A friend loaned me her 8 harness Varpapuu (Finnish) table loom, which was a gift from her mother. The loom is no longer made, so when it came to me I gathered all the information I could find about it. Over time I have received many emails from people who have this loom and in search of manuals or information about the loom. I am happy to share mine! I have an 8 page PDF titled “Dressing the Loom (Model Kothe)” that was sent to me by a weaver in England some time ago. This document was produced by Oy Varpa-Looms Ltd. Finland (on the bottom of the cover page), and contains many photographs and drawings. I also have an 8 page PDF document titled “How to Tie Up a Varpapuu Loom.” How to Tie Up a Varpapuu Loom.” I don’t remember where I got that, but the original document looks like it was typed manually and contains drawings.
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The Sweaty Knitter, Weaver and Devotee of Other Fiber Arts 
I don’t know what your weaving background is, but no matter there are always so many variables to consider … for instance, what do you plan on weaving (e.g., scarves or rugs?), and how much room do you have (i.e., do you want a table top or floor loom). Hopefully you can meet with or talk to people who work with the specific loom(s) you’re considering … maybe the loom maker would let you give the loom a try. Good luck on your search! 🙂
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Oh, I was thinking of buying a loom one day soon to use up some of my yarns;-)
There is a loom maker close by that I could purchase one. He makes them by hand!
Do you have any recommendations for what i should look out for ?
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I do not know. Check the PDFs I provided links to and see if they help.
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Hi. I am getting a Varpapuu Rita 4 shaft countermarche week and cannot find any information on line. Is the tie-up much the same on all the Varpapuu do you know?
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You can look at the manual but I doubt it will be of much help with an 8 shaft countermarch.
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Hello, would this manual be suitable for all Varpapuu floor looms? I’m looking at buying savonia 8 shaft counter match.
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Quick followup to my post above.
My Mother’s Varpapuu Model Kothe loom now happily resorts in the studio of Agnes Haputli near Kaitaia in Northland, New Zealand.
See Agnes’ studio here:
https://googledrive.com/host/0BxsOXPj7Kao3N29yWmdJSVcxNGs/Studiotour.html
Regards
John Kothe
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You are more than welcome! Happy weaving!
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Hello. Thank you for sharing the pdfs on this loom. I have downloaded them, as I’m looking at buying one this Wednesday. It sounds compact, which is great for me.
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I’m glad they are useful to you. I no longer have the loom; it’s back with the person who loaned it to me!
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Thank you souch for sharing the links to the two PDF files for the looms. I am downloading both now and looking forward to learning more about how to warp my loom, thanks again!
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Beautiful story and a great memory to have. Delighted that the loom is going/gone to a weaving school!
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Wow. Thank you for sharing your memories/history/story!
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Hi
I came across this thread and could not resist posting a comment.
The Kothe Loom was designed by my Father in South Africa many years ago – he was a Mechanical Engineer with a love of woodwork.
My Mother, who was an avid weaver, had many friends who brought their looms round for my Father to fix or modify so over the years he saw all the “Good and bad” on may different looms.
While my Mother attended a weaving school in Finland, (in the late 70s from memory) my Father passed the time by nosing around the loom factory which was attached to the school. In conversation with the owner (I forget his name) some interest was expressed in the loom so my Father got down to it and built one in the factory from memory, photos and sketches mainly.
Varpapuu was very interested and offered to purchase the design from my Father and they agreed that the factory could use the design under two basic conditions:
1. My father would become the South African Agent for the looms and 2. All looms manufactured would bear his name – hence Model Kothe!
I now reside in new Zealand and brought one of my Mother’s “Kothe” looms out here after she passed away almost three years ago and am about to pass it on to weaving school in the North of New Zealand.
I hope someone finds this interesting.
Cheers
John Kothe
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You are most welcome. Happy weaving!
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Thank you for posting the manuals. Its very helpfull
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All Varpapuu manuals etc. I have are linked as PDFs to this blog post.
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I’ve just been given a varpapuu kothe nordia loom and I could really do with some help/operating guidelines – are you able to send me any instructions? Thanks
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I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it! The manuals I have for my loom are in PDF format and accompany the post you read.
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Hi,
We have a Varpapuu loom That we purchased recently. It is a Karelia countermarch model
that is in pieces. Hope it is all there!
We would love to have whatever info youn may be able to provide.
Thanks,
Elaine & Roy Tapio
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The two manuals I have are available for download (in PDF form) in my post titled “Varpapuu Loom Manuals.” Happy weaving!
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Hi. I have just gotten a varpapuu loom from my parents today without a manual would you please send me the manual aswell. lizetteolpin@cellc.blackberry.com
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I would love a copy if this manual i got ont from my mother in law
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Hi Sam. I am happy to email the two manuals I have, but you will have a to send me an address. Email me at karenberthine@gmail.com.
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Dear Karen,
just found this site and would be very interested in the manuals as well please. I’ve just been given a Varpapuu loom which is in lots of pieces, so any help I can get towards building it back up would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Sam
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Many thanks,email is sergiades@gmail.com
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Of course. If you send me your email address, I’ll send them to you right away.
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Hi,
I have a varpapuu table loom and would like to take you up on the manuals for this loom – lost mine travelling round the world.
Many thanks Isabel
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