I'm Jen, and i'm a new weaver. i'm just learning on a backstrap loom made for me by RuTemple. it is a basic backstrap concept built around a Schact rigid heddle she picked up from Carolina Homespun. i think that the idea of using the manufactured heddle this way is brilliant!

Comments

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 23:15

kathkol (not verified)

 Hi Jen!  Thanks for starting this group.  I am a pretty new weaver too.  

I made a frame loom out of artist's stretcher frames for weaving small tapestry pieces.  I also made the raddle for my Baby Wolf out of a strip of molding and some fasteners that look like big staples.  Oh, I also made a 2-yard skein winder because I like to dye my own yarns with natural  dyes.  I have a sewing machine motor to motorize it, but it is working so well the way it is, I don't think I will bother right now.

Wed, 07/01/2009 - 13:27

claudia (not verified)

I have been using a borrowed skein winder and would love to build my own. Will you share how you made it with the group (and me, too : ) Claudia
Fri, 07/03/2009 - 17:05

bolivian warmi

Hi everyone,

This is a great idea for a group. I made my own backstrap loom-you know-broom handles, dowels, pencils, wooden rulers, that kind of thing but the backstrap was bought from weavers here in South America. I have one that was made from a length of braided fiber. the braid was then coiled into an oval shape and sewn together. That's my favorite. I have a leather one and one made out of cowhide with all the hair still on. The shape is wonderful but the hairs can tickle!

Anyway, my question is.....does anyone have ideas for DIYing a good strong comfortable backstrap? This is probably the most difficult thing to improvise for a first-timer and is all important for the weaver who is, after all part of the very loom.

Laverne 

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 20:13

esmecat (not verified)

my backstrap loom was put together for me by a friend... and it just has a braided length of cotton yarns for a backstrap. finding a good, stable, strong backstrap is one of the things i think will help improve my weaving immensely...

another is learning how to tie onto the dowels as i roll up the completed weaving so that it doesn't try to unroll on me as i lean back...

and i also need to learn how to tie onto a doorknob so that it does want to lean one way or the other. tieing on stabely is giving me fits.

Jen

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 23:20

bolivian warmi

Hi Jen,

We have a member in the backstrap weaving group who is going to work on making a belt from old leather belts and I am going to experiment with braiding a long fabric strip, coiling it into an oval shape and sewing that together.  Let's see what the results are.

As for rolling up your work-I can't see how you have done it in your photo but I answered this question for another weaver over on Ravelry. You will need an extra dowel rod. I have a full explanation with photos on my Flikr page....

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/sets/72157620403247356/

I lash my far end loom bar directly on to something horiontal. Then that loom bar isn't going ANYWHERE!! My loom bar is tied to the bottom of my bed. My brother has kindly installed two hooks at the bottom of a heavy dresser so that I can just slip the loom bar in there. When I go to visit him in Australia he knows that I am going to want to weave!! Thanfully I have a very understanding sister-in-law.

 It IS kind of hard finding just the right place. When you have rope going from either end of the loom bar to one tie-up point the warp does tend to flip around-although my Guatemalan teachers do just that and have no problems!!!

www.flickr.com/photos/39560980@N05/3641716108/in/set-72157620403301374/


A link to a photo of my set up  is above. There is also a pic of my brother's ''dresser system'' on the backstrap weaving page-''getting started''thread. '

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

Laverne

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 22:43

Caroline (not verified)

Hi, I'm Caroline in South Australia and I've been making my own spinning and weaving equipment for longer than I care to remember! My first loom was a backstrap, and I found S-hooks invaluable.  As for holding the fabric and/or the warp, why not take a leaf out of the loom manufacturer's book and use a square piece of wood? Its much easier to clamp a couple of flat pieces of wood together than round ones.

At the moment I'm into small looms. I use artists stretcher frames as they are handy and very cheap, and I have also made a couple of small tapestry looms using MDF cut-outs from my local craft shop ( its just had a sale, hehe!).

 I have electric spinning wheels in various stages of completion, and I make and sell drop spindles.

