Saturday, March 29, 2008

New obsession

Never underestimate the insanity determination of a completely somewhat obsessive crafter.

I've been becoming more and more interested in weaving, seeing so many beautiful projects at Craftster and elsewhere. I spent some time looking into looms. Turns out they're a bit more (a lot more) than I could justify spending on another new craft. So, I made my own. I studied the Knitter's Loom at Ashford (there is a slideshow that shows really detailed pics and instructions on warping!) and made a stop at Rona to buy supplies.

10' of 1" PVC pipe, 8 elbows, 2 t-joints for $22.59 (incl. tax). A lot of figuring out as I went and voila:

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I used crochet cotton for the warp and some handspun/handdyed Ingeo (made from stuffing purchased at Walmart)(haha) for the weft. The "rigid" (not really rigid enough) heddle I made from a piece of plastic needlework canvas. I need to come up with a better solution or just buy a heddle somewhere as there are spots where it catches and it's not really rigid enough. It works, but it's a struggle.

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Considering that I've never seen a loom in real life, I think it turned out pretty good. Now to experiment... Whee!!

12 comments:

  1. NICE!! i have recently become obsessed with weaving... i have never done it. but i want to soooooo badly ... this homemade one seems like something i can/should do.... any advice?

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  2. Your PVC loom is Teh Awesome. :) Your weaving looks beautiful, and even if there are parts that could be improved on the loom, it still looks like you're in the middle of a fantastic project (both the weaving you have on the loom and the loom itself). Travis and I are thinking about trying to make a spinning wheel out of bicycle parts this spring and summer, so I expect there's going to be a lot of trying things out, finding out stuff isn't working, and figuring out possible solutions. It should be fun. :)

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  3. That is so cool. Nice job figuring it out. I think getting an actual heddle would be worth it.

    Travis

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  4. I love it! Brilliant solution. You should see my tinker toy ballwinder and spindle:)

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  5. Good job! Can't wait to see all your weaving.

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  6. I'm really impressed. I hope you post or sell the instructions later.

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  7. that sound you just heard, coming from due South? was my jaw hitting the floor. that loom rig is SO impressive!

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  8. that is fantastic. I have been considering weaving but the idea of a loom sitting around and my partner moaning about it was putting me off. Your one looks fab and would seem that it would be easy to take apart when not in use.
    You really should post/sell instructions.

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  9. Wow, that's just awesome! You've just inspired me to give weaving a try. :D

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  10. Wow you are very talented woman.
    I was impressed when I saw your loom on craftsters but after seeing what you have made here. All I can say is WOW!

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  11. You are probably getting a lot of hits today, I found you thru Craft Magazine Newsletter, which had a link to your craftster post. I am very bummed that I haven't been following your blog all along - it seems you have many of the same interests that I do (although I have fallen off the blogging as well). Did you ever share your design for this loom?

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  12. http://abigailscraftshowto.com/2010/03/make-a-diy-rigid-heddle-loom/

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Hi! I'm so glad you stopped by. I'd love to hear from you.