My husband got me some tablet weaving cards and the Inkle Pattern Directory for Christmas and I realized that I had been putting off working on my inkle (I bought the Schacht Inkle off Facebook Marketplace over a year ago) because it is so long! I really could only comfortably work on it outside on our picnic table. That is not very conducive to working year-round.

I told my husband this and the next thing I know I got the Inklette in the mail! It really is the perfect size for working on my coffee table. Of course, like my Ashford wheel it arrived in pieces and needed to be sealed–although I mentioned that to a guild member and she said she didn’t seal her inklette but I don’t think they sell any sealed unlike the wheel which you can get sent sealed but for large upcharge–so it took a few days to get it up and running. I used this beeswax which worked really well instead of the feed and wax I used on my wheel and Cricket which was a little messier and really needed to be done outdoors. It is amazing how much darker and “finished” it looks after it was waxed.

The Inklette is so tiny and compact (and affordable) but still can do a 70-inch warp which is pretty long! I don’t know that I would want to do many wider or longer warps than that but I still have my original inkle if I get the urge.

I warped it up with some crochet cotton I got with my used inkle in a simple pattern using the long warp directions for practice. The Ashford guide suggests making the heddles (they call them leashes) after it’s warped and then looping them on last. That’s different than what I saw in the Schacht videos and I’m not sure why. I did make the heddles first (who wants to risk cutting your warp?) but half installed them after warping. I think I might stick with the Schacht method, I found it a little tricky to separate out the warp after it was on the loom. Is there an advantage to doing it last? Maybe it helps the tension? I always yearn for explanations and they are rarely there.

I got to use the reef knot I learned in the knot book to tie on new colors! It’s all coming together.