MATERIALS
» Commercial sewing pattern with
recommended notions
» Yarn
A
» Lightweight fusible interfacing
» Cheap wooden rulers ( 2)
» Paint stirrers, well sanded ( 2)
These are your shed sticks.
» Fine sandpaper
B
» Plywood board at least 1" larger than
the piece to be woven
» 3d finishing nails, 1¼"
» Hammer
» Pencil
C
» Straightedge
» Measuring tape/ruler
» Scissors
» Masking tape
Calculating How Much Yarn You Need
By doing a bit of math, you can easily
calculate how much of each yarn you need.
1. Build the loom.
1a. Determine the size of the loom you need by
measuring your pattern pieces and adding 20% to
the measurements to allow for shrinkage, etc. Add
3" to the length for loom waste. When you measure
the pattern piece, make sure to take into account
the grain line, as this can change the dimensions.
Photography by Joan Sheridan Hoover
Warp Count Take the total number of
nails on your loom and multiply it by the
distance in inches between the 2 rows
of nails. Divide by 36. Our warp used 96
nails and measured 30" long ( 96"× 30" =
2,880" and 2,880"/36 = 80yds).
1b. Transfer the dimensions to the plywood board
using a measuring tape and straightedge. We made
parallel lines 11" long and 30" apart. Mark the lines
in 1" intervals, making sure the marks are square to
the marks on the opposite end (Figure A).
Weft Calculate the weft as the same
quantity of yarn as the warp, and you’ll
have plenty.
1c. Subdivide each 1" segment by making tick
marks to measure off 1/5" (Figure B), or 5 threads
per inch. Eyeballing it is fine. If you use bigger yarn
(worsted or bulky weight), measure ¼" segments
( 4 threads per inch).
1d. Pound a nail ¼" into the board wherever the tick
marks intersect the line (Figure C).
