One of the things you often see at events is a small portable weaving loom. Done up with bright fiber being woven into bands, some with very complex patterns. The end result is useful for just about anything. I personally have what was a garter, now headband, Friends have belts, bag straps, and trim all churned out from these looms.

There are two styles, Tablet and Inkel. Tablet woven bands are achieved by turning cards to produce a pattern. Inkle involves moving the heddles up and down to produce the pattern.

So when I started dyeing wool yarn I immediately decided I had to give weaving a go. I don’t knit or crochet or really much of anything in the yarn craft, and the yarn was starting to stack up. I decided that Tablet weaving was the way I wanted to go after seeing the beautiful patterns it could produce.

My loom is a super cute little Lute loom from Wind Haven Fiber. If you are looking for a good loom to start with I would highly recommend her looms, they are well made and look amazing. They also hold up well, my little loom got wet at a demo and a little bit of homemade beeswax wood polish got it back to looking like new.

For how to weave it is still something I am working on. Unlike many people who put a TV show on and knock out a band, I still need to give it my full attention. The turning of cards and remembering what turn and direction I am on has been overwhelming and I end up unweaving more often than not.

As far as setting up to weave, that I am getting better at. I was taught the first time to do a continuous warping method. But I went too long in between setting up and finishing a piece that I can’t remember how to do so. However, at the last A &S Night, we focused on Tablet weaving.

A very basic how-to

So In order to warp up my loom, I measure out pieces by wrapping the fiber around all the pegs. (I use the warping card my loom came with to make sure I get it in the right order).

This last time I set up for this pattern:

So I needed 28 of the tan and 12 of the red.

As far as “s” and “z” Weave Zine gives probably the best explanation of how to set them up. It also offers the idea of a block to make sure you get them set right each time.

After all the cards are threaded and tied on the loom you can start weaving. This pattern calls for turning the cards forwards 12 times. Or in my brain 3 turns of the card ending back up on “A”. At that point, you either go backward 12 times OR keep going forwards until the twist is too much and you have to go backward.