• 14 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Loom

A four-shaft floor loom from the side, with the weaving and the heddles up close.

Parts of a Loom

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Warp
  2. Weft
  3. Shuttle
  4. Shafts (harnesses)
  5. Heddles
  6. Reed
  7. Beater
  8. Castle
  9. Breast beam
  10. Cloth beam
  11. Back beam
  12. Warp beam
  13. Treadles
  14. Lamms

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 by script from our own geometry: a four-shaft floor loom held as a small model measured in centimetres and seen from the side, a little from the front and above, with the weaving from above and one shaft from the front. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: what woven cloth becomes, a shirt

All 14 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 7 main parts 7

  1. Warp Threads held tight along the loom, from warp beam to cloth beam.
  2. Weft Threads woven crosswise over and under the warp.
  3. Shuttle Carries the weft thread across through the shed.
  4. Shafts (harnesses) Frames that hold the heddles and lift or lower warp threads.
  5. Heddles Wires or cords with an eye that each warp thread passes through.
  6. Reed A comb that spaces the warp threads; it sits in the beater.
  7. Beater A swinging frame that holds the reed. It beats the weft into place.

The four beams 4

  1. Breast beam The front beam the cloth passes over on its way down.
  2. Cloth beam The front roller that winds up the woven cloth.
  3. Back beam The back beam the warp passes over.
  4. Warp beam The back roller that holds the warp until it is woven.

Castle, shafts, beater, treadles and lam 3

  1. Castle The tall frame above the loom that holds the shafts.
  2. Treadles Pedals pressed by the feet to raise and lower the shafts.
  3. Lamms Bars that connect the treadles to the shafts.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) Wikipedia, Loom, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loom : treadle loom parts (warp beam, warp threads, back beam, heddle frame or harness, heddle, shuttle with weft yarn, shed, breast beam, batten with reed, treadles, cloth roll); lamms tied between treadles and staves; castles; the cloth beam. (2) Glimakra USA, Weaving glossary, https://www.glimakrausa.com/glossary : warp and weft; back beam, breast beam, cloth beam, warp beam, knee beam; beater (a swinging frame holding the reed); castles; harness and shafts holding the heddles; heddle eye; lamms (bars attaching the treadles to the shafts); jacks; boat shuttle and bobbin; treadles; reed and dents. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 by script from our own geometry: a four-shaft floor loom held as a small model measured in centimetres and seen from the side, a little from the front and above, with the weaving from above and one shaft from the front. Own work, nothing traced. Looked at for form only: Simple treadle floorloom, line drawing (Pearson Scott Foresman, public domain) and Warsztat.svg (Bastianow, CC BY 3.0), both on Wikimedia Commons. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a loom on a four-shaft floor loom: from the side, the weaving from above, and one shaft close up. Start with the 7 main parts, then the beams, the frame and the threads.

Read the full guide

The warp's path

The warp starts on the warp beam at the back, runs up over the back beam, through the heddles on the shafts and through the reed. Woven cloth passes over the breast beam and winds onto the cloth beam.

Weaving

Pressing a treadle pulls the lamms, which move the shafts and open a gap in the warp. The shuttle carries the weft across through it, and the beater, holding the reed, pushes each weft into place.

  • Warp runs the length of the loom; weft goes across it. Every warp thread passes through the eye of one heddle.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a loom?

The warp beam and back beam at the back, the shafts with their heddles, the reed in the beater, the breast beam and cloth beam at the front, and the treadles.

What is the difference between warp and weft?

Warp threads run the length of the loom and are held tight. Weft threads are woven crosswise, over and under the warp.

What does the reed do on a loom?

It spaces the warp threads evenly, and as part of the beater it pushes each new weft thread into place.

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