How to Build a Tapestry Loom
A tapestry is a wall hanging that utilizes special weaving techniques to create a picture or intricate design. Tapestries have been woven in many cultures for hundreds of years. Beginners to the art may find that a simple frame loom will suffice as a tapestry loom while they are learning tapestry weaving techniques, such as traditional European-style, worked with a cartoon as a picture guide; traditional Navajo, where the weave goes all the way to the bend in the warp thread and is reversible; and Kilim weaving, where colors do not interlock but meet in a slit in the fabric.
Things You'll Need
- Sandpaper
- 1 12-inch length of 5/16-inch wooden dowel
- 2 16-inch lengths of ¾-by-1 ½ inch pine
- 2 11-inch lengths of ¾-by-1 ½ inch pine
- Clamp
- Scrap wood
- Drill with 5/16-inch bit
- Wood glue
- Saw
- Hammer
- 1 wooden ruler (preferably without metal edge)
Instructions
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1
Sand the edges of all the pieces of pine until they are smooth, rounding the long edges slightly.
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2
Cut the 12-inch piece of 5/16-inch dowel into eight equal sized pieces, or 1 ½ inches in length.
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3
Clamp one of the 16-inch pieces of pine to a thick piece of scrap wood. Position the other 16-inch piece of pine parallel to the first.
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4
Lay one of the 11-inch pieces of pine across the top of the longer pieces, and the other 11-inch piece of pine across the bottom to form the frame of your tapestry loom. All corners should be at right angles, edges even.
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5
Drill two holes through both pieces of pine, beginning in the top-right corner first, and placing the holes diagonally from each other at the corner.
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6
Coat the sides of two pieces of wooden dowel with wood glue. Pound one piece of dowel into each hole.
Repeat these steps at the remaining three corners. -
7
Sand the dowels down after the glue has dried so that they are flush with the loom frame.
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8
Sand the corners of the wooden ruler so that they are rounded to create a shed stick.
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Tips & Warnings
Warp the loom by taking a long piece of warp thread and double knotting one end to the bottom crosspiece of the loom. Continue the process by looping the warp thread under and over the top crosspiece and down to the bottom, repeating in a figure 8 pattern until you have the desired number of loops, ending at the top piece where you will tie the warp thread off.
