Zoom Loom -- maybe transitioning from playing to projects

I have a small amount of fairly naive weaving experience -- all of which could reasonably be called playing around. I'm just saying this to note that I've been theoretically interested in weaving for fifteen years or so, just not enough to really do it seriously. I follow some Saori weavers online and have played with the idea of buying one of their looms but two grand is a little rich for something I fear wouldn't get used much.

But a couple weeks ago, I happened upon this little writeup over at E2 on the Zoom Loom: https://everything2.com/user/Estelore/writeups/Zoom+Loom

It piqued my interest so I did a bit of googling and then came to Permies to see what's been written here. The Zoom Loom is a particular commercial Pin Loom. Some others are especially flexible. And of course, there's always the option to make instead of buy. And Deedee has a thread documenting her progress on the Zoom Loom. There's a little more, but that's the core of what I found.

Anyway, I bought one and have been playing with it -- using up a bit of our scrap stash. You can see my first thirty squares below. There's a wide range of quality and some are plainly experimental. I've worked without regard for the fiber and I've probably mixed cotton and wool and certainly wool that's superwash with wool that isn't.

But now I'm thinking about getting more serious. I need to knuckle down on using like fibers so I don't get wildly divergent shrinkage, etc.

What should I do with these? My first thought is to make a set of placemats, but a garment would be more exciting. There are some cute pillows in Deedee's thread.

Also, after pulling my very first square off the loom and looking at the selvedge loops, I've wanted to slip knitting needles into those and pick up stitches all around and then knit something from there. I'm not really sure the idea has legs though -- a little bag would be easy enough, but is there any advantage to having a woven (probably tougher?) bottom and knitted sides?

ETA: I'd also love to hear opinions about joining yarns. Some of the squares below have spit-splices and some have knots. I won't put knots into my knitting if I have the choice, but I don't really hate them in these when they're trimmed as tightly as feels safe.

Anyone else have/use these and especially for something "serious"?

This is a slightly off-topic follow up to the above. I got to wondering about that fifteen years figure I tossed out. So I found images I took of my first weaving experiment. These two pictures were taken of my first very crude loom 11.33 years ago. I'd been following this guy who made backstrap looms out of laser-cut acrylic and gave them out at public parks to teach randos how to weave as an art project for a couple years before that. So I think fifteen years is maybe a little longer than I really meant, but I did take a fine arts fibers course at university around 1993 and was interested in the looms though I only did basketry and paper-making myself.

There are historical examples of clothing being made out of strips of fabric no wider than what your squares appear to be. My thread about making clothing from rectangles might give you some ideas - particularly about how to use square gussets to shape the join between body and sleeves.

I do agree with your concern about mixing materials. Preshrinking might be in order?

Looks like those squares would make excellent little curtains for an advent calendar.

Really intriguing art form, Christopher. When you asked,

Anyone else have/use these and especially for something “serious"?

pixel art came to mind. Here’s the Wikipedia entry for pixel art for background and links. Imagine a blanket or a full-sized winter window cover made from hand woven pixel squares crocheted together.
Good luck with your adventure!

Amy Gardener wrote:pixel art came to mind.

I'm not sure if it's coincidence or if thinking about these in terms of pixel art caused it, but it occurs to me that the modularity of this is a common feature of lots of things I'm interested in e.g. Jerry's Map and my own experiments along those lines.

Christopher Weeks wrote:

Amy Gardener wrote:pixel art came to mind.

I'm not sure if it's coincidence or if thinking about these in terms of pixel art caused it, but it occurs to me that the modularity of this is a common feature of lots of things I'm interested in e.g. Jerry's Map and my own experiments along those lines.

OK, now I'm picturing embroidering local map features onto the squares used to form the front and back panels of a shirt - wearable art taken to the practical extreme.

"How do you to get to Joe's place?"

As you point down at your shirt...
"See this is Main Street, and that's where it crosses the creek.
Turn a left after this bridge and that's Joe's street"
Point to a specific spot...
"This is Joe's house right here."

This just popped up in my feed elsewhere and I guess now I'm using this thread a little like a Pinterest board (though I never got the hang of that place). I suppose this is actually just printed, but still...

