Loom Warping Project at the WHC

Throughout 2023, museum staff and volunteers are undergoing a project to warp the WHC’s Crompton & Knowles W-3 A Loom. Seeing and hearing the loom in action is a highlight on tours of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, but we are running out of warp thread and need to address this to keep this tradition alive. The last time the warp was changed out (20+ years ago) we were able to rely on another local mill with similar equipment for technical assistance. This time we are on our own, and having to reconfigure the exhibit space and our collections of machines to be able to assist. Follow our progress here!

The Loom

Our Crompton & Knowles W-3 A loom was manufactured in the 1940s. While the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill used similar looms, this particular machine and its companion in the museum exhibit were salvaged from Pendleton Woolen Mill’s Washougal plant in 1972 (M3 1972-012-0001; 0002).

See the loom in action

The Process

Warping the loom involves many steps and will require the use of four other machines in the museum’s collections. Many which have never been used at the museum at all, or haven’t been used in several decades.

Planning: Determining process and sourcing materials
Prepping: Acquiring materials and creating a safe workspace in the museum exhibit
Spooling: Getting yarn from cones to spools
Dressing: Lining up threads on spools onto the reel
Beaming: Winding warp yarns onto warp beam
Drawing in and Reeding: Taking each of the individual strands of warp and pulling through the right hole and the right heddle on the right harness for weaving.
Loom Fixing: Moving freshly filled beam and harnesses onto the loom and prepping for weaving.