Information
The Octado is an 8-shaft dobby loom in Louët's dobby collection and is especially attractive for people who find weaving on 8 shafts sufficient, but prefer not to have to deal with tying up treadles.
Dobby
A dobby is a programmable shaft selector. Weaving on a dobby is attractive because you no longer have to worry about choosing the shaft combinations during weaving. You also no longer have to tie the treadles under the loom. A dobby is not a weaving machine like those used in industry. Setting up the warp and weaving is the same process as with the other handweaving looms. All the dobby does is select the shafts. You can choose between a mechanical or an electronic dobby system.
With the mechanical dobby you 'program' the shaft selection with pegs on program bars. These program bars form a chain that is attached to the loom. An additional treadle is used to select the next program bar during weaving. With complex patterns and block patterns, you will need many program bars. In that case, the computer dobby may be a better choice.
With the electronic dobby interface, the length of the liftplan is unlimited – meaning an unlimited number of virtual program bars. This is particularly useful if you weave a lot of block patterns and with patterns where pattern wefts and tabby alternate. The electronic dobby interface of the Octado is connected with a USB cable to a computer with the Windows or Apple operating systems. On Apple Mac computers, the internal USB to serial conversion applied in the octado electronic dobby does not support macOS Big Sur. Your Windows computer must have 3rd party weaving software with a dobby module and Louet dobby driver. You have to purchase this software yourself. Widely used are Fiberworks PCW, Weavepoint, Pixeloom, ProWeave.
Light Treadling
Mechanically, the loom operates with a system developed by Louët, in which the back beem rises resulting in a large shed with equal tension on the upper and lower half of the shed. Treadling is light and easy.
The patented floating breast beam system developed by Louet, ensures that the tension on the warp is consistent every time you advance your warp. With the help of a friction brake system, the fabric can be advanced while you remain seated on the weaving bench.
This eight-shaft dobby loom is available in weaving width 70, 90 and 110 cm (475/8”, 55½”,633/8”). The loom is made of lacquered beech wood and comes partially assembled, including a built-in raddle, 40/10 (10dpi) reed, Texsolv heddles 330mm (Octado-70: 600 / Octado-90: 800 / Octado-110 1200), 2 lease sticks, 2 apron sticks and 16 warping sticks. You can choose between a mechanical dobby and electronic dobby interface.
Additional information
| Weaving Widths | 70-8, 90-8, 110-8 |
|---|---|
| Wood type | Lacquered solid Beech |
| Dimensions (l x w x h) | Octado 70 – 115 x 99 x 127 cm - (45 1/2" x 39" x 50") |
| Weight | Octado 70 – 45 kg (99 lb) |
Product Numbers
WP0123: Octado 70-8 – without dobby
WP0126: Octado 90-8 – without dobby
WP0129: Octado 110-8 – without dobby