Nice one, Christopher.   I'd try to stick with squares made from a single type of fibre.  Mostly for washing purposes - no need to be so careful.
"The Bog Jacket" is made of squares and rectangles, as  is the kimono and haori and associated relatives - I expect pants could be constructed as well, but that's ambitious.  Squares folded on the diagonal might be used for underarms and the crotch on pants, for better fit.  Now you've got me thinking and I've verbal babbling!

I didn't know the term 'bog jacket' and thought the PDF linked from https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2011/01/30/how-to-make-a-custom-bog-coat was a pretty useful explainer.

Christopher Weeks wrote:I didn't know the term 'bog jacket' and thought the PDF linked from https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2011/01/30/how-to-make-a-custom-bog-coat was a pretty useful explainer.

Yes, that PDF shows how simple the sewing can be! The fabric cut out for the "neck" could possibly be enough to make edging for the neck curve. There won't be much waste!

The downside of simple is that it tends to the opposite of "form fitting" which can be awkward to actively work in. The simple addition of gussets under the arms made by slitting the body portion at that spot, would be an interesting experiment to try. I tend to always be considering... would I actually wear this if I can't run out to dump the compost or pick a few veggies for dinner?  I realize that's not always a consideration for the rest of the world!

I picked up a similar loom, this summer, Christopher! Mine is designed with equidistant pins, and is, I think, about 9"x9". The technique it's intended for is 'continuous strand weaving', and is fun and quick, but it can also be used like the zoom loom. I started playing with it, with cotton yarn (sugar&spice), to learn, but I'm ready now to move on to wool yarns that will full and shrink. After some more playing with fibers and textures and making simple things, I'm hoping to move up to apparel, too.

I picked up a book to help me figure stuff out, called Pin Loom Weaving to Go: 30 Projects for Portable Weaving by Margaret Stump. This particular book shows how to use several different types of looms to do things they're not specifically designed to do, like using square looms to make triangle and rectangle pieces, using pin looms for continuous strand weaving, continuous strand looms for pin loom weaving, 'pot-holder' looms for both, and even using  sock knitting looms (like the one Pearl found for me, by accident, at a thrift store!) for all the above - then she goes into the projects. I'm REALLY looking forward to playing with it, this winter!

Here are more suggestions - poncho - traditional with a slit for the head;  poncho - with a shaped  neck;  Capote - originally made by cutting and piecing a Hudson Bay Blanket;  waistcoat / rib warmer? - square cut, slits for armholes, fronts as two rectangles folded back to make lapels and fastened with ties;  hat  - might end up appearing to have 'ears';  scarf - good for mastering construction; neck warmer - cowl or mobius;  


It's worth checking out traditional clothing - National Dress - for more ideas.   "Cut my Cote"  by Dorothy K Burnham, Royal Ontario Museum Canada is a handy little book for simple(?) clothing construction.

And then I had a brainstorm . . .  Stainless steel sewing loop turner -  I love re-purposing  stuff - this makes a great tool for weaving on pin looms.  Thread through the warps, over and under from the opposite side to where the weft is, catch the weft in the latch, and making sure not to pull the weft tight against the edge, pull it through to the other side.  Presto - I think it makes it easier than using a needle
Aaand - it might make a great threading tool for a regular loom -pulling warp through the heddles and the reed in one go - needs checking for ease of passage through the reed spaces.

I haven't used a pin loom, my thing is rigid heddle looms, but I subscribe to Little Looms magazine which has lots of pin loom projects. There's several different ways to join the squares together, some are more sewing, some are more crochet based. I think there was an issue in the past year or two that went over maybe 6 or so different methods?

There's lots of projects I see: Joining them into larger sets to make shawls, blankets, etc.; also lots of placemats, table runners, etc. I've seen lots of little stuffed animals and things like game board pieces, flowers to pin onto larger pieces, etc.