My inspiration was the Rachel Brown Weaving Spinning and Dyeing Book which is probably the best introduction you could get to weaving and spinning on a budget.

You can find some of my experiments on my website here:

www.spinningdownunder.com/

Including the  link to Franco's cardboard charkha, which is amazing as it really works - he tends to keep his light hiding under a bushel, that one!

Well, I'm off for a morning coffee, I'm never civilised until I've had a few!

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 23:34

francorios (not verified)

Franco Rios checks in

I see Caroline is saying nice things about me behind my back again! (smile)

I did design a cardboard spinning wheel/charkha and I have made the design free for anyone to use if they want to make their own.

I started a Cardboard Spinning wheel topic under the DIY Forum here on Weavolution

http://www.weavolution.com/node/3487

Have a good day!

Franco Rios, Sacramento, Calif.

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 01:04

esmecat (not verified)

thank you for posting those picture links! 

i do have a a 2nd dowel for rolling up on.... but as i looked at your photos, i had a DUH moment. you roll towards the underside and have the strap coming up around the dowel. i was rolling up towards the top and had my strap attached on top... and it would always try to unroll that last flip of the roll. thanks :) now i think it should stay put for me.

i will have to see if i can find a better place to fasten to. at the moment, i'm using a doorknob. the biggest problem with that is that the loop i make to hook over the knob never ends up centered in my strap... so it doesn't get even tension across the bar. flipping i could deal with... but bad tension just isn't good. i'm considering trying to make another loop to slip the strap through... that way the loop could self center on the strap.

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 01:07

esmecat (not verified)

OH! MY! your site is wonderful! i will have to spend some serious time reading through it. thank you for posting it.

and thank you so much for the book recomendation! it looks really good. i'm going to have to order a copy right away!

Mon, 07/06/2009 - 21:48

uwimoore (not verified)

Hi!! I'm a new weaver who wants to make a mini wooden loom, I was inspired by one I saw last week. It was really tiny, maybe 2" X 4".  

It seemed simple enough since it uses 2 halves of a hair comb for heddles and those heddles sit in groves cut horizontally across the loom.  Would anyone have any instructions for the loom I'm describing or something like it

Mon, 07/06/2009 - 22:06

bolivian warmi

Hi Jen,

just posted a photo of a very homemade backstrap that I put together on the weekend on the Backstrap Weaving Group forum. If you intend spending a lot of time at this I think it is worth making something like this for your comfort..Not the most attractive thing but it works!

Laverne

Tue, 07/07/2009 - 01:18

Caroline (not verified)

Hi, I've just made a tiny tapestry loom from a very small artists canvas stretcher: I used dressmaking pins to make the pegs, and promptly regretted trying to put in a staggered second row to get a smaller epi. You could experiment with a couple of dolls combs, as long as they have straigh teeth, otherwise an adults or childs comb is going to be too big to do the job. One way of fixing them to make a rigid heddle would be to glue the tips of the teeth of one comb interlocking between the teeth of the other comb, so you have 2 staggered sets of slots - this should, in theory at any rate, be enough to move the warp up and down to create 2 sheds. I haven't played with my loom yet so I don't know how anything this size copes with tension and the thread manipulations required to place the weft, so I'm interested to see how you go. Please post pictures!

Tue, 07/07/2009 - 04:57

uwimoore (not verified)

Thanks for the suggestions I'll post it as soon as I can.

 

Tue, 07/07/2009 - 19:30

francorios (not verified)

Beside small doll combs, take a look at pet grooming combs.

When I went to the dog groomers supply store I could take my choice of a dozen different fine toothed combs.

I'm thinking a person might thread the comb then put a thin stick (craft stick/popsicle stick) across the teeth to hold the thread in place? That's something I've never tried before.

Have a good day!

Franco Rios

Wed, 07/08/2009 - 03:18

Caroline (not verified)

I've seen pictures of a comb upside down used as a warp spacer on a cardboard box loom - I thought that was pretty nifty! You can also use the longer thinner combs to hold the warp on the top edge of a flat cardboard loom. The handle gives you something to hold the loom with too, so you don't have to mess up what you have woven.

