Unboxing the Schacht Cricket Loom

It's no secret that we're Schacht fans. Charlie was interested in trying out one of their spinning wheels at TNNA and she brought me along to their booth, remembering my idle interest in weaving. I tried the Cricket loom and fell in love instantly, but I thought of the limited space in my house as well as the lengthy knitting queue I have, so I reluctantly pulled myself away from the booth. Fast forward several months. Denise from Schacht was visiting family in Fresno and she stopped by to visit us. I was floored when she brought along a loom! It was so thoughtful; I was so excited!

I was also a little nervous. It's one thing to do a couple of passes while an expert weaver is standing behind you; it's quite another to warp and weave a project from start to finish on your own. Weaving has its own elaborate language that I am going to have to learn. And that was before I really thought about... I'm going to have to put this thing together.

My skills with assembly are so-so. I wouldn't say I'm completely inept at it, but the door on my nightstand doesn't open, and assembling a piece of flat-pack furniture with my husband once really took our marriage bond to the limit. So I looked at the loom, unopened, for a couple of weeks before deciding to jump in. 

With some trepidation, I popped the box open. I think I was still hoping that Schacht had developed space-bending technology to make the inside of the box big enough for the assembled loom, TARDIS-style.

I had so many ideas for woven projects, though, I had to press on and start assembling the loom.

First I set out all of the pieces to make sure I had them all. They easily fit on a card table, as you can see in the photo. The only item not included in the box that you will need is a Phillips-head screwdriver. I have also read others' suggestions to use a power tool to screw the loom together, but I managed just fine with my standard screwdriver. 

I took a deep breath, read through the instructions, and started assembling. I was amazed at how quickly it came together. All of the pieces fit really well together - none of the holes were drilled crookedly, or anything like that. All of my worries were for nothing.

The only step that gave me a little pause was how to attach the apron cords. Thankfully I was able to find help on YouTube and was able to very quickly get back to assembly.

I was able to assemble the loom, warp it, and start weaving my first project in a single evening. Two more sessions of weaving later, and I had completed my first scarf. 

My reasons for not getting a Cricket earlier proved unfounded. The Cricket takes up very little room - I was able to make a place for it on a (deep) shelf. And although it might not do much to shorten my knitting queue, it will definitely be quickly reducing both my stash and my gift queue! 

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my weaving adventure with you. Are you a weaver? Visit our Ravelry group to share your projects and thoughts about weaving with Anzula!