You would definitely want to consider the mix of fiber if joining into something like a blanket

Zoom loom is only one version of a pin loom.  It is a 3 pin cluster loom of the type developed in the 1930s that was extremely popular for decades.  There have been folks quietly making some version of them off and on since they fell out of general favor so they have been around but not popular.  My first pin loom was a wooden one from Hazel Rose Looms.  Then a few years later Schacht brought out the Zoom loom and suddenly they became popular again.  
Places to check out
Pin Loom Weaving Support Group on Facebook  
https://www.eloomanation.com  authorized pdf copies of many of the original booklets printed for the pin loom as well as information about them.  A good place to get lost in.
http://www.pinloomweaving.com  - author of many books on Pin Loom weaving and has some good information on making your own
https://adventuresinpinloomweaving.com  interesting site with her exploring what a pin loom can do PLUS there is a post about how to contact Wunderwag looms to get information on the looms they are currently making

https://turtleloom.com  not as easy to navigate as some of the others it is full of ideas on making things from the "squares" made on their hexagon, and other shaped loom.  Look on Etsy under BluebonnetCrafters to buy their looms.  They are intriguing,  fun to use looms and the shapes are really fun to combine into designs and patterns for all kinds of items.
Also on Etsy are BigFam15 who make and sale both 3 pin and bias weave looms from recycled wood.
There are other loom makers on Etsy and at least 4 or 5 shops  who have patterns designed to be made with pin loom squares.
Um yes I do have a few pin looms and do make things with them.

Yesterday I wove an entire ball of this Noro yarn into a series of squares. The long color change means that each square is fairly homogenous but the progression of squares is pretty neat.

Just found this handy diagram!   I would have used the turning loops rather than the end warps  but this is probably more stable.

Also for more ideas for using the squares, look up anything constructed from "Granny Squares"  - these are crocheted, but the shapes will be the same.

I want to update this thread with a new picture.

I'm also trying to color-sort (based on overall tonal feel, which is tricky sometimes when yarns with short color-changes have been used) and make interesting gradients. I'm not quite sure how I want to arrange things, but I think I'm going to pursue the up-thread suggestion and put together a poncho of sorts.

(I need a bigger dining table!)

Lovely colours Christopher!

Will your head go in the middle of the sheet? Maybe you would want the colours to get darker from the middle to the edges (or vise-versa) so that the garment is symmetrical front to back.

Yeah, I think I'll have a T-shaped opening rather than just a slit, and it'll be in the middle. My original intention was to pick out all the best feeling squares and then randomly distribute and align them for the binding process. But my wife started color-sorting the squares they're so pretty that way -- with neighboring squares reincorporating color-motifs of their neighbors, that I think something along those lines is in order. I had been imagining a transition from the front to the back, but maybe the symmetry you've suggested would be better. It'll depend, I think on the count of the squares I have per color. (Or I can weave more to top off certain bits of the spectrum.)

Being the messy type... I suggest putting darker squares in locations that are likeliest to get dirty!

The lay-out on the table is gorgeous. Many other layouts will likely look equally good when worn, as 3 dimensions looks different from one.

Christopher Weeks wrote:This just popped up in my feed elsewhere and I guess now I'm using this thread a little like a Pinterest board (though I never got the hang of that place). I suppose this is actually just printed, but still...

Hi Christopher!  Your shirt idea would use a 2x2 loom.

I belong to a Facebook group for pin loom weaving support. Folks there are fantastically supportive, many with great ideas how to achieve all sorts of things. There are weave-alongs and challenges.

A temperature blanket might be a good project for you.  And there's a sister page at FB for that as well.

I'd suggest practice your joins to find what you'd like best before starting joins on a wearable.  I tend to whip stitch with right sides facing each other, and picking up loops and the flats between.  I don't knit but do crochet and many will go around each piece like that before joining or join and encircle the whole thing.

A simple project is 3 squares in line into a circle then cinched and stuffed. To finish, thread a yarn and go through the top and bottom (cinched part) to make the pumpkin ridges. I've done a few and have a few new ones in progress now.

I've made a new post on my thread about my journey. Beware! Most find this pin loom weaving quite addictive.  And there are different spacing (sett) on the pins to understand.  I prefer the Zoom Loom 3-pin set up, and many have that. But there's also equidistant spacing, and looms that are sett wider for heavier yarns and sett finer for the thinner yarns. Think real wool/alpaca 2-ply.

Bottom line is to have fun and explore.

Christopher Weeks wrote:I want to update this thread with a new picture.

I'm also trying to color-sort (based on overall tonal feel, which is tricky sometimes when yarns with short color-changes have been used) and make interesting gradients. I'm not quite sure how I want to arrange things, but I think I'm going to pursue the up-thread suggestion and put together a poncho of sorts.

(I need a bigger dining table!)

Your dining table is fine. When you've gotten these all sorted and joined, repeat the process then join those and you have a big blanket. Or leave them separate and have curtains with a bit more sewing.