Inkle braid

Inkle braid is something of a misnomer, as an inkle is simply a thin weave or narrow braid, so tablet weave could technically be an inkle.

Today inkle braid is used more specifically to refer to braid made on an inkle loom.

A loom of this name can be a scandinavian style floor loom or a table top loom which incorporates a warping frame. However, there is no evidence for either of these looms being used in the Early Medieval period and so we would not expect to see them in the LHE.

This said, the resultant weaving is acceptable.

Typically the inkle loom makes use of individual string heddles and the warp is pushed open manually or the strings are pulled, lifing a portion of the warp up which leaves a space (the shed) through which the weft is passed. Both tabby and twill weave scan be achieved, and the warp threads can be manipulated more easily than with a rigid heddle to make patterns.

Both inkle weaving and rigid heddle weaving is distinguishable from tablet weaving as there is no twist in the warp.

A thin warp of inkle is used to cover and finish seams on the Greenland clothes, with the weft being sewn into the seam to finish raw edges, however the word used to describe this weaving is "slingr".