I have grown quite a collection of small looms over the last few years. I have some favorites and you can see some of them in THIS blog post. But the new kid on the block is definitely Mirrix’s Saffron Pocket Loom.
Full disclosure: I did some product testing for this loom. I had some questions about the very first version of it, but Mirrix kept working on the design, and the final product is really great. Seems a good lesson for all of us: keep experimenting and eventually something marvelous comes of the effort. I also do not get any financial incentives for talking about this loom. I just like it.
Mirrix Saffron loom, tapestry by Rebecca Mezoff, Graphing COVID-19
This loom is small. And it comes apart into 3 pieces—the top, bottom, and threaded rod. For most people that might not be noteworthy, but in my life before coronavirus, I traveled a lot. My suitcase space when I’m traveling to teach is precious and bringing multiple small looms actually takes up quite a bit of room. The Saffron is tiny when disassembled which immediately led me to think that maybe I COULD provide small looms for relevant workshops now. Because I could fit 12 of these in a suitcase with no problem. I love this aspect of this loom.
But the real beauty of this loom is that it has tensioning. I don’t know of any other loom this small that provides a tensioned warp. This loom does it really well through a simple threaded rod. After warping, the tension can be increased by simply loosening the top nut and tightening the one under the top bar of the loom. When final tension is achieved, the top nut can be snugged up against the top bar and you have excellent tension. I never thought I’d see a loom of this size with adjustable tension. Being able to adjust the tension on a small piece is so wonderful.
Thanks for rocking my world Mirrix.
Weaving on the Saffron while broadcasting on YouTube during Change the Shed.
The piece I was weaving in the image above started off being about something else. What that was, I no longer remember. By the time I finished it, I was thinking of it as a graph of COVID-19. You can watch me weave it as well as talk about this loom in a few of the Change the Shed episodes.
The loom has metal teeth. If you’ve tried the Shasta Combs that Mirrix released for their regular line of looms, this loom is made from the same teeth. The teeth are mounted to blocks of wood and the top and bottom blocks are held together with threaded rod which provides the tensioning.
My main concern about this loom before I tried the final version was that the loom would twist. I really wanted Mirrix to put two threaded rods on it like they do on their larger looms. But the Mirrix creators were firm in their vision and they kept working on their original idea of having only one center support. The final version is wonderful. I do recommend warping the loom while having it flat on a table as the pieces will twist before you put tension on the warp. But after that, if the warp is tight, the tendency for the loom to twist is low.
I already have a second Saffron loom along with one of the longer threaded rods so I can have longer warps.
Mirrix Saffron Pocket Loom with the longer bar installed.
The loom is named after this lovely pooch, Saffron. Here she is with her new loom. I do wonder if she’d rather it were a biscuit, but she seems proud enough.
Mirrix’s Saffron Pocket Loom is named after this lovely lady, Saffron.
I have big plans for this little loom. I expect you’ll see a lot of it this summer.
Saffron loom disassembled. The perfect travel loom.
Mirrix Saffron Pocket Loom with the longer bar installed.
The loom is just over 5 inches wide. The sett if warped as pictured directly above is 8 epi. But of course, like any pegged loom, you can warp for different setts. I describe how to do that in my Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms online course.
The shorter rod that the loom comes with creates a weaving area of about 5 x 7.5 inches. I like to have enough free warp to get a nice open shed, so I probably wouldn’t weave something much taller than 4 inches on the loom with this rod. The longer rod gives you a weaving surface of 5 x 12 inches. On that configuration, I would be able to weave something about 8 inches long. I love having an easily opened shed, so I anticipate using that longer rod a lot. For travel and the small tapestry diary pieces I weave, the shorter rod is perfect.
Some of you will ask me, “Can I do four-selvedge weaving on this loom?” Yes, and many people are weaving pieces that start at the very bottom of the loom and weaving all the way to the top. Because the loom has tensioning, you can loosen the tension and slide the piece right off. I do not like weaving this way. I want to have a shed while weaving and so I will stick with the Fringeless four-selvedge method that Sarah Swett and I teach in the Fringeless online class. But yes, it can be done. Elena from Mirrix gives us another nice option in THIS video. She starts the piece at the very bottom of the loom but then suggests a top header of some kind after the piece is as long as you want it. This gives you a three-selvedge piece and avoids the pain of trying to weave on a warp with no shed.
Resources for using this loom
Mirrix has a nice page of videos HERE.
New to tapestry and need a little help? My Weaving Tapestry on Little Looms online course explains how to warp small pegged looms in various ways and contains all the basics to get you started in tapestry weaving.
Have you purchased a Saffron yet? If so, let us know how you’re doing with it in the comments!