March 20, 2026
Warp-speed hot takes
Exploring 8 Shaft Weaving
From hacker looms to cozy cloth: coders crash the weave party
TLDR: A maker moved from a high-tech loom to an 8‑shaft table loom, embracing constraints that spark symmetry and new patterns. Commenters linked algorithmic beadwork and cheered the live‑coding crossover, debating control vs constraints and why this craft‑tech fusion could improve creative tools
The weave world just got a plot twist: after tinkering with a high‑tech TC/2 loom, the maker behind the PENELOPE project dove into an 8‑shaft table loom — choosing constraints over total control to unlock fresh patterns and symmetry. The post breaks it down in human terms: eight levers lift groups of threads, warping (lining up the vertical threads) is an art form, and losing the thread “cross” is basically game over. There’s even a surprising reveal: “table” vs “floor” looms isn’t about size — floor looms use foot pedals to tie multiple shafts at once, changing the whole logic of weaving.
Cue the comments turning this into a crossover event. Techies rushed in with nerdy treasure: aaroninsf dropped beadingwithalgorithms and a link to @gwenbeads, sending everyone down a math‑meets‑craft rabbit hole. Meanwhile, live‑coding fans cheered the art‑tech fusion, with one calling the textile detour a win for music tools like Tidal and Strudel: code brains + yarn brains = better tools. The soft drama? A friendly split between folks who love the freedom of controlling every thread and those swooning over the symmetry and rhythm that constraints produce. Jokes and mini‑memes flew about “boss level 8” and keeping the cross alive, but the vibe stayed wholesome: this is craft as computation, ergonomic and embodied — and the internet is here for it
Key Points
- •The author acquired a second‑hand 8‑shaft table loom to explore shaft‑based weaving after prior work with a TC/2 loom.
- •Warping and threading were set up with help from expert weaver Seiko Kinoshita, emphasizing maintaining the warp cross and even tension.
- •Key distinction: floor looms use treddles and tie‑ups to link pedals to multiple shafts, simplifying complex patterns; table looms typically use one lever per shaft.
- •The initial direct warping (1–8 repeat) was changed to point threading (1–7 then 8–2), expanding the repeat to 14 warps and enforcing mirror symmetry.
- •Early weaving tests included a 14‑thread chevron pattern by raising one shaft per weft pick, with further pattern exploration begun.