Make a small loom - PEP BB textile.straw.loom

I did this a while back: https://permies.com/t/50910/permaculture-fiber-arts-tools/fiber-arts/loom#523826

It's a tablet or 'card' loom.  I made mine out of playing cards.


On the left are examples of commercial weaving cards or tablets.  And you can see the deck of cards I'm using for this project.


measuring it square.


first card cut and holes punched.


loom complete


loom in action.

Not submitted for points, but an example of an even simpler loom I made

Get some straight sticks (old broom handles, wooden spoon handles, whatever - just ask before cutting them up)
Cut them to length.



add yarn



weave a bit


all done


The cloth I made becomes the backstrap for the loom - the sticks and that strap go together.  But you can make lots of different style cloths including the belt this BB is for.

And here's the tutorial I used: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/backstrap-basics-an-article-from-weavezine-by-laverne-waddington/

Here is my submission for the Make a Small Loom BB - Textile Aspect - straw.

I learned quite a lot about what works and what does not while I was modifying the loom dowels, measuring and warping the loom, and most specifically to use nylon (or a slick material) for the string heddles.  I used mason line for the heddles because the cotton thread would catch on the warp and not change the shed at all!

To get certified for this BB, I have posted:
- a picture of materials - dowels
- Using a chisel to notch the ends of the dowels
- a picture of putting the warp on the loom - making the loom work
- a picture of the nylon string heddles finished and weaving started
- a picture of the finished loom making cloth

We've been learning a lot about vikings and tablet weaving, so my son picked out colors and a pattern, and we made tablets from thin wood we had left over from another project.


All in all, I learned a LOT. Both my kids enjoyed learning about weaving. My husband has decided it's magic. And he looked at me really funny when I said "warp threads"--I think he was imagining threads traveling at warp speed :D. My beginning weaving was rather atrocious, but evened out toward the end.  A great project! I didn't have a shuttle, so I just stuck the ball of yarn through the warp "shed" and smacked it down with the edge of my hand to tighten the weaving.

I had a lot of fun doing this. I made a tablet loom and did a test weave. I made the loom out of lego creator cards the kids had, a hole punch and scissors. Here are my pics.

I made a tablet loom because I wanted to make a thin strap for another project.

These were very sturdy cards from when the kids were little. A little thicker than usual playing cards. Also, I think, a little slipperier.


This image shows the stack of finished cards and my small project set up as a test.


I tried twice to make a tiny shuttle out of wood I had handy, but it was too dry and the first 3 tries split. Then I remembered a neighbor had given me a net needle and it was a great tool for a small project like this one.


Here you can see I'm almost done weaving. I'm using antique silk thread which was both extremely slippery to use and so shiny that it was hard to see what I was doing under artificial light. The white loops were to weave in the end of the weft thread, although after weaving it in side to side, I used a needle back and forth in the long direction to make it more secure.  Between the slippery cards and the slippery silk, the elastic bands in the picture were used to put around the cards whenever I had to take a break. I also have issues with the whole right/left - forward/back thing, so I used the two playing cards to keep track of whether I should be going towards me (the number "2") or  away (the Jack for "back").
The broken dog leash made a great tie and hook to fasten the far end onto a table leg. The near end I tied to me.

I don't know if this counts, but I made a super simple loom out of sturdy cardboard and so far it's doing pretty good. I'm not finished with my piece (I'm making a small bag), but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
I will update this once I get the bag finished and see how well the cardboard fairs on a second project.

Ari Stephenson wrote:I don't know if this counts, but I made a super simple loom out of sturdy cardboard and so far it's doing pretty good. I'm not finished with my piece (I'm making a small bag), but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
I will update this once I get the bag finished and see how well the cardboard fairs on a second project.

That looks good to me, but I can't see the button where I approve the BB.  Is it possible to edit your post and click "submit for BB certification" instead of reply?

r ranson wrote:

Ari Stephenson wrote:I don't know if this counts, but I made a super simple loom out of sturdy cardboard and so far it's doing pretty good. I'm not finished with my piece (I'm making a small bag), but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
I will update this once I get the bag finished and see how well the cardboard fairs on a second project.

That looks good to me, but I can't see the button where I approve the BB.  Is it possible to edit your post and click "submit for BB certification" instead of reply?

I found out special certifier button to convert it to a BB post, and certified it! It's good to know to look for the "submit for BB certification" in the future, though!

😮 Oh my goodness! I really appreciate this! I didn't think it would qualify as a BB, especially since I didn't write up a description of how I did what, yet, and my project isn't finished.
I'm speechless (almost). ☺️
I know this may seem like a little thing to some people, but to me, it makes me feel like my hard work is starting to pay off and be recognized.

I really do appreciate that, a lot!!!

Ari Stephenson wrote:I know this may seem like a little thing to some people, but to me, it makes me feel like my hard work is starting to pay off and be recognized.

