DIY Looms

Simple looms speed weaving.

Any weaving apparatus is considered a loom---and looms need not be intricate. Even a simple loom will help you accomplish a weaving task more efficiently. The simplest loom can be fashioned from any frame, even an old picture frame. Variations of this loom are the backstrap loom, which is attached to the body for leverage, and the single-heddle ground loom. They are all similar in the components of warp, or vertical threads, and horizontal, or weft, threads. Starting with a simple loom will give you a foundation before you proceed toward more complex varieties.

Things You'll Need

• Picture frame
• Yarn
• Scissors
• 2 1-inch wood lath strips, each 2 inches longer than your frame width
• 1 dowel, 2 inches wider than your frame width
• Knife

Instructions

Simple Loom

1. Find an old picture frame or other sturdy frame that is a size suitable for your weaving project.

2. Tie yarn onto one end of the frame, near a corner.

3. Wrap warp yarn around the frame from one end to the other. Keep all the yarn on the outside portions of the frame.

4. Tie a knot when you have an amount of warp to suit your design. Starting small is always a good idea.

5. Cut a piece of yarn that is three times longer than your warp threads.

6. Start at the center of the loose piece of yarn and twine it around each warp thread, starting at the left. Place half of this piece of yarn below the first warp thread and half of it above so that the thread is encased by the twining motion.

7. Alternate this motion with each successive warp thread. Adjust the twining so that there is even spacing between warp threads.

8. Knot at the end of the twining row.

9. Notice how the warp threads form a "shed" at the other end of the loom. This is the area where they are held apart because of the frame and form two groups of threads. Insert a piece of 1-inch lathing into this shed and you have formed a basic loom component called a "shed stick." Turning it on its side opens the shed.

10. Use another of the lath strips and pick up all the warp threads that are under the shed stick, weaving this wood over and under the threads. Place this wood between the shed stick and the bottom of the loom. The threads that are now on top of this lathing will become your "heddle" threads.

11. Cut a shallow notch 1 inch in from each end of the dowel.

12. Take another length of yarn that is 3 times the width of the loom and tie it into one of the notches on the dowel.

13. Place the dowel on top of the heddle threads.

14. Wrap this thread under each warp thread that is lying on top of the inserted wood lath and then around the doweling. Continue in this manner across the heddle dowel.

15. Knot this thread into the notch at the far end of the dowel.

16. Remove the second piece of lath. Now you have two methods to open different sheds for weaving. The original lath turned on its side will let you weave a row, then flatten that piece of wood and push it to the end of the loom. Raising the heddle dowel and inserting the other lath on its side will let you weave through this shed. Continuing in this manner, your weaving will begin to materialize on your loom.

Loom Variations

1. Create a backstrap loom by replacing the rigid frame with two warp bars. There will be no sides to this loom. Attach a rope to the top warp bar to tie it to a stationary point. Attach a strap to the other warp bar to tie it around the weaver.

2. Transform a simple loom into a heddle ground loom by creating a large frame that is built on two vertical posts. The components of this loom are the same as in the other examples, only larger to accommodate the size of the loom.

3. Modify these variations from a very small belt-sized backstrap loom to a large rug ground loom.

Tips & Warnings

• Wool yarn is the most resilient yarn, especially for the warp.

• Weft ease is obtained by allowing enough slack in the weft threads to keep the weaving even in tension. With consistent weft threads the piece will not get narrower but maintain an even width.

References

• Threads of Peru: Looms and Techniques
• Adire African Textiles: African Textiles Introduction 2
• Reinventing the Loom: A Simple Frame for Experiments