Ashford Sample-It Loom

As always things have been rather busy. Much of January was spent working on my second project for college. That project is now done and dusted and I’m now working on my next project.

In-between college work I also managed to grab a new Ashford Sample-It loom. This loom is very cute and cuddly and I’m in love with it.
It came disassembled and unfinished so I decided to finish it with Danish Oil before putting it together.

It was simple to put together and feels really solid. The loom has the new Ashford click pawl and ratchet system. These new ratchets are fantastic and such a difference to the older Ashford pawl and ratchets. I have an original Ashford Knitters loom, which in itself is great, but its really annoying how easily the pawls can slip if you move the loom. The new system is very solid and the ratchets stay in place ensuring a really good tension whilst weaving. All the new ashford looms have these new ratchets and my only gripe is that I wish they could have been backwards compatible so they can go on older looms.
I decided for the first project on the sample-it loom that I’d do a scarf using Noro wool.
I’d done a Noro scarf as my first project on my knitters loom years ago so it felt like a good time to do a new one.
I used Rico merino DK wool for the warp. It took just over 1 1/4 balls to do a near full width warp. The little warping peg that comes with the loom didn’t look that sturdy at first, but it was remarkably stable and worked fine.
After it was warped it was time to start weaving. To get as much length as possible out of the Noro I decided to do a Leno pick at regular intervals along the way.
Weaving on this little loom is a joy. It’s got a decent shed to get the shuttle through. The up and down positions for the heddle are solid and the heddle sits quite happily in both.
The sides of the loom are designed so the heddle moves along them so it helps you to get a balanced best.
Due to the looms size you do have to wind on frequently but that’s no problem at all.
I had put on a 2.5m warp and it coped with that amount fine. I’m not sure what the maximum warp length for this is but I wouldn’t want to put on anything longer than 3m on this as the cloth beam would get rather full.
The tension was great though out the piece and this is due to those new pawls and ratchets.
Here’s the finished scarf before washing.

Overall, I love this loom and it is a good solid loom that’s perfect for weaving with at home with your feet up on the sofa, or taking it out to classes or group meetings.
This wee loom is going to be used for teaching and making scarves and samples.
Overall, if you’re thinking about getting one of these looms then I’d say go for it. If you’re just starting out weaving then its a good size to get started with, or if you’re already weaving then this little loom is a good practical addition to any loom herd.

The pattern for this scarf will be published soon and I’ll be teaching classes using the Sample-it loom hopefully soon at Once A Sheep in Gourock.