Loom Parts – Weaving Connections

Warp Board

A.1 Warp Board

Alternative English: warp table; winding board; warping board; warping table
Purpose: guide for laying out the warp; used to create a continuous, spiral wound, warp. This “tube” or “ring warp” is then mounted onto the loom
Design: flat board with holes to mount warp pegs, which correspond with the position of the back and front beam, coiling rod, heddle rod, shed rod, and lease stick
Ulithian: meliel, maliyel
Woleaian: maniyel

A.2 Warp Pegs

Alternative English:warping fingers, warp finger; stakes; winding stakes
Purpose: lays out the threads for warping; pegs corresponds beams, rods and sticks utilized once warp is mounted onto the loom
Design: individual pegs mounted on warp board. Specific placement varies amongst the three board patterns of Ulithi/Fais, Woleaian, and Satawal
Ulithian: lol maliyel
Woleaian: hatiul maniyel

B.1 Loom

Alternative English: backstrap loom; horizontal tension loom; externally braced loom with circular warp
Purpose: frame that holds thread between the back board and the front beam into which thread is interpenetrated at right angles. Tension is maintained and adjusted by body weight on the backstrap
Design: box type consists of of L-shaped ends joined by two or three stabilizing cross beams; legged type consists of two tall beams on ends joined by two cross beams
Ulithian: busol
Woleaian: bwisal

C.1 Back Board

Alternative English: back beam, warp beam; warp beam; warp board
Purpose: holds warp (vertical threads) to upper and lower parts of the loom
Design: piece of wood longer than span of loom and equal to span of front board; or 2 to 3 dowels at least 1 3/8
Ulithian: paapal yilug
Woleaian: paapil ilug

C.2 Coiling Rod

Alternative English: tension rod; lease rod
Purpose: warp threads are wound around/ Stick serves as a way to set fixed size (measurement) of cloth woven; also serves as tool to help weaver find the path of each thread on the warp
Design: dowel 7/8 or bigger
Ulithian: yilud, uluth
Woleaian: ulut, oolut

C.3 Yard Stick

Alternative English: lease stick; yard stick; cross stick
Purpose: defines and separates crossing of warp threads
Design: yard stick or length of molding or strip with rectangular cross-section
Ulithian: thibal hamadaf
Woleaian: tibwale gametaf

C.4 Shed Rod

Alternative English: main shed rod; shed roll; large shed rod; shed stick
Purpose: separates crossing of warp threads; brings up the tops of the threads alternatively
Design: sanded bamboo or PVC pipe 1 1/2
Ulithian: taping
Woleaian: tapang

C.5 Heddle Rod

C.6 Weaving Sword

Alternative English: batten, sword; weaving sword
Purpose: defines and extends the sheds to allow the shuttle to pass, and used to tighten and beat weft as woven.; separates alternative threads of the warp to allow shuttle to pass through them; also used to tighten weft as woven
Design: hardwood, longer than span of back board and front board
Ulithian: hapop
Woleaian: hapop

C.7 Shuttle

Alternative English: rug shuttle
Purpose: holds and carries threads of the weft as it passes alternatively through openings in the warp
Design: two small rounded or pinched planes with a block or pair of pegs joining them around which the thread is wrapped
Ulithian: hasap
Woleaian: gesaap

C.8 Front Beam

Alternative English: front board; cloth beam
Purpose: in tandem with the fixed back board, the front beam holds the warp as the tension on the backstrap determines taughtness of the warp
Design: board with notches, span equal to backboard
Ulithian: paapal fal mat
Woleaian: paapil imat

C.9 Back Strap

Alternative English: sling; belt
Purpose: worn around weavers back, strapping her to loom; weaver controls tension on the warp by leaning forward and backward
Design: a strap, large strip of cloth, or a woven mat of threads of fibers into which small dowels or holes are placed at both ends for attachment to front beam with rope
Ulithian: tal dur
Woleaian: tane tear

C.10 Pattern Rod

Alternative English: supplemental heddle rod; second heddle rod
Purpose: supplements the role of the heddle rod (C.5); controls the separation of the warp and create a shed, along with the heddle rod by selecting specific threads from opposing shed to create texture for decorative patterns
Design: dowel, 1/8
Ulithian: ngung
Woleaian: ngushige

C.11 Pattern Stick

Alternative English: supplemental shed stick
Purpose: supplements role of the shed rod (C.4); controls separation of the warp and creates a shed, along shed rod, by selecting specific threads from opposing shed to create texture for decorative patterns
Design: strip of modeling or yardstick or rectangular cross-section equal to or smaller than yardstick
Ulithian: thibal halut
Woleaian: tibwal halut

C.12 Header Sticks

C.13 Pickup Sticks

C.14 Cat

Alternative English: yarn cone holder; spool holder; lazy kate
Purpose: dowels mounted on block of wood at an angle holding spools of thread to ease the drawing of thread
Design: scrap wood with dowels inserted
Ulithian: hatuw
Woleaian:

C.15 Folding Sticks

Alternative English:
Purpose: used to fold in-progress lava lava for storage in between weaving sessions
Design: strip of modeling or yardstick or rectangular cross-section equal to or smaller than yardstick
Ulithian: dibal haluul
Woleaian: teebw