Always wanted to try weaving but intimidated by the cost of tools, looms, yarns, and more?
Weaving is an ancient art and a basic loom can be as simple is some shaped sticks like those used by Peruvian woman for centuries, to Inkle looms, and more.
So here’s what you’ll need, more or less. Craft paper, plastic rulers, cellophane tape, string, tapestry needles, a book, and some yarn.
A hardbound picture book is best.
Make Your Loom
Wrap the book just like a present.
Glue one to the top and one to the bottom of the book. Double-sided tape also works well. Glue one to the top and one to the bottom of the book. Double-sided tape also works well. Make sure both rulers start at 0 on the left side.
Winding the Warp Threads
Wind the string around the book, wrapping the twine four times within each inch.
Tie the string ends together in the center of the back side.
Using the ruler to guide you, spread the string threads
evenly across the book… which is now a loom!
These threads are called the warp threads.
Looms often have nails or notches to keep the warp evenly spaced, we are going to twine a row of yarn to secure the spacing.
Tie a loop knot at the end of the row.
I inserted this white ruler as a base to pack the weaving down on. You can use a piece of cardboard or cardstock, I just like the ruler because I can refer to the measurements if I need to.
It’s Time to Start Weaving!
Measure about a yard of yarn, this yarn is called the weft because it will weave back and forth across the warp threads.
Push the row of twining down on top of the ruler.
Thread the yarn through a tapestry needle, and weave one row across, over one warp thread, and under the next warp thread until you reach the other side.
It’s crucial that you don’t pull on the weft yarn too tightly, so make an arch in the yarn.
Pack the yarn down, making sure it’s even, with no puckers between the warp threads.
I use my fingers to pack the weft yarn down, but a table fork works well too.
From now on, it’s up to you!
You can just weave stripes, which is the easiest, or try some new techniques.
In this project, I’m going to weave a sunset landscape.
I used variegated yarn here, so the colors change randomly. As I measured the yarn, I selected just the colors I wanted to get the desired effect.
After weaving the base, I chose darker colors to begin a hill shape.
When weaving a shape, I don’t go all the way across the warp, I just weave the distance needed for each shape.
Here’s the weaving process for the hills:
