How to Make Your Own Wood Bead Loom
Wood bead looms help you create flat strips of woven beads for belts, headbands and other decorative or personal clothing items. Commercially available bead looms can be pricey, but you can build your own with a little ingenuity and a few supplies from a discount store. You need only minimum building skills to make your own bead loom; if you can cut a thin board and insert a screw, you can create a wood bead loom for any beading project.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Long wood board (1 inch thick, 6 inches wide, 6 feet long)
- Saw
- 2 metal pocket combs
- Duct tape
- 6 wood screws
- Screwdriver
Instructions
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1
Determine the length of your bead loom based on the beading project you are making. The length of the loom will be equal to your beaded strip.
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2
Measure and cut a section of the wood board to the desired length of your beading project. This is the base of your bead loom. Cut two sections of wood to measure 6 inches long. These are the sides of your bead loom. Depending on your beading project, the original 6-foot board may be too long or not long enough; adjust your purchase according to the desired size of your bead loom.
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3
Attach one of the metal pocket combs to one of the wood boards measuring 6 inches long. Place the base of the comb flush against the outside edge of the wood so that the teeth extend freely. Attach the comb to the wood securely with a strip of duct tape. Make sure to wrap the duct tape around both sides of the wood strip so the comb will not move. Repeat this step with the other comb and 6-inch wood strip. The combs are the spacers for your warp threads.
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4
Place the base of the bead loom on a flat surface with the 6-inch-wide side facing up. Attach the 6-inch-long wood strips perpendicular to wood base, one on each end. The combs should be at the top. Screw the sides onto the wood base with wood screws.
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5
Insert a wood screw partially into the 6-inch face of the wood base, 1 1/2 inches away from each side piece. These screws are the anchors that you can use to tie off your warp threads and hold them taut while you bead on your loom.
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