Weaving without a shuttle.

I have been exploring ways of weaving a narrow band without a shuttle.  There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved. 

Using a butterfly of yarn as the weft carrier.

I made a short YouTube video demonstrating this technique. 

Here is the link:  https://youtu.be/HBhotrWs4-s

I show how to  make a butterfly weft first and then how to use it when weaving a narrow band.  Tensioning is made by hand. This is a technique used by crios weavers on the Aran Islands in the early 20th century.  For  a wider warp the previous weft is beaten in by tugging both layers of warp and takes some practice to get it right!

For a narrow warp, simply inserting the fingers and separating the warp layers is sufficient to beat in the previous weft. It is surprisingly easy to learn. I have tried this using a back strap and in a box loom. 

Taking the weft through and adjusting the previous weft thread. 

The heddle is always raised using the hand holding the weft thread. This enables the free hand to be inserted into the shed and beat the previous weft into place. 

Here is the warp diagram for this woollen band made with 3 ply wool.   The width of the band is 4 - 5 mm. The weft is dark green.

Another way of displaying the pattern is through Seizenn loom pattern editor.  https://www.raktres.net/seizenn/

Here is another video demonstrating how to weave a narrow band with only 6 warp ends and a butterfly of weft. This method is harder as the end of the warp is tensioned by holding it,  not with a backstrap. No shuttle, beater or weft carrier is used. 

Here is the link:  https://youtu.be/BLaA0_JcadM

The warp and weft are double knit cotton.  The width of the band is 7mm. Here the weft is cream so it shows as a dotted pattern on the edge of the band. 

Weaving using a bobbin as a shuttle.

This method uses the weft wound around a bobbin as the weft carrier. Again, the hand holding the bobbin is always used to raise and lower the heddle leaving the other hand free to act as a 'beater' and to take the bobbin through the shed. 

Here is a picture of three different bobbins.  The top is a simple twig.  The middle bobbin came with my Swedish band loom. The longer bobbin is the Aubusson bobbin made by Michael Williams.  All work perfectly as a weft carrier. The twig needs to be smoothed so that it does not catch on the thread.  

Bobbin and Roman style heddle made by Michael Williams

Here is a video demonstrating this technique.  Weaving with a bobbin and a Roman style heddle. This heddle has very narrow slots and small holes. It can be used with 9 or 11 warp ends.

https://youtu.be/RTCsCB6pGos

Here is the finished band. There are 9 warp ends and the weft is white.  I like this pattern - it is like a tiger pattern. The colour order for the warp ends is:

yellow, brown, yellow, yellow, brown, orange, orange,brown, orange.

Drawdown

Completed band

Michael makes beautiful weaving equipment.  His web site is:  https://michael-williams-wood.co.uk/

best wishes for the season. 

Susan J Foulkes   December 2025