My 18th Century Reproduction Tape Loom

This is a Jonathan K. Seidel handmade cherry tape loom that I received for Christmas.  Jonathan lives in Pennsylvania, and he made this tape loom similar to tape looms commonly used in Colonial American between about 1760-1830.  They are also called box looms.  Tapes are narrow bands, ribbons, or trims that were commonly used in Colonial America.

During the Revolutionary War and in early Colonial America, colonists were no longer importing goods from England, so they were making tapes, or bands, at home.  Tapes were used in so many areas of their lives.  They could use the tapes for bonnet ties, hat bands, apron ties, and to tie other clothing.  They used the tapes for tying grain sacks or seed bags.  They could use bands to hang powder horns or hunting pouches on their bodies.  They also used the tapes for loops to hang up towels. 

The origin of tape looms in early America was from the immigrants who came to America.  The Germans who settled in Philadelphia brought their knowledge of tape looms with them, which spread to other areas of the Colonies.  The Scandinavians also used a rigid heddle to make tape, but they used a backstrap method instead of the box method.  The decorative piece with slots and holes is called the rigid heddle in my box loom below.

The tape is made on this side of the loom (above) by passing the weft thread through the shed of the yarns or threads.  This makes a very strong warp-faced band.  Jonathan warped the loom for me so I will know how to warp it next time.  It takes some practice to weave the band because you hold the band in one hand while weaving with the other hand. 

The threads are warped onto the reel and the brake holds the threads in place. 

Jonathan told me that no two tape looms are usually exactly alike.  This is because a man would make a tape loom for his children or grandchildren, or a husband would make a tape loom for his wife.  So, usually the man of the family would make only 1 or 2 looms during his lifetime.  The children learned to make tapes to help with the work of the family.

I'd love to go Pennsylvania or Massachusetts to see some of the tape loom collections in museums there, such as The Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum in Pennsylvania and the Hershey Museum of American Life.