Sat, 07/11/2009 - 12:10

marywareodc (not verified)

Hi

I found myself doing DIY by default - when I wanted things for spinning & weaving.  First I made a peg loom - and made a thick stripy rug with some of my 1st spinning attempts.  A friend has now borrowed it so the craft is contagious.  A few months back I built my own 4 shaft table loom when a friend gave me the 4 shafts and levers from her Ashford table loom - she had just upgraded to an 8 shaft.  So I made a frame around them from bits of pine bedstead, rollers from thick dowelling, a 5 dent reed from ice lolly sticks, and bought the ratchet & pawl sets for Ashford looms.  And basically made it up as I went along from pictures.  The heddles are string (crochet cotton) - some are a bit too loose but more or less work.  And so far it has made a silk / wool scarf, a wrap, and a warp faced scarf all from hand spun yarn.  I'm now persualding it to let me do a 4 shaft krokbragd bag, if I can keep the warp tight enough.  So far so good.

I'm also just having a 2nd go at a pair of small wool combs - torture instruments and totally lethal, and I'm hoping to replace the warping frame I made with something stronger.  We're lucky to have quite a few power tools here - but a couple of 6 week woodwork courses at school 30 years ago have had unexpected uses!  Nothing quite matches or is perfectly straight - so I'm into 'good-enough' DIY!

Some pictures on my flickr page if I can link it here www.flickr.com/photos/maryware/

Glad to see this group here - I've been haunting the Ravelry DIY group for months.

Sat, 07/11/2009 - 12:44

claudia (not verified)

OOOOh, would love to see pictures of your loom and things you have woven on it.  Can you post here?  Just use the image icon on the top bar of the reply section and follow these instructions: http://www.weavolution.com/node/1328

Thanks for sharing all the wonderful things you have made, Mary.  All I can claim is that I have tricked out my loom in various ways to get the things I wanted, like lease stick holders for the back of the loom.   I bought a Tools of the Trade 8 harness loom last year and I have been fixing it up as needed. 

                                                      Here's the back of the TOTT loom.

Claudia

Sat, 07/11/2009 - 17:06

marywareodc (not verified)

OK here goes (but remember I'm a bit of a beginning weaver!)

hope this doesn't overload the forum!  I haven't got pics of the latest scarf yet.  The other woven things on my flickr page were done with an old 2-shaft box loom that found its way to me last year - and got me wanting more shafts!  I envy you for 8 - it looks a lovely loom - but I have a lot of exploring to do with my 4 yet.

Sat, 07/11/2009 - 17:13

marywareodc (not verified)

If you blocked every other 'dent' between the comb teeth (with epoxy resin glue or wood filler or something?) you'd have a home-made rigid heddle reed.

Sat, 07/11/2009 - 18:48

phnorque (not verified)

First admired looms for their fine wook work.  Only later did I come to appreciate them for what they could do.  Finally got my chance when I was able to create a weaving class for institutionalized adults.  Thanks to the kindness of Judy and Bob at Gilmore Looms, I set the shop up with four 40 inch and two 44 inch eight harness floor looms, as well as six of their superb inkle looms.  The patients took to the weaving like ducks to water.  Native American patients asked if they might have their own  style looms.  I desligned two six foot tall by four foot wide verticle southwest style looms and had them build in the institution's mill and cabinet shop.  Patients producted everything from inkle woven straps for the Brazilian style drum band and guitar straps for the music depart ment, to rugs, wraps, runners and wall hangings.  Times changed. I moved on.

My bride gave me a four harness, 40 inch Gilmore for my very own for a recent wedding anniversary.  Now, I'm looking forward to starting on my first rug on my own loom.

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 08:06

Toady (not verified)

Hi, my name is Emma and I live on the lovely east coast of Australia. I'm a spinner and crocheter and want to delve into the world of weaving. Although I have yet to make anything I have been looking at the 'patterns' for simple frame looms and just have a few questions... Is it at all possible to use picture frames for frame looms? I have a bunch of un-used 4 inch by 6 inch frames that I thought I would be able to make small bookmarks and so forth on, and instead of throwing them out why not put them to use.

