How to Weave on an Inkle Loom
An inkle loom is a tool that allows you to wind your warp and weave on the same piece of equipment. It takes up little space, yet there are almost infinite possibilities in the kinds of belts and straps you can make with this little loom. All weaving on the inkle loom is warp-faced; that is, only the warp yarns show on top. The weft is slightly visible at the selvedges. So you can indulge your desire for thick and thin stripes of many colors.
Instructions
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Warping the Inkle Loom
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1
Make a heddle for the loom by wrapping a string from the top front peg to the bottom front peg, around the heddle peg, and back up to the top. Tie this off at the top. Make 30 heddles in this way.
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2
Tape the first color yarn to the side of the inkle loom near the front adjustable peg. Take this yarn to the top back peg, then to the front middle peg, then back to the back middle peg, forward to the front bottom peg, back to the back bottom peg, and then forward to the front adjustable peg. This is warp Path A.
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3
Cut the warp thread leaving a 2-inch tail, and tie on another color. This time, go from the front adjustable peg, up to the top front peg, back to the top back peg, forward to the front middle peg, back to the back middle peg, forward to the front bottom peg, back to the back bottom peg, and then forward to the front adjustable peg. This is Path B. It also needs a heddle. Take one of the heddles, fold it in half, and loop it over the warp thread. Slide the looped ends of the heddle onto the heddle bar, below the warp.
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4
Continue warping the loom, tying on new colors as desired to make stripes. On every other thread, make the thread travel around Path B and attach a heddle to it. When you have wound 60 ends, untape the end of the first warp and tie it to the end of the last warp. Do not wrap the warps around the front adjustment peg, as the warp has to be able to move backward as you weave.
Weaving on the Inkle Loom
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5
Wind a belt shuttle in a figure 8 path with the yarn on its broader, not sharp side. The other, sharp side is used as a batten to beat in the weft.
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6
Form the first shed by pushing down on the threads in Path A behind the heddles. Take the weft through this shed in front of the heddles. Form the second shed by pushing up on the A threads behind the heddles. Beat in the first pick with the sharp side of the belt shuttle. Lay in the second pick, and change the shed. Beat in the second pick.
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7
Continue in this manner until the fell is close to the heddles. Then loosen the tension on the warp at the adjustment peg, and pull the fabric forward toward you, rotating it counterclockwise on the pegs. This will move the fell away from the heddles so that you can begin weaving again.
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8
Continue weaving on the inkle loom until you are near the end of the warp. Insert a heavy yarn needle in the shed. Change the shed, and pull the weft thread through. Then cut the weft thread, thread it through the yarn needle, and draw the needle through the weft.
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9
Cut the warp a few inches from the fell. Braid or knot the fringe at both ends of the warp.
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Tips & Warnings
For solid stripes, wind the same color thread on Path A and Path B for several rounds. For a wavy line, take one color around Path A and then Path B, then wind on another color. For horizontal lines, make all the Path A yarns one color, and all the Path B yarns a different color.
Start with the adjustable peg in the middle of its groove, so that you can loosen or tighten the warp as needed.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
