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The Easy Beginners Guide to Weaving with a Loom
Aug
This is Part 1 of 5 of the Beginners Guide to Weaving with a Loom. The loom I used for this project can be found here. Read Part 2: How to Make Woven Coasters. Read Part 3: 7+ Coaster Weaving Pattern Video Tutorials. Read Part 4: How to Make a Yarn Wall Hanging here. Read Part 5: 9+ Weaving Crafts You Can Make with a Loom here.
Before you get started working with a loom, let’s get to know the parts of the loom, how they work together, and all the basic weaving terminology.
Starting with the basics is going to make weaving much easier. And weaving is a skill that takes time.
Supplies You Will Need to Begin Weaving with a Loom
7 Inch Weaving Lap Loom shown here
-or-
A Small Wooden Loom, with Accessories
Twine/Baker’s Twine
Yarn (Can Be ANY Thickness or Color)
Plus You Will Want: Scissors, A Pencil
The weaving loom included in these tutorials is around 7 inches. Although you can find smaller looms, this size is a pretty standard small loom. Looms can get much bigger to tabletop size, blanket size, or even larger!
Starting with a small loom is ideal because you can finish projects much quicker than a larger loom. Weaving is a super-relaxing-take-your-time type of craft. It’s perfect for sitting in front of the tele or popping on your favorite mix tape and relaxing in your favorite chair. But it’s certainly not a craft that’s fast.
Loom and Weaving Terminology You Need to Know
The terms you will need to know are: warp, weft, shed in addition to tabby, rya and twining stitches. There are a million more terms but these are the basics and include everything you need to get started.
Pin the easy to share graphic above to keep all your weaving terms handy!
Want to know more about what all of these terms mean?
We’ll continue to use these terms throughout the Weaving Tutorials listed at the top and bottom of the page as well as have photos and videos that show you more about what all of these terms mean. Just keep reading and you’ll get the hang of it!
What Are All the Loom Pieces and What Do They Do?
If you are working with the Pop Shop America Lap Loom, all the pieces that are included are labeled above. Other kits may have different pieces but these are the most common.
Loom Stand: The square pieces can slip around the loom itself so that you can stand it upright like the game of Battleship. It will likely be easier to weave your thread while the loom is lying down, but you can stand up an unfinished project to put it on display. Or you can keep use the loom itself as a frame.
Shuttle Stick: You can wrap yarn or thread around the shuttle stick and then use this object to pass back and forth as your weft. It’s not a necessary tool but makes it easy to pass a large amound of thread back and forth. You can also use your hands, the wooden needle in this set, or an upholstery needle pass your weft through your warp.
Comb: Use a comb to push the weft tighter together. This can help your project look more even, professional, and balanced. To use it, brush along the warp towards your lines of weft that have already been woven. Push the fill towards the rest of the fill.
Large Needle: This needle is a perfect alternative to a shuttle stick. To finish your ends, you can use this needle or a plastic yarn needle. If your thread is very fine, you may need a smaller needle.
How To Thread a Loom
To thread a loom, start by cutting a very long length of twine or yarn. Make a small loop and a knot on one end. Loop that knot around the outermost peg. Next wind twine around every peg of the loom – or every other peg…every third peg…as long as it’s even on both sides. If you start on the upper left side, your pattern will be right, down, right, up, right, down and so on.
Do not weave the warp around in a circle – the shape is like a Greek Key and the warp always stays on the front of the loom. Here’s a great video demo!
Do not pull the twine too taught but don’t leave it too loose either. Leave just a little bit of give to the twine – so that you will be able to pass the weft through it. Ideally, you want your warp strings to always stay perfectly parallel to each other. You don’t want is for the strings to be pulled towards the center.
Use twine that has strength. Don’t use anything that is stretchy or breaks easily. The warp will take on tension during the weaving process. So use a thread strong enough to withstand some pressure.
How to Make a Shed
Pop Quiz! What is a shed?
That’s right, it’s the space in between the warp where you will weave your weft. Additionally, the space between BOTH the weft and the warp is also called the shed. But what we need to know is how to create a shed, or in other words, how do we create the pathway of the weft as we are weaving.
For a small loom like this, you can use a pencil or a small dow rod to mark your space. Larger looms may have a moving part that will help you create the shed.
To create one, weave a pencil inside the warp – back and forth over and under the thread. Using a pencil, dow rod is the perfect way to mark your space when you are using more complicated stitches. But if you are comfortable you can skip the tool to mark your space and instead pass your thread and needle through the shed.
Pro Tip: With weaving, anything you do can be undone! Just pass your needle and thread in reverse of your original stitch.
A Brief History of the Loom
According to Wikipedia, the earliest evidence of a horizontal loom is found on a pottery dish in ancient Egypt, dated to 4400 BC! There are many different types of looms that are popular in different parts of the world.
For example, the Back Strap Loom is still used in the Andes and a drawloom was used for silk in Asia. The fundamental operation of the loom hasn’t changed, but a history of small changes and improvements can be found through ancient and medieval times in both Asia and Europe. A major change is that the Industrial Revolution switched weaving from hand to machine.
So are you ready to get weaving? I sure am! Move on to the next tutorials here:
Beginner’s Weaving Tutorials
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