How to Make a Quilting Loom

While there are several expensive quilt frames for purchase either online or by mail order, you don't have to invest a lot to make a quilting loom. With a quilt frame made from PVC pipe, you can enjoy the ease of getting your quilt off your lap while paying considerably less for the loom. An easy loom to construct for under $30, a PVC frame is both lightweight and simple to disassemble for storage.

Things You'll Need

• Twelve ¾-inch PVC pipes, each 30 inches long
• Eight ¾-inch 90-degree elbows with side-out joints
• PVC glue or liquid cement, if desired
• Four pieces of pre-slit polyethylene pipe insulation, 24 inches long each

Instructions

1. Place four of the straight pipe pieces on a flat, protected surface. Arrange them into a square and place an elbow joint at each corner. Make sure the elbows are set with the "side out" facing up.

2. Apply the glue or cement to both the outer edge of a pipe and the inner edge of an elbow. Immediately insert the end of the pipe into the elbow and press to secure. Do the same with the other end of the pipe. Repeat three times more to make one square. Create a second square in the same manner.

3. Glue and insert the remaining pipes into the "side out" on each of the four corners of one of the squares. This should give you one square with its four legs sticking up and a second square which is unattached.

4. Add glue to the "side out" joints of the unattached square as well as to the ends of the upright legs. Have someone help hold the square over the legs and align the legs to the "side out" joints. Press down on the frame to secure the glue. Allow a day for the glue to dry fully before exposing fabrics to the joints.

5. Drape your marked and basted quilt over the frame when ready and smooth the quilt out as flat as possible. Slip the pipe insulation over the top bars of the loom, sandwiching the quilt between the frame and the insulation. Readjust the quilt as necessary during quilting following the same procedure.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want a frame which is easily portable, construct your frame in the same manner. However, either don't glue it at all, or glue only the corners of the squares but not the leg pieces. When you quilt, be sure to start in the center and quilt outward. This will keep the three layers from shifting while you work.

Resources

• Learn more about quilting