I may not explain all the basic terms enough assuming everyone knows the basic terms like warp and weft, so do feel free to Google them up or ask me in the comments section.
First up are these two styles of frame looms most popular around here:
The notched frame loom with heddle bar on the left commonly sold by Kaliko Co. and Funem Studio and the simpler loom with raddle segments/plastic teeth with pick up stick sold by Schacht Spindle and Louet.
The notched loom was my first loom and I got a lap-sized one to try and here are some of its parts explained.
- Adjustable Tension
This loom has screws on the top and bottom notched bars to allow for adjustment of the warp tension which I find very useful over time, as the longer you leave your piece on the loom, the warp threads will slacken from the constant stretching. You can easily tighten or loosen your warp threads before, during and after your weaving! - Adjustable Length
Another useful thing to note about these screws is, with the help of some table clamps, one is able to take one side of the notched bar as long as you want on a table and do an extended length of work longer than the loom itself. You can also work on this like a rigid heddle loom. See how Kalico Co did it! - Heddle Bar
Another useful point is the heddle bar (that angled piece of wood with notches in the middle). It helps you separate the 'over' and 'under' warp threads for super easy tabby weaving. This item would relate much to the Rigid Heddle Loom's reeds, which are also much like the heddle bar, allowing easy separation of the alternate rows of warp threads for efficient weaving.
These looms are usually limited to a wide 7 epi/threads per inch, which is suitable for thicker weft yarns like worsted, rovings, bulky etc. If you want to weave with finer yarn, you may need to bundle up a few strands to form a thicker weft.
This is the tutorial I referred to on how to warp this type of loom. And it's a high density warp which I find keeps my weavings intact. I usually weave non shaggy pieces and tapestries on this loom as the gaps between the warp threads are larger.
THE SIMPLE LOOM
The simple loom was something I got after watching Allyson Rousseau's tutorials on the way she weaves and how she achieves tufted shapes. She showed how she made her looms using nails and canvas stretcher bars, which I also tried, but was not satisfied by my own imperfections (inaccurate spacing of nails, nails falling out etc.).
These looms allow for warping up to 11/12 epi, making the warp threads closer to each other and allowing for weaving with finer yarns and you can also preserve the warp ends to use as ready-made fringe. I initially didn't want to use this loom because it felt like a lot of work to weave tabby stitches without the help of a heddle bar. Below are some of its parts explained.
- Pick up Stick
You can choose to weave without this tool, as it acts like half of a heddle bar. It lets you pick up one alternate row of warp threads when standing only. When you weave the opposite direction, the shed stick needs to be flattened. - Raddle Segments/Plastic Teeth
These allow for two different setts. You can use either a 6 or a 12 epi on the Schacht Lilli loom. I have not experienced slackening of my warp threads on my Louet Extra Large Lisa loom so perhaps that's why there was no need for any adjustment mechanisms?
Even within these two types of looms, there are various ways to warp your loom for either a low or high density warp, see how A Pretty Fix explains it.
As I weave more projects, I have found that each loom has its advantages over another based on the final piece you want to achieve. I'm still not that clear on how different they can be but will hope to find out as I weave some more. :)
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