Weaving Pages

To get started in weaving you need:

Must Have:

Yarn/string

A frame to hold your work (loom)

A frame can be as simple as several sticks use to make a back strap loom (or even toe tension) even a piece of cardboard.

Shuttles – to wrap your “weft” yarn around (the yarn you carry back and forth across the loom.

Nice to have:

Heddle (ridged or made from strings and a stick).

This is a simple stick heddle loom  that can be made at home.

LOOMS

Actual Loom of some sort- this is a simple frame loom that you can build and work with a needle if you don’t have heddle sticks.

An Inkle Loom, also easy to make at home

Ridged Heddle loom, easy to use and can make larger fabrics, possible to make at home with commercial heddle.

Warp Weight Loom, very easy to make, this one was made in one weekend from the tree by a friend.

Harness Looms, table and floor versions, very hard to make at home but the best for full scale fabric production.

Also useful to have:

A Warping Board

Boat Shuttles

Bobbin Winder and bobbins

Tablets and other items for specialized techniques

Plus the usual scissors, extra string, and the other usual sewing notions that most needle crafts require.

Useful Books:

The Spinning, Weaving and Dying book – the classic book on the subject and includes several chapters on how to make simple looms and card weaving (as well as more advanced weaving).

The Classic book on Inkle Weaving this book INCLUDES BUILDING PLANS for these looms, which most recent books do not.  Every home should have a copy of this book, in the 19th century similar looms were used to weave very strong bands used for everything from horse tack to hanging kitchen pots.

Good basic book for rigid heddle weaving, I learned from this book and I’m terrible at learning from books.

Good introduction to floor loom and table loom weaving – importantly how to read a weaving draft.

Now out of print but worth looking for, this is a MUST have book for weavers, I could never have learned to use my ridged heddle or floor looms by myself without it.

Another must have book for serious home weavers, if you have a four harness table loom or floor loom, this book will give you YEARS of weaving patterns, for just about any type of cloth you will ever need to make.

Good comprehensive book on Tablet/Card Weaving, and easy form of weaving that you can do without a loom with a belt or with two C Clamps.

Good web sources

Interweave Publishers - Books, free information, magazines and great links; Interweave press is a great place to start looking.

Weavezene -free on-line weaving magazine and podcast

Schachtspindle free weaving lessons

Handweaving.net – not for beginners but this is probably the largest digital archive of free weaving pattern on Planet Earth.  Many old books as well as patterns donated by their creators, there are many simple patterns listed here, but you have to know what you’re looking for.