Hand Looms Supplements

The Hand Looms Supplements use the same format as the quarterly newsletter. These annual publications focus on hand looms, both antique and modern. Such noted authorities on looms as Janet Meany, the editor of The Weavers Friend, and the late Bill Ralph are among the contributors. Click here for Order Form.

Supplement #13 - May 2010

In this edition we focus on American looms and present them chronologically. Research to restore a mid-19th-century patented hand loom leads to information about two patent holders and manufacturers. We discover the origins of two late 20th-century looms, one simple and one very complex. We end with something completely different.

Restoring a Mendenhall Loom by Diane Fagan Affleck

When Calvin and Diane Huffman visited the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA, looking for information about their Mendenhall loom, they knew that it was similar to a Branson hand loom. Diane Fagan Affleck, Director of Interpretation, recounts their adventures in loom restoration and what they learned from their museum visit.

The Huffmans' loom side view

The Huffmans' loom front view

Branson Loom
Courtesy of American Textile History Museum

Stephen C. Mendenhall and His Self-Acting Looms by Victor and Patricia Hilts

As luck would have it, several historians have studied the men who patented and manufactured these "semiautomatic," or "self-acting," looms. When they exchanged information, they discovered quite a number of exciting and unexpected connections.

Victor and Patricia Hilts have done an exhaustive study of the inventor Stephen C. Mendenhall of Richmond, IN, and the looms he patented and manufactured. They show how important his looms were in the historical context of the 1850s and 1860s.

Mendenhall’s Patent #22,533, Jan 4, 1859

The Branson Family of Ohio by Richard Candee

From his comprehensive research into patented knitting machines, Richard Candee was familiar with the Branson family of Ohio and their different business ventures. Studying patent-office records and city directories, he discovered that the Bransons did cross paths with Stephen Mendenhall.

Instruction sheet
Courtesy of Osborne Library
American Textile History Museum

Dorset Looms by Ruth Anderson

Ruth Anderson was so fascinated by her Dorset Loom that she decided to learn about its origins and designer. With help from the family of the builder, F. C. Wood, she traces its development and history.

Dorset loom

Weaving on a Barbara IV Loom by Joanne Mills

The Barbara IV loom, designed and patented in 1979 by Thought Products, is very complex. Joanne Mills describes the many features and the challenges they presented to her effort to make her loom functional.

Barbara IV loom

Gendered Textile Terminology by Nahum Ben Yehuda

Nahum Ben-Yehuda is a textile scholar who specializes in all aspects of flax and linen. As a rabbi and linguist, he enjoys studying the origins of textile terms. With help from several other scholars, he presents a historical and cross-cultural survey of the basic weaving terms warp and weft.

Click HERE for a printable PDF of the Index to Supplements #1 to #10.