How Many Segments In The Ashford 48 Inch RDV12 Reed?
Short answer: 48 segments. The Ashford RDV12, sized for the 48 Inch (122cm) Standard Rigid Heddle Loom, contains 4 short (2 Inch / 5cm) and 4 long (4 Inch / 10cm) segments in each of 6 dent sizes: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 dpi. That works out to 48 segments total and roughly 144 Inches (12 feet, 3.6 meters) of reed material to lay across the warp.
Ashford doesn't print segment counts on the packaging, and most online retailers either skip the breakdown or list it wrong. We measured ours, twice, so the answer here is right.
What's Inside The RDV12 Kit
| Dent Size | 2 Inch (5cm) Segments | 4 Inch (10cm) Segments | Total Per Dent Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 7.5 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 10 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 12.5 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 15 dpi | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 48 |
What You'd Actually Use It For
The 48 Inch Standard Rigid Heddle is the only Ashford rigid heddle wide enough to weave a full-size throw, baby blanket, large shawl, or wide table runner in a single piece, with no seaming or doublewidth needed. What a Vari Dent adds at that width is room to compose across the cloth instead of weaving it all at one sett. Six dent sizes give you room for nine or more zones across a 48 Inch warp if you want them. Two quick examples to make it concrete:
A throw built around the yarn you already have. If you're a handspinner with a year's worth of singles and plies spun at different grists, or anyone with leftover skeins in a half-dozen weights from past projects, the RDV12 lets every yarn slot into the dent that actually suits it. Bulky in 5 dpi, worsted in 7.5, DK in 10, fingering in 12.5, lace in 15. Lay the zones out across the width by yarn pile, and the finished throw reads as designed rather than scraped together.
A wide piece you couldn't make on a smaller loom. Most rigid heddles top out at 32 Inches, which means most large pieces (real throws, baby blankets, ruana panels) get woven as two seamed halves. The 48 Inch frame skips that step entirely. Add a Vari Dent and you can also build mixed-weight stripes, symmetric body-and-borders, or a true sheer-to-dense gradient at a scale where the design actually reads as intentional.
If you want more project ideas, the full dent-by-dent yarn reference, and how to plan a layout, our complete Vari Dent guide covers all of that.
How The RDV12 Compares To The Smaller Vari Dent Kits
Each Variable Dent Reed kit is built around a specific loom, and the segment count steps up as the looms get wider. Here's the full lineup:
| Kit Code | Made For | Per Dent Size | Total Segments |
|---|---|---|---|
| RDV2 | SampleIt 8 Inch (legacy) | 2 short + 1 long | 18 |
| RDV25 | SampleIt 10 Inch | 2 short + 1 long | 18 |
| RDV3 | Knitters 12 Inch | 2 short + 1 long | 18 |
| RDV4 | Rigid Heddle 16 Inch | 2 short + 1 long | 18 |
| RDV5 | Knitters 20 Inch | 2 short + 2 long | 24 |
| RDV6 | Rigid Heddle 24 Inch | 2 short + 2 long | 24 |
| RDV7 | Knitters 28 Inch | 2 short + 2 long | 24 |
| RDV8 | Rigid Heddle 32 Inch | 2 short + 2 long | 24 |
| RDV12 | Rigid Heddle 48 Inch | 4 short + 4 long | 48 |
The RDV12 is the only kit in the range that doubles up, and that's not a marketing flourish, it's a necessity at 48 Inches. A 16 or 24 Inch warp doesn't ask for more pieces. A 48 Inch warp does, especially once you're alternating shorter zones for stripes or gradients across the width.
Common Questions About The RDV12
Q: Is the RDV12 the same thing as the 48 Inch Variable Dent Reed?
A: Yes, same kit. RDV12 is the code Ashford prints on the box and uses in their pricelist. "48 Inch Variable Dent Reed" or "48 Inch Vari Dent" is what most retailers and weavers call it in conversation. Both names point to the same product, so if you see one listed without the other, you're still looking at the right thing.
Q: What loom does the RDV12 fit?
A: The RDV12 is sized for the Ashford 48 Inch (122cm) Standard Rigid Heddle Loom (Ashford's internal code is RH1200). Each loom width has its own matching kit: RDV4 for the 16 Inch, RDV6 for the 24 Inch, RDV8 for the 32 Inch, and so on. The RDV12 only fits the 48 Inch frame. It won't work on Knitters Looms, SampleIt Looms, or the narrower Standard Rigid Heddle sizes.
Q: How wide can I actually weave with the RDV12?
A: Slightly less than 48 Inches. Like every Vari Dent setup, the assembled reed weaves around a third of an inch narrower than the frame width because the side rails holding the segments take a small bit of room. Negligible at this scale, but worth knowing if you're cutting a project to an exact dimension.
Q: Where can I buy the RDV12?
A: We stock the RDV12 alongside the rest of the Ashford Variable Dent Reed lineup. See the Variable Dent Reed kit options here.
Help Us Keep This Page Accurate
If you've hand-counted your own RDV12 and your numbers don't line up with what's on this page, we'd genuinely like to hear about it. Email sales@paradisefibers.com or call us at (509) 536-7746. We want this page to stay the clearest answer on the web for this question, and a real count from a real kit is the best way to keep it that way.