I'm also studying and as usual college rooms aren't known for their space and with a spinning wheel, drum carder and TV taking prime positions I need something small and portible. I'm also going to try out Backstrap Weaving, although at the moment it's sitting in the 'too hard' basket as my brain doesn't want to process all the information I've got so far.

Look forward to talking to you all and sharing pictures of my DIY weaving.

Em

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 15:22

esmecat (not verified)

Hi Emma,

yes, you can make a frame loom from a recycled picture frame! although, one bit of advice someone mentioned was that picture frames aren't always built as sturdily as could be hoped... artist's canvas strecher bars or a recycled streched canvas with the canvas pulled off are sturdier options. but free can trump sturdy.

don't think backstrap weaving it too hard! it really isn't. i just finished my first length of fabric on my backstrap and loved it.

Jen

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 23:31

Michael White

It looks like we have a group of very talented people here. I built my first loom in 1984, it was a copy of a Harrisville 22" 4H.

Over the years I have restored and repaired looms for the State of Georgia, at their historic sites. Today a made a raddle and lease sticks for a lady in Ca. I will also be making her AVL bars for her dobby loom. Like many of you I have done countless modifications to Cheryl's looms (which you can see at www.handweaver.us) to make weaving easier for her, I do weave myself when I can find the time and a free loom. Right now Cheryl and her student have 3 of the 4 working looms in use. If anyone has questions on loom repair or making loom equipment you can ask me here or email at [email protected]

Michael

Penfield, GA

Thu, 09/03/2009 - 22:00

Cathos (not verified)

All of the previous posts are a little hard to follow. People seem to be creating things I wouldn't even attempt!

So far, I've cut up an old wooden laundry rack to get a tapestry frame loom (and since discovered that tapestry is not for me, at least not yet) and used the rest of it as a frame for tablet weaving on. I've also built a rather wonky inkle loom for tablet weaving as well as making my own tablets. I've recently finished a wood and nail raddle and am hoping for a dry weather day so I can go outside and drill holes in what will be a warping board. I've also, also made an impromptu reed hook from a stiff piece of plastic.

Cathos

Thu, 09/03/2009 - 23:45

Caroline (not verified)

hi Cathos, many of us make our own tools either because its far too expensive to buy the item in question, or we live in a part of the world where such items are not available. Also, some items are badly designed, and others need repairing and the manufacturer may be out of business, or the part needs modifying, or is no longer in manufacture.

There are a lot of reasons for doing it ourselves, and it might not always work, but we learn from each project, and it really feels good when something I have designed and made does its job properly!

Sat, 09/19/2009 - 14:00

sequel (not verified)

Hello to all, and thanks for having me in the DIY group.  I've cobbled together this and that for a long time. 

I mostly use a drill press for making raddles, drill the holes to tap the nails into so they'll stay straight.

I make lease sticks from screen door spline or dowels, or whatever bits of wood my husband and son leave around too long.  I also love to visit the nearby custom lumber yard for scraps, even digging through my cabinet maker neighbor's trash cans when no one is looking.  It's more fun to build with free wood.

Right now I'm looking for Mitchell's abrasive cord, to see if I can thread up a rusty reed and clean it that way.

 

Sat, 09/19/2009 - 14:23

Caroline (not verified)

hi sequel, I'll be interested to hear how you go with the reed, I have one to do, and was proposing to use very fine paper, and be gentle so as not to create any burrs. Emery boards that you use for filing your fingers are also handy for jobs like that as you can get them into all sorts of difficult places, and I have found that foot files, for getting rid of dried skin, make brilliant rasps on small wood projects. They are much smaller and lighter than a full sized rasp.

I love the look on the faces of the male assistants at my local hardware store when I go in looking for something, and they ask me what I intend to do with it;  they know me as the mad loom lady.

Tue, 01/05/2010 - 23:34

SnarlingBadger (not verified)

Hi, I'm Kristin, aka Bevin an Broc Drannach in the SCA (currently living in the barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia).

I made a PVC pipe loom following the instructions in Sarah Swett's book, "Kids Weaving."

