How to Make Handmade Navajo Weaving Looms

Navajo blankets are often identified by their wide stripes.

Navajo weaving looms differ from other looms. The Navajo loom is vertical, whereas most other looms are horizontal. This allows the loom to take up less space in a room. It also allows visitors to clearly observe the process. Traditional Navajo looms were outdoors, sometimes nothing more than the warp header and footer lashed between two saplings. The header and footer held the warp thread taut while the weaver threaded the weft under and over the warp threads. Today, Navajo looms come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Making a loom out of hard wood, such as maple, gives your loom strength and beauty.

Things You'll Need

• Maple 1 x 4 lumber, two 8-foot pieces
• Measuring tape
• Saw
• Sandpaper
• Wood screws
• Drill with screwdriver bit
• Drill bit
• 8 two-inch carriage bolts
• Wing nuts
• Pipe support, 4
• Polyurethane (optional)

Instructions

1. Stack the lumber on a firm work surface, one board on top of the other. Line up the ends. Measure 36 inches and cut through both pieces of wood. This ensures that both pieces are the same size. Sand the ends and set aside.

2. Lay down a single piece of lumber. Cut a 24-inch piece. Sand both ends.

3. Stand the two 36-inch pieces of wood on their one-inch side about two feet apart. Place the 24-inch piece on its side at one end. The structure will look like three sides of a four-inch-deep box.

4. Drive two wood screws through the 24-inch piece and into the end of one of the 36-inch pieces. Repeat with the other 36-inch piece.

5. Measure four inches from the open end of each of the 36-inch sides. Mark.

6. Measure the space between the two 36-inch pieces at the bottom, or the final side of the box. Cut a piece to this measurement.

7. Place the freshly cut piece at the four-inch mark on the sides. Secure with wood screws. You will now have what looks like a box with four inches of extra wood sticking out on each side. These are the legs that will attach to the stands.

8. Line up the ends of the lumber for the last time. Measure 18 inches, and cut through both pieces of lumber. Sand the ends. These pieces will become the stand.

9. Lay the box on its side. Center one stand on top of the leg. Drill four holes through the stand and the leg. Push four carriage bolts through the holes and secure them in place with the wing nuts. Turn the loom over, and repeat with the other side.

10. Stand the loom upright. Protect your loom with a coat of polyurethane, if desired. Attach the pipe supports to the top and bottom of the sides with wood screws. These will hold the warp rods when you are ready to weave.

Tips & Warnings

• The stands can be attached with wood screws. But bolts allow for easy removal of the stands. That means, if the loom must be put out of sight, it only takes up four inches of space, rather than and not 18.

• Always use care when working with power tools.

References

• Weaving in Beauty: The Loom Plan
• R. M. Meluch: Navaho Loom Page
• Turtle Track: Weaving Part One
• Cameron Tading Post: History of Navaho Rugs and Blankets