Weaving (5721 Views)

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  Step 1 of 21

  First you need to make your loom. It is basically a big picture frame. I used wood attached at the corners with screws (not nails). Do your best to make it as sturdy as possible. The loom should be both a little taller and wider than the textile you wish to create.
  

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  Step 2 of 21

  Making the warp - they run north and south on the loom.
  You want to cut sections of yarn that are a little more than twice as long as your loom. Cut as many as you'll need to establish the width or your textile.

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  Step 3 of 21

  Tie on the yarn as loops that go around the outside of the loom. Make sure there are not twists in the loops. As far as how tight to have the loops; it’s kind of an imperfect science. You don’t want them to be floppy, but they don’t have to be as tight as possible either. Many times my knots don’t hold really well, so test different kinds of knots or different combinations of knots until your warp strings are reliably tied on. The spacing is also hard to determine and regulate. It all depends on the tightness you desire for finished product and the thickness of yarn you are using.

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  Step 4 of 21

  Before moving on you'll need to have all your warp strings tied on. This establishes how wide your textile will be.

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  Step 5 of 21

  With some scrap string or yarn tie some little loops. You one for every loop you tied on the loom. They need to be as long as the one in the picture.
  

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  Step 6 of 21

  We now need to establish some terms. Each loop has a front-warp string and a back-warp string. we are going to call these fw strings and bw strings.
  

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  Step 7 of 21

  Starting on the far right or left pull forward the first bw string and put a little string around the bw string.

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  Step 8 of 21

  Use a dowel that is longer than your loom to hold the little white loops. Continue to pulling forward the bw strings and putting little loops around them. Making sure that you always pull the bw strings to the same side (left or right) of their corresponding fw string.

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  Step 9 of 21

  Before moving on you will need to have all your bw strings attached to a dowel with little loops.
  

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  Step 10 of 21

  If you pull the dowel away from the loom the bw strings should be able to pass in front of the fw strings.

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  Step 11 of 21

  The weft is the yarn that runs east-west on the textile. Tie the weft on to either the far right or far left of your warp strings. Tie it near the bottom of the loom.
  

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  Step 12 of 21

  12-end is the actual weaving part. Start by pulling the dowel away from the loom. Make sure all the bw strings pass the fw strings.

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  Step 13 of 21

  Now pass the weft between the fw strings and the now pulled forward bw strings.
  

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  Step 14 of 21

  Here is another view of step 13

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  Step 15 of 21

  when you lower the dowel the result is a single strand or weft pinned between the fw and bw strings.

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  Step 16 of 21

  Next you need to spread the fw strings away from the bw strings so that you can pass the weft across the textile. To do this you'll need a board with a tapered end. Mine is 2.5 inches wide and about three feet long.

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  Step 17 of 21

  Pass the tapered end of the board between the bw strings and fw strings near the top of your loom.

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  Step 18 of 21

  Now slide the board down towards your textile. Turn it so it spreads the f-w strings and the b-w strings.
  

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  Step 19 of 21

  Notice how the length of the little loops allow for the separation between the fw and bw strings; that is why it is important that they are a certain length. Pass the weft between the f-w and b-w strings.
  

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  Step 20 of 21

  Now remove the board and "pack" the weft down according to how tight you want your textile. I've used a fork for this step at times.

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  Step 21 of 21

  Continue weaving by alternating between pulling forward the dowel and spreading the warp with the board. Congratulations your weaving.