PEP is all about "small stuff that builds to big stuff". This BB was for building the loom. There will be other BB's about learning to use natural fibers, because they're required, making some of those fibers yourself, and the list goes on. You made a loom, and the picture shows it works! Bravo - and carry on! We'd still like to see the finished product.

I prepared some tablet cards from chocolate cardboards to make a small tablet weaving setup. I used this setup to set up my warp-weighted loom for weaving. The initial tablet weaving was quite messy as it is some of the older handspun I have from back before I was very good (or had access to nice wool--just took what folks gave me in big feed sacks, haha). A good use for the scrap!

All the yarn in the image is my handspun--I've gotten quite a bit better over the last seven years!

I made Weaving Sticks from Oregon Grape sticks that were left over from Medicinals.  

I cut 7" sticks from some peeled Oregon Grape, scraped the last of the bark off with a knife, and smoothed off all knots. The skinny end was tapered into a soft point.  Measuring 1" from the thick end, I made a slight groove all the way around each stick. Everything was sanded smooth. Using thin cotton thread, I tied the string to the groove, then tied off the ends to make a loop.  I used this loop to hold the warp yarn.

Here is a great description of how to weave:
https://www.montessorihandwork.com/post/stick-weaving-lesson

I learned a lot while testing the weaving sticks. Things I will do differently next time: use thinner sticks to increase the tension, make a thinner groove, make the groove in the thinner end, and the point on the thick end. I only made a few sticks as proof of concept, but more will allow for a wider piece.  This is certainly a perfectly portable project.

I made a tablet loom.

Materials - pack of playing cards, scissors, and hole punch.

Making the tablets.

Punching the holes for the yarn.

I used the backstrap method to tension it, so I also needed a belt and metal ring to set up the loom.

Weaving width is adjustable depending on the number of tablets used and the size of yarn.

To learn about tablet weaving, my first project was a sampler.

Tablet loom weaving.

Howdy, Permies!  I opted to make a larger loom.  The more I researched looms, the more I was confused by them.  So, in my confusion, I decided to go back to the basics.  Keep it simple, over, under, over, under.  I made a frame, and put some nails in it to space out the warp yarn.  To weave I use a couple of thin maple scraps to go over-under-over-under then I turn the stick to the side to make space between the warp to slide the shuttle through.  I accidentally made a handy feature where the shuttles fit right at the bottom under the fabric, resting on the bottom frame.  A couple extra sticks are used to help adjust tension, and voila!  There was some red cotton yarn and white cotton yarn in the stash, so I thought a gingham fabric would be fun to try for my first foray into weaving.

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- build a loom capable of weaving a warp-faced fabric at least 2" wide

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):  
-  your materials used to make the loom
-  the process of making the loom
-  the finished loom making cloth

I'll be creating a stick loom from 6 chopsticks instead of 4 to meet the 2" requirement for my belt.  The material is 100% wool yarn.

I drilled small holes in the chopstick handles.  I put the yard through the holes, looped it and tied it to the other yarn loops to hold the warp yarn.

I used this link to show me how to weave with a stick loom.
https://www.montessorihandwork.com/post/stick-weaving-lesson

I began my weft by tying off to the first stick.  Then, began weaving the wool yarn through the stick loom.

This was a fantastic experience!  After dropping a couple wefts I learned to look at each end to verify which direction I was to go.  I figured out I needed to keep my work at the bottom of the chopsticks to easier release it down onto the belt.  I wrestled with it at first.  Then, after having to unwind the yarn from the fabric a couple times, I realized I needed to keep the yarn behind the loom as I weave.  Fun stuff!

Created weaving sticks from some chopsticks we had laying around. Drilled small holes in the ends and sanded the squareness off of them to help the yarn slide off as I weave. I had fun listening to podcasts and weaving with my kitty on my lap.

I started by making a shuttle from a wooden shim that was lying around. I cut it, sanded it, and finally oiled it.
Next, I found a cast-off stick in my woodpile. It was too short to be the edge of a beehive I made. It shall be my heddle. Next, I measured 1/4" marks all along the heddle, and cut them with the skinniest saw I could find. A hack saw? While the heddle was clamped. Then I sanded the bergeebers out of it, and finally, I oiled it with walnut oil.
The last piece of my very simple loom is a poster board that I marked at half inch intervals and cut with scissors about an inch into each side. That's all!

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- build a loom capable of weaving a warp-faced fabric at least 2" wide

This is a good place to mention part of this bb is to show one knows the difference between warp and weft.

However we have several above this post with weft faced fabric.  

It's kind of awkward what to do next.

So I am placing this as a marker and that bb applications after this will be held to a stricter standards.  

I will see what I can do to improve the  bb description.

Hey R Ranson! I just learned what warp and weft-faced fabric means and differences. Yep, sorry that my cardboard loom didn't fit the aim of the original bb. Learning!