7.03.2013

Wednesday...

i am far more obsessed with process than with product, so i got a big kick out of making a tapestry-style frame loom from some very inexpensive (mostly recycled) materials i had laying around.

first, it required a frame of some sort.  i recycled an art canvas stretcher-framey thing (whatever the technical term is for the wooden rectangle the cloth is tacked to) that formerly held an acrylic painting.  it was one of four equally underwhelming canvases left leaning up alongside the trash by one of my aspiring-artist neighbors. this actually makes my attempts at painting seem so much less frightening.



after stripping off the canvas, yanking out any errant staples, and giving the frame a slight sanding to prevent splinters or any rough bits that might potentially snag on my precious fibers, i used the tape measure to place marks at 1/4" intervals along opposite ends of the frame, offsetting the markings on one end, so they are staggered and not directly across from each other.  for example, i measured on the 1/4" on one end, and on the 1/8" on the opposite end (ignore the inner line of markings, as i decided to work closer to the edge of the frame in order to maximize the weaving area)...



the boy insisted on doing the hammering, as i tend toward self-destructive clumsiness... which was confirmed shortly after taking these photos when i pinched a large chunk of my finger in a pair of pliers while trying to snap a thin wooden dowel in half...



one end done...



i have to suppress my OCD when looking at the row of nails from this angle...



starting to warp the finished frame (i.e., lay down the base threads) with some commercial spun yarn (i believe it's an odd ball of Yarn Treehouse washable 100% wool leftover from gloves or some such thing)...



just wound the yarn back and forth between the opposing nails, wrapping it once around each nail to try to maintain some relatively even tension...



be sure to secure the starting end of the warp in one corner, or it will be like trying to nail jello to a wall.  i used small wooden dowels to take up some of the slack in the warped frame...




and a paint stirrer as a convenient shed stick (nothing gets wasted around here).  closed shed...



opened shed!!!




even MacGyvered a primitive heddle of sorts from a second paint stirrer and lots of loops of pink yarn.  i used a couple jars of Dharma acid dyes to hold up the heddle when i needed to alternate the shed... 




tossed in a few rows of my hand-dyed, handspun yarn... 



and was instantly bored. weaving is definitely not my thing, but i did enjoy making the equipment.



there are any number of websites and blogs providing detailed instruction on making and using a beginner-friendly loom of this type (like here, here, here, here, and here), should anyone be interested in doing such a silly thing.  even a small one of this size can produce something interesting to display.  if you want a true adventure on the wild side, try building something fancier, like the big-kids play with... out of PVC!!! 

i actually cut the yarn and re-warped it in a combination of grey, pink, and black, and i hope to eventually talk myself into (maybe) producing something interesting to hang on a wall... frame and all!  for now, i will daydream of my next loom-building adventure.  it will be like something out of an episode of the Flintstones!  happiness!!!












4 comments:

  1. I think you should yarn me a sweater that has a squirrel on it. Even better, make it christmas themed. I'll pay you. In aussie dollars which are worth more that candida dollars.

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  2. i'd be hurt by that last statement... if i was a real Canadian.

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  3. im serious about the sweater. and ill pay in canadian dollars if i have to.

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  4. trust me, your sweater is already on the mental "to do" list... just need to clear a few works-in-progress out of the way first. problem is, it's the middle of summer here, and playing with wooly things only makes it feel hotter.

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