Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
LOOM LEARNINGS
A loom is the structure you use to give your weave support and tension as you work. Here is a little information to help get you started.
BUY A LOOM
Looms are available in many sizes, designed to accommodate projects large and small. Shop at online marketplaces and craft stores to find looms of all varieties – plastic and wood, tabletop with an easel-like leg for standing, and in shapes beyond the rectangle. An inexpensive adjustable loom is just right if you’re trying out weaving for the first time.
MAKE A LOOM
Ready to get started right now? You can make a loom yourself from a piece of cardboard. You’ll need a straigh-tedge ruler, craft knife, double-strength cardboard or two single-strength pieces glued together, a pencil and glue. Cut the cardboard to 33 x 24cm. Cut 2 strips of cardboard to 2 x 24cm. Glue each of the 2cm strips 2cm in from each short end of the large rectangle. Mark every 5mm along each short end of the large rectangle. Cut the outside edges at every 5mm mark, stopping at the edge of the glued-on 2cm strip. The strips are on the front of the loom and hold warp away from the cardboard.
WARPING THE LOOM
The first step to any weaving project is warping the loom, or putting your warp thread in place. Place the loom so the pegs are at the top and bottom. Tie your warp yarn around the bottom left-hand peg (or the farthest left peg of the area you will use). Draw the warp around the peg directly above the lower peg where the warp is tied. String the warp down around the next lower peg to the right of where you started. Continue stringing it around the top and bottom pegs, working your way left to right, until the warp ends at the bottom right-hand peg of the loom (or the area you will use). Tie a knot to secure it. NOTE: Weaving a 5cm wide length of cardboard at the base of your warp before beginning your project makes for easier warp tying when finishing your project.
THINK OF ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU CAN MAKE!