My first project was a scarf woven with commercially spun wool in 2 colors & handspun by me wolf/dog hybrid yarn. You can see photos of my loom & project here.

Teaser: 

Wed, 01/06/2010 - 00:33

Caroline (not verified)

hI Kristin, nothing like jumping in the deep end when you want to learn, is there? :-)!  Your use of the pattern is very imaginative! The loom is very interesting too: how did it stand up to the tension? Did it bow? Its the one worry I have about using pvc pipe, but the grade of pipe we get here in Australia is not as good as the grade you can buy in the States, I think.

Have you come across the book "Learning to Weave" by Debbie Chandler? It sounds as if you have leap-frogged over several of the newbie learning stages most of us go through and you are more than ready to tackle the heavier stuff! This book will give you a good grounding in the basics of multi-shaft weaving so you can confidently stretch your talents - you will be needing a new loom by the time you have worked your way through that book too, so this is the right group to belong to. Most of us here build or improvise our own equipment.

Good luck with your experimenting, and please post your projects in the projects page - its a good way to keep a record to see how you progress, and we can all share in your journey of discovery too!

 

Wed, 07/07/2010 - 00:48

Helvetican (not verified)

Here is a photo of two backstraps which I made.  The one on the right is made by sewing a long inkle together, and works fine, but the one I love because it is so comfortable and works so well is the one on the left.  I wove it on the backstrap with a warp of acrylic knitting yarns that had been wasting space in a basket.  I chose these because I wanted to be rid of them and also because they are very strong.  It's impossible to break a strand of the yarn.  The best part of the strap is the choice of weft.  I spiral cut an old t-shirt into 2" wide strips for the weft, which makes a very thick, cushy strap, somewhat thicker than most woven rag rugs.  I braided the ends of the warp for about 4" to get the total belt length that I wanted and then pulled some of the warp strands out to make a smaller braid 9" long.  I doubled the small braids back and added them back to the larger braid and continued braiding for about 4 more inches.  I then bound the cut end with a small piece of the t-shirt and sewed it securely.  The resulting backstrap is both strong and comfortable.  The fat braid on the sides prevents the belt from cutting into the hips.

It would be even easier and work just as well to use a shoelace or twisted cord instead of the smaller braid, but I had the extra length on the warp (knitting yarn stretches a lot) and decided to use it. 

Tue, 07/06/2010 - 02:12

jordanj (not verified)

 Very clever! I am mulling my options for finishing the ends of my woven backstrap. The ends are only about 4 inches long, so it's not enough to braid as I was originally intending to. 

Fri, 08/05/2011 - 14:57

ammann58 (not verified)

I do it myself because I have very limited resources and because I often have very specific desires. I have a 60" Leclerc Nilus that I purchased used a few months ago. I added a home-made sectional warp beam and recently I built a spool rack and tension box to complete the sectional warp system. Here are some picks.

Sat, 08/06/2011 - 17:43

ruthmacgregor (not verified)

Ammann58, that spool rack and tension box looks like it will do the job splendidly!  Where the threads pass through toward the tensioner dowels, are they passing through holes, or do you have a series of slots?  I can't quite see in the picture.

But good work!

Ruth

Wed, 08/17/2011 - 15:31

marlenedg (not verified)

 At this point I am living a long way from town with a very small amount of income so I too have to do a lot . But I really like it anyway . So far I have made my stick shuttles,thread rack from a wire card rack/display stand and paddle to space the warp out on. Next I want to do a tension box and everything I am reading says they really don't have to be all that fancy. Just need to hold an even tension on the warp and keep them spread out even. Ammann does yours have a moveable peg or are you just wrapping the warp over and under the set pegs? I see in some books that simpler ones work and I did the first sectional warp on my loom with two combs(plastic,from the dollar tree ) the paddle I made and slowly having my son turn the beam. The thread rack worked great!  But any help with this tension block would be great.

