Little Looms
Summer 2021Easy Weaving with Little Looms is a perennial favorite. By popular demand, it will now be available by subscription. Each issue will have the mix of 18–22 projects, techniques, and features you love, expanding the focus on fundamental weaving skills, creative inspiration, and innovative applications. Each issue is designed to have something for beginning and more experienced weavers. In addition to the core subjects of rigid-heddle and pin-loom weaving, Little Looms regularly includes projects and articles about tapestry, tablet weaving, and inkle weaving.
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editorial
When I originally started work on this issue in January 2020, I had no idea what was yet to come—that I would soon be going into lockdown with a three-year-old. And a new puppy. While pregnant. To say that I found solace in little looms is an understatement—they were perfect for my new “normal.” Rigid-heddle and pin looms are quick to warp, and then I’m free to weave something quickly (for a sense of accomplishment) or to go slow and really get into a weaving flow (when I need to feel like an individual). Inkle looms take a bit longer to warp (but not so long as a floor loom), but like their small kin, they’re endlessly portable so you can move from living room to playroom to outside table…
welcome to weaving
RIGID-HEDDLE LOOM PIN LOOM TAPESTRY LOOM WARP: The set of yarns held under tension on the loom. Each warp thread is called an end. WEFT: The yarn that passes back and forth, over and under the warp ends. SHED: The space that the weft passes through, created by the raised and lowered warp ends. SETT: How closely the warp ends are spaced, expressed in ends per inch (epi). On a rigid-heddle loom, this is determined by the spacing of the slots and holes in the heddle. On a pin loom or frame loom, it is determined by how closely the pins or notches are placed. On inkle looms and in tablet weaving, the yarns sett themselves without loom intervention. SELVEDGE: The outer edge of the weaving where the weft turns to pass back through the warp ends. PICK:…
the little things
The more you weave, the more you’ll come to appreciate the little things that make finishing a project that much easier. For almost every task, clever weavers have discovered tricks to refine and streamline project finishing or to change that frustrating task into one that is a little more pleasant. While none of the following products are necessary to complete a project, they just might be the answer to a problem you are trying to solve. Liquid Seam Sealant Fray Check liquid seam sealant from Dritz prevents your woven fabric from raveling before you have the chance to stabilize the cut ends. Apply a line of the sealant while the fabric is still on the loom or immediately upon cutting it off the loom. The sealant is washable and dry-cleanable. Fusible Thread Use Gütermann…
self-care for the weaver
Your most important tool as a weaver is your own body. Just as it’s important to take care of your looms, it’s even more important to take care of yourself—inside and out. This means paying attention to your needs, whether it’s finding a more ergonomic way to weave or taking the time to enjoy a hot cup of tea when things on the loom aren’t going quite the way you planned. To help in that endeavor, here are a few of our favorite products for taking care of you. Lotion Baahs Working with fiber can dry out your hands, so keep your skin silky smooth with the adorable Lotion Baahs from Middle Brook Fiberworks. Made from U.S.–harvested beeswax, coconut butter, mango butter, organic jojoba oil, sweet-almond, tea-seed oil, Spanish-lavender oil, and honey,…
weaving with art yarns
Ever wonder what to do with art yarns? Why not weave with them? Art yarns provide great texture and can be used alone or in combination with traditional yarns. The art yarns I chose to sample with are blends of protein, synthetic, and plant-based fibers. I used combinations of commercially available yarns and handspun—and in some cases, hand-dyed yarns. I wove each sample in plain weave to best showcase the gorgeous yarns’ texture. For warp, I threaded a 10-dent rigid heddle with handspun fingering-weight dark-gray yarn. After weaving, I steamed the samples with a handheld steamer to finish them. I had less than 3 percent shrinkage in all cases. THE YARN: King Cole Opium Palette YARDAGE: 273 yd (250 m)/100 g FIBER CONTENT: 54% cotton/42% premium acrylic/4% nylon This soft yarn is a thick-and-thin…
terms to know
SINGLES: Singles yarns are so named because they consist of a single strand. Singles yarn can be highly or loosely twisted. The more loosely twisted the singles, the weaker the yarn. THICK-AND-THIN: Thick-and-thin yarns, also known as “slubby” yarns, are spun unevenly. The uneven spinning creates areas in which the fibers are less tightly spun and are therefore thicker than the rest of the yarn. SPIRAL PLY: Spiral-ply yarns are created using a technique that allows a thick ply to wrap around a much thinner ply that is held straight during the plying process. This creates the spiral effect of the thick around the thin. Spiral-ply yarns can vary from consistently textured yarns to thick-and-thin. CORE SPUN: Core-spun yarns feature a thin, strong central thread, or core, which is then completely encased by…
