I wrote a blog post last year about loom length and how it impacts tapestry weaving. The post is called Questions from the Book: Ease of Weaving and Loom Length. In that post I advocated for longer looms and more free warp because it really makes weaving easier no matter what loom you’re using. See the post for details about why I feel this way.
Since that post, the one Mirrix loom that I have struggled with a bit because it felt like the warp was too short has had an upgrade. (Admittedly this is just my preference and the original Little Guy loom works just perfectly as it is!) You can now get the Little Guy loom in the Tall Guy version. The new loom adds inches to both the threaded rod and the copper pipe making the overall maximum height of the loom 5 inches longer.
Mirrix’s original Little Guy loom is on the left and their new version, the Tall Edition 12 inch loom is on the right.
For years I’ve been telling my students if they get a Mirrix Little Guy loom to also get the loom extender kit with the 6 inch threaded rod. That kit comes with threaded rod and leg extensions to stabilize the taller loom. The new version of this loom makes the loom as tall as the 6 inch extenders did which makes me very happy, though the legs are the same length as the Little Guy. (Note Mirrix is selling these looms as separate options. The Little Guy in the original length is still available. The Tall Guy version is more expensive but worth the price increase. It looks like they’re also making a taller 16 inch Big Sister loom. The original Big Sister is tall enough for my purposes but if you wanted to weave a longer tapestry, this would be a good option.) The loom extenders look like the photo below.
Mirrix loom extender kits. The 12 inch threaded rod is pictured, but I wouldn’t extend the Little Guy loom more than 6 inches. Mirrix has 6 inch threaded rod or you can buy 1/2 inch threaded rod and two coupling nuts at your local hardware store. My well-used leg extenders are also pictured here.
The Little Guy is on the left in the photo below, and the new Tall 12 inch loom is on the right.
Mirrix’s Little Guy loom on the left and the Tall 12 inch version on the right.
It has been awhile since I purchased a new Mirrix and this Tall Guy loom came with a new wrench. I don’t know how long they’ve been making this wrench to tighten the warp, but I like it! The photo below shows this tool in use. It is to tighten the wing nuts. I find that I rarely use it on narrow warps, but if I have a wider warp especially on a larger loom (for example a piece that is over a foot wide on a Big Sister or Zach loom), I need the wrench to get the warp tightness I need.
The tool Mirrix sends with their looms to tighten the warp. It is useful when your tapestries are wider and you don’t have strong enough hands to tighten those wing nuts the last couple half turns. And yes, my studio table always looks like that.
I love messing around with looms. I use a wide variety of them and different loom sizes and mechanisms suit different needs depending on what I’m weaving. A taller loom is definitely not the right thing for everyone, but if you enjoy a longer warp as you’re weaving, I think this Tall Version of the 12 inch loom from Mirrix is a great option.*
*I do not get any monetary compensation for sale of the Mirrix Tall Version loom! There is a Mirrix package that features the things I like students to get for my Warp and Weft online course for which we have a small affiliate agreement. You can see that package HERE. It comes with either the 16 or 22 inch loom.