#Backstrap weaving

[speedwagons-glorious-mane]

Can someone please tell me if it's possible to get started tablet weaving with nothing but a pack of playing cards, yarn and a pair of carabiner hooks? I am broke yet I have been bitten by the tablet weaving bug

[intolaurel]

I've woven something! Yesterday I spent almost 6 hours weaving on my backstrap rigid heddle loom, and started + finished this band. It's meant to go around a hat (will share pictures later) as a replacement of a panter-print plastic band that was on it before.

[gregorvorbarra]

hey yall wanna see my favorite textile-related souvenir from Peru?

of course you do!

this is a ruki! it’s a tool made out of alpaca bone (I was told it’s a foot bone) and used for backstrap weaving. the weavers in Patacancha use it to beat down the weft and to clear the shed when changing sheds.

the shawl in the background was handwoven by Maria, my weaving teacher in Patacancha <3

[calendae-creations]

I finished my latest batch of weaving last night, and have it up in my shop now! Two hand woven bookmarks, and one keychain, all with light blue and dark blue stripes, and a supplementary weft pattern in silvery thread with zigzags and diamond shapes. $10 each, plus shipping.

[ourcaptainisabelle]

Adventures in weaving

After nine months of procrastinating, and 6-7 hours of untangling my 19 ft 9 in long warp, I have finally started weaving. Luckilly, after only a few rows, I can already tell my simple stripes are going to be gorgeous! My plan for the next few days is to just weave, and watch videos about weaving, so hopefully I can update with pictures!

[drelmurn]

Yesssss . . . Yesssss! . . . YESSSSS!

[justafrogge]

Grateful to whatever higher power gives out motivation for letting me start practicing on a backstrap loom basically as soon as I got it

Setting up the warp came with multiple mistakes I will have to keep in mind in the future but it seems like none of them were critical enough to make weaving completely impossible

Not aiming for prettiness with this, just getting used to the multiple levels of strain this will inevitably put on my body

All the weaving drafts Ive found floating around still confuse and scare me so for now we are doing the simplest things possible (with maybe just a few embellishments, as a treat)

[louiseannbenjamin72]

I've dipped into savings for loom things

Update on the backstrap loom, I’ve been sanding and such with the dowels. These are farm fresh so to speak, and needed a good going over to bring them into yarn ready order. I’ve also been oiling, sanding and cutting a few slats in order to make the beating stick and shuttle. I’m enjoying the process. Instead of getting a loom that was made with crap materials, I’m getting one made out of  odds…

[cadere-art]

A gift for my husband's mother, woven on a backstrap loom with worsted weight cotton yarn.

[ninalanfer]

A while back @optimistinchief wanted to see how my string heddle setup looks like. And now finally I'm playing around with some more swatches. Which means string heddles.

It's really very simplistic. And I'll try to demonstrate to the best of my ability.

One stick per shaft. Here I'm testing some straight draw twill. 4 shafts.

Here I've picked up shaft 4 (because where I live we count the shafts as beginning in the back. 1, 2, 3, 4. So the shaft closest to you will be shaft 4. I realise some of the world count them the opposite way. So felt I needed to clarify.)

Here I've pulled up shed 2. So shaft 2 and 3.

So to weave a straight draw. I pull up shed 1 (shaft 1 and 2), then shed 2 (shaft 2 and 3), then shed 3 (shaft 3 and 4), then shed 4 (shaft 1 and 4). And finally I start from the beginning again, circling through them over and over.

I learned how to pick up the string heddles from Kerstin Neumüller's book Simple Weave. But I'm sure there are other sources for it out there. It's a really ancient technique, so there ought to be.

It's not difficult. It just takes a while. But considering the alternative is to manually pick up every shed with like a pick-up stick, it's still faster than having to do that.

Hope that's helpful.

[tyrhinosaurus]

Making some progress finally on this wip that's been on the pile for a while.

It's my homespun wool, Dorset horn potentially? And then dyed with some commercial green, and black tea for the brown.

Took a little time to get back into the swing, but its going really well tbh, not making many mistakes touch wood.

[coffeeworldsasaki]

AAAAAHHHH

[generic-internet-name]

there is nothing like learning a bit about a mildly obscure craft, trying to find some more information, and discovering an html blog full of tutorials that hasn't been updated in years. best possible outcome

[disgruntled-lifeform]

Do you know what kind of loom you want to learn to use? I have a rigid heddle loom, so I’d be happy to talk shop about that if it’s a loom you’re interested in.

I have a zero knowledge base atm when it comes to weaving, I *think* the ones I've seen at my local guild is a rigid heddle loom though.

I think learning to work a backstrap loom would be neat skill to add to my repetoire.

If you had any 100% beginner friendly educational material on the rigid heddle loom for me to orient myself with, that would be awesome!

If I get the chance to use the loom before I get a teacher then I want to not break the machine as I teach myself >.<

[calendae-creations]

Holy shit y'all, it's turning out so pretty! Gonna switch to a black primary weft for the next one, but keep the silver for the pattern weft. I think I'll be able to get three bookmarks out of this warp. 2 and a keychain at the very least.

Like my art? Want to see more, buy my textiles or jewelry, or commission something? Check out my ko-fi page and shop, or message me here on tumblr!

[angelicuscadere]

Hello! I have seen an image of (I think) you responding to a tweet about having a loom. If it is you, may i ask what type of loom you are using? I don't have much money or space but have been thinking about getting into weaving, and I would like to do more research on the type you have. Thank you :)

The loom I have is a backstrap loom! I bought mine from HarvestLooms on Etsy, but you can also easily make your own with a wooden broomstick an a saw - the sword or batten will be the hardest part to self-source and is the reason I decided to buy mine instead of making it. The loom I have (this one) costs ~70$ CAD including shipping which I dare say is really quite affordable.

Backstrap looms are great for weaving warp faced fabric, especially bands and other narrower pieces - you can do large pieces on them as well, but it's more difficult. They're super super portable - i often roll up mine and carry it in my backpack. The only thing you need is a good anchor point : a tree, a fence, a railing, a column, or a *very* heavy piece of furniture (like a bed).

If you're interested in the backstrap loom I'd recommend you check out this blog: its got all the ressources I used to learn!