Thanks

Marlene

 

Sun, 08/28/2011 - 00:42

r1mein54 (not verified)

Hi, I am a northeast Florida native. I started last October by making a tabletop loom out of scrap boards, stiff wire for a reed and tied string heddles out of fishing line for 2 frames. I straddled the frames over an oversized dowel to alternate up/down. That loom got 4 modifications and improvements - made a total of 10 scarves for self and family members. Will try to post some photos later. Since my interest has been primarily with tartan patterns I went ahead and purchased a used 42inch Nilus 4S 6T jack loom. This was giving me better "feel" but I was still trying to use inexpensive RedHeart knitting yarn and using the 12 dpi even going to 6 epi was still not right as I had to keep more warp tension than I could make on the weft - so everything was unbalanced. So this past week, I was wanting to practice more 2/2 twill weaving and did not want to use the #12reed. I decided to make a reed out of some plastic coated wire shelving I had left. I cut it down to the factory space that was about 4.25 inches wide. I cut out *lots* of other shelf wires from the 6 inch spacing and tied them to the 4.25 inch wide panel. Next was to trim and even the edges with a sidegrinder. The equal spacing of the wires came to exactly 4 dpi. I loaded up the warp with 48 yarns and put 2 in each space. You can see this in Projects. I had been using homemade shuttle sticks and got my wife to Ebay me a regular shuttle and bobbins. I tried to double-pass two colors on weft with two sticks and quit. Back to the workshop and 2 hours later I come back with a double bobbin shuttle I made from 1.5 inch PVC pipe, trimmed down wood pieces and stiff piece of clothes line wire. I had also used up 4 old bed slats, some left over wood dowel, woodglue and some screws and made warping frame. I am trying to get to a point where I can find the right yarn to weave my ancestors Clan Johnston tartan for garments or sew a kilt from. Open to suggestions ,,,,and how to post photos here with these comment boxes.
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 09:15

ruthmacgregor (not verified)

Hi R1mein54!  It sounds like your workshop is a busy place, producing all those weaving tools!

To post a photo in a message, click on the button that looks like a picture of a tree (at the top of your message window, along with the other editing tools).  That will lead you through a series of little windows so you can browse your computer's hard disk and choose the image to upload.  It's maybe not the friendliest of processes, but it's not hard.

You can find a fuller explanation by clicking on the "Help" tab at the top of the screen.

I hope you do upload some pictures -- I'd love to see your double shuttle!

Ruth

Wed, 09/07/2011 - 11:48

r1mein54 (not verified)

Thanks Ruth, I have already contacted Admin about not being able to post photos in these comment boxes. I do NOT have a toolbar with any icons, much less a tree in these comment fields. I am only able to upload a photo in the "projects" section.
Wed, 09/21/2011 - 00:57

marlenedg (not verified)

Well I am starting the third rug on this warp and the tension is holding just great so I guess I can show pictures of my new tools/toys.

Here first is the thread rack that I did not make, I just reused.It holds 24 spools just fine and works well. It started life as a card rack but is now a great spool rack.

thread rack

 

Next I built a tension box. The combs are from dollar tree but I have ordered and now have 10 dent metal combs from Leclare to go on here. I am just not sure how I am going to

attach them. as you can see I have fancy clamps from the wood shop and it filled the beam just fine.

Lastly here is the way I fill my bobbins. Not all sticks work, but with the tape this one does.

Marlene in Oregon.

 

 

tension box

Wed, 06/13/2012 - 00:17

rigidheddlewea… (not verified)

I am LOVING all the ideas posted here. Found the group by searching for DIY sectional warp beams which is what I want to do next.

Meanwhile, here's my stuff.

Charkha:
http://rigidheddleweaving.com/articles/home-made-book-charkha

Yarn Swift and Warping Mill:
http://rigidheddleweaving.com/blog/diy-warping-mill-improvement

Cardboard Lumber Rigid Heddle Loom:
http://rigidheddleweaving.com/blog/cardboard-loom

Ball Winder:
http://rigidheddleweaving.com/blog/home-made-ball-winder

Wed, 06/13/2012 - 00:19

rigidheddlewea… (not verified)

Oops, sorry for some reason my stuff got posted twice and there's no way, I could find, to delete my own post so I erased what was here.