttle. (about 6 inches/15 cm long).

He was appalled that it was made with lead solder.

I sadly promised him that I wouldn’t use it. Sigh.

A day or so later, I was tickled pink to find the shuttle in the middle.  It too, is very obviously handmade.

It’s been rather roughly sawn out of a strip of aluminum. It’s about 1 inch/2.5 cm wide by 6 inches/15 cm long.

I absolutely love it. It’s a GREAT little shuttle.

It’s excellent for opening the shed on an inkle loom and works well for pickup.  Funky, but oh so good!

The bottom shuttle showed up in one of my fave second hand stores and I practically swooned.

Such riches! To find THREE shuttles all on one holiday, especially such oddball little critters, was just amazing to me.

The white shuttle is plastic, not handmade, and is about 8 inches/20 cm long.  It’s smooth and sturdy and glides along oh so well. Bliss.

Now, you didn’t think I was just going to gloat about my treasures, did you?

That wouldn’t be very polite…. so, I have made a pattern of the aluminum shuttle.

Mine is very wonky, so I have corrected the pattern to make it more symetrical.

You can make it from thin hardwood if you are a woodworker, or metal if you have metal saws,

OR…. why not recycle and upcycle some plastic into a dandy shuttle for yourself?

Here’s the pattern:

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

You can make it larger than 6 inches/15 cm if you wish, or smaller, too, for that matter.

Mine’s 6 inches/15 cm by 1 inch/2.5 cm and that’s a really nice size for inkle and band weaving.

Happy Weaving!