Wall Hangings have really been trending lately in home decor.
Every time I would see a new one on Pinterest I can’t help but save it and wish I had one of my own wall hanging tapestries.
There are so many designs out there and different patterns for weaving.
I’ve spent goodness knows how many hours studying all the different kinds of weaving patterns.
I decided I wanted to give weaving a try and thought it would be the perfect craft for when I’m watching tv.
There are so many projects and crafts I have going at one time. But it seems like all of them have me moving around constantly or takes up a lot of space or makes a lot of noise.
Weaving seems like the perfect solution. You can still craft and create things, but it won’t require all of your attention so you can follow along with what you’re watching too.
The problem is when I started looking online to price out weaving looms they turned out to be surprisingly expensive.
Even the beginner weaving looms were still upwards of $60!
That’s a lot of money to spend on a new hobby when you’re not even sure you’ll love it or not.
On top of that, when you look at the looms they look so simple. At least the basic kind of loom a beginner would need. So why in the world are they so expensive?!
After pricing out weaving looms for a bit I decided the best option would be to just make one myself.
The one I made was made from a wood picture frame I got from the dollar store but you could easily make one with some scrap pieces of wood.
If you search on Pinterest you can find other DIY weaving looms made from picture frames too. However, the ones I was finding all used sewing pins or nails for the thread to be weft onto.
I found a couple problems with this method. For one thing all of the “real” looms I saw for sale used notches and second the nails were very difficult to get in at all let alone evenly. On top of that, I personally feel like it isn’t very reliable.
After a few projects, I can see the tension of the weft causing the nail holes to loosen and no longer stay in place.
This method is going to explain how to make a weaving loom with notches just like a professional one.
It works just as good as the $60 weaving loom but you’ll only have to spend a few dollars on the frame.
In fact, you may not have to spend any money at all if you already have a spare frame laying around.
I had a few frames but I did end up going to the ARC Thrift Store and buying one for $5 because I wanted a bigger loom.
It’s important to consider the sizes of projects you’ll be doing before you start. You can always weave your loom for a smaller project but you can only weave something as large as your loom is.
Ideally, you don’t want to have to make a new loom for every size project.
Okay so let’s get down to it.
There are just a couple things you’ll need to make your weaving loom
Materials
- Picture frame
- Hand saw
- Tape measure or ruler
- Sandpaper
NOTE: It’s important to note that you should use a hang saw rather than some sort of electric saw. I tried using my circular saw in a first attempt and it was too powerful for the wood. Resulting in breaking the surrounding notches.
The process of creating the notches for your weaving loom is pretty straight forward.
You’ll need to measure the distance from the corner of the inside of the frame to the first notch and mark it.
Do this for the other side to the last notch. Repeat this for the bottom of your loom.
Making sure that the distance between the beginning and ending notches is the same distance as the bottom beginning and ending notches. This ensures that when you weave your loom the thread lines up.
Starting from your first marked notch you are going to make a mark every 1cm until you reach the last notch. Do this for the bottom as well.
Next, you are simply going to start sawing your notches. You only need to saw about halfway through your frame.
I didn’t do this but if you want to be exact you can measure the thickness of your frame and mark it off halfway with tape so you know where to stop your notch.
Do this again for both the top and the bottom.
Last, it’s time to sand your loom.
Take sandpaper and lightly sand in between your notches to make them more smooth.
Don’t sand them completely smooth. You still want your thread to grip in between the notches so they don’t slip off in the middle of a project.
But you also don’t want them to be too rough and break your thread.
I recommend testing your notches with the actual thread that you’ll be using to warp your loom.
I use Lily Sugar ‘N Creme in Off White or black like you see in the photos.
It’s the brand that I found a lot of the more experienced people recommend and use on their weaving looms.
You can find more of my fun and easy DIY projects HERE.
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