Countermarch looms
Lilla looms are countermarch looms that produce large sheds with light treadling. These flexible, simple machines offer an accurate, pleasurable weaving experience. I love the soft sounds of the moving lamms as I treadle--like playing a gentle "woodchime."
If you're new to countermarch looms, I provide a loom-dressing and tie-up guide with new looms. I also offer a free phone or video consultation to get you started when your loom arrives. You'll be up and weaving in no time.
If you want to dive deeper, I highly recommend the following reference books:
The Weaving Book by Åsa Pärson and Amica Sondström. Trafalgar Square Books.
Dress Your Loom the Vävstuga Way by Becky Ashenden. Vävstuga Press.
You can also find a Ravelry group dedicated to Lilla looms that offers tips, tricks, and a supportive community of Lilla owners.
Lilla loom features
Lilla looms are constructed of Swedish pine with front and back beams made of beech, a harder wood that better withstands the wear of Texsolv beam cord (treadles and beater cradles are also beech). The back folds up, even when warped, to make extra space when you need it. I have a Lilla in my guest room that I fold up and push against the wall to make room for the pull-out sofa bed.
If I had to choose, I'd say my favorite feature is the Lilla's sturdiness and ability to hold high tension. With the Lilla's robust warp and cloth beams and wheels, there's no project the Lilla can't handle with its brawn and grace. As a runner-up fave feature, I'd say the Lilla's light treadling. It takes very little effort to treadle eight shafts fully loaded with heddles.
Another one of my favorite features? Texsolv heddles! These flexible polyester heddles make threading a breeze. No more counting heddles; you can add more heddles to your shafts at any point with no fuss. Yet another favorite: the ease of beaming on a warp by yourself, with or without a trapeze, achieving even, taut tension and lovely results. And the overhanging beater! I have so many favorite features that I could go on and on!
The making of a Lilla
Lilla looms are built in the small carpentry workshop of AK:s Snickeri in Öxabäck, Sweden. Brothers Thomas and Per-Olof Kristiansson are its third-generation owners. The reknowned Swedish weaver, Ulla Cyrus, reached out to Thomas and Per-Olof's grandfather, Arvid, with her idea for the vertical countermarch (she invented it!). Together they designed and he built the loom that now bears her name, the Ulla Cyrus loom. (By the way, the "A" in AK:s Snickeri stands for Arvid and the "K" for Kristiansson; "snickeri" means carpentry or woodworking in Swedish.)
Later, Thomas and Per-Olof's father, Gerhard, and Thomas designed and began building the Lilla loom to serve weavers needing a more space-efficient loom without sacrificing robustness or the vertical countermarch.
Today Thomas, Per-Olof, and Solveig (Per-Olof's wife and cargo-coordinator extraordinaire) continue the tradition of building Ulla Cyrus and Lilla looms with integrity, graciousness, and the highest commitment to quality.
What a treat to visit Thomas and Solveig at the AK:s Snickeri workshop in Öxabäck, Sweden! The workshop is nestled in a fairytale forest at the end of a gravel road. Moomintroll sighting, anyone?
Lilla loom in the workshop showroom
Here's a 60 cm cousin, residing comfortably in my bedroom. She's a sweetie!
