How to Make a Floor Loom

Recycle old fabrics into beautiful woven rugs and tapestries using a homemade floor loom. Crafters everywhere will enjoy this simple, homemade loom because it allows them to create many projects from the comforts of their own homes. The size of this loom can be adjusted to create smaller or larger floor looms. Keeping with the "green" theme, this floor loom can be made using scrap lumber and upholstery thread left over from a previous project.

Things You'll Need

• 2 1 inch by 2 inch, 4-feet long pieces of lumber
• 2 1 inch by 2 inch, 28 ½-inches long pieces of lumber
• 4 flat corner irons
• Pencil
• 60 ¾-inch screws
• Drill
• Tape measure
• Heavyweight, nylon upholstery thread

Instructions

1. Place the longer pieces of wood parallel to each other on the ground. Place the two shorter boards inside of the longer pieces at the top and bottom to form a frame. Fit a corner iron at each of the four corners. Mark the corner iron holes with a pencil and remove the irons. Pre-drill the holes for the corner irons. Place the corner irons back on the frame and screw them on, using caution to ensure the screws do not poke through the wood.

2. Turn the loom frame over so that the irons are against the ground. The shorter sides will serve as the top and bottom of the loom. Along the top, mark a dot every 1 1/16 inch, until there are 26 dots across the board. Repeat this for the bottom board as well. Now, pre-drill a hole for each dot and screw in the ¾-inch screws. Leave the screws sticking out about a ¼ inch. Adjust the placement of the last hole if it runs into the corner iron.

3. Place the loom against a wall in the area where the loom is most likely to be used. Tie the upholstery string around the leftmost bottom screw and loop the string up around the leftmost top screw and the second leftmost screw on the top. Pull the string taut and bring it down the loom under the second and third screws. Then, take it up over the third and fourth top screws. Continue in the pattern until all the screws are covered and tie the string off on the last screw. This forms the loom's warp and prepares the loom for use.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the string tight while making the warp. A loose warp will cause weaving projects to fall apart.

References

• How to Make and Use a Floor Loom
• How to Build a Simple Frame Loom