Tape Loom Weaving Instructions
Tape looms are used to weave trim, ribbon, tapes, straps and ties. Before the invention of zippers and hook-and-loop closures, people used tape or ribbon to tie their clothes. A tape loom can be as simple as a piece of wood with a row of alternating slots and holes, or a small box with a heddle (the part with the holes and slots) and a reel where the lengthwise warp thread is wound. The other necessary tool is a shuttle, which carries thread for the weft, the thread that will be woven across, over and under the warp threads.
Instructions
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Decide on the length of tape that you want to weave. Add another 3 feet to the total to allow plenty at each end for tying. So, if you want to weave 3 yards of tape, cut your thread in 4-yard lengths.
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Warp the loom this way: Turn the tape loom sideways, with the heddle on the left and the warp reel on the right. Cut a thread as long a you need, tie it onto the warp reel and feed it through the first hole or slot in the heddle. Pull it all the way through and leave it hanging out from the heddle to the left. Repeat with all the remaining threads, tying each one to the warp reel and pulling it all the way through the heddle so it hangs freely on the left.
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Have a helper sit on your left, at the heddle end of the loom, while you wind the warp on the reel. Ask your helper to straighten and untangle the warp threads as if combing them, and then pull them straight out at the level of the holes in the heddle. Your helper should keep the threads straight and the tension even as you wind the warp reel. Keep the thread from spreading out across the reel, which makes the tension uneven. When only about 2 feet of thread remains, tie all the threads together about six inches from the ends, in a single overhand knot. Let the knotted ends hang from the end of the loom. You'll pull on this section to provide tension while you weave.
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Wind the weft thread on your shuttle. Knot the end of the thread around the shuttle. Start winding the thread onto the shuttle until it is full. Leave a tail hanging loose. You'll use this thread to weave back and forth across the warp.
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With one hand, pull the warp threads taut, pulling from the knot in the end of the warp threads. With the other hand, pull up on the heddle to lift half the threads up. The space between the two layers of thread is called the shed. Let the heddle stay up while you push the shuttle through the shed right to left, leaving a tail hanging on the right side. Use the shuttle to tamp the thread you just wove down tightly against the knot in the warp threads.
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Push the heddle down while holding the warp threads taut. Push the shuttle through the shed, left to right, pulling it all the way through so that it wraps neatly around the first thread on the left, making the selvage or woven edge of the tape.
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Repeat those two steps, lifting the heddle and pushing the shuttle through the shed right to left, and then lowering the heddle and pushing the shuttle through again left to right, until the tape is as long as you want it to be. Keep tamping the weft threads tightly against the already woven ribbon to achieve a tight weave. Watch the selvages, too. If you pull too tightly on the shuttle, the selvages won't be straight. Unroll more of the warp from the reel as needed.
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Tips & Warnings
Use different colors of thread in both the warp and weft to create designs in your tape or ribbon.
Look for local fiber groups, weavers and spinners, for example. They will be glad to show you their work and share techniques and tips with you at their meetings and events.
Don't give up too easily. Although it may seem daunting at first, weaving is not difficult and is worth the effort you put into learning how to do it.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ethnic woman image by Ragne Kabanova from Fotolia.com
