The cooler weather makes me want to work in fibers again : Spinning yarn and weaving. A friend at work gifted me some wonderful alpaca yarn, and now I want to use it!
Many years ago, I saw a speaker give a demo on using an old picture frame to weave rag rugs. It was something she learned years ago herself from the older generations in her family. So I kept my eyes open at the thrift stores and purchased a few suitable frames. But I didn't really want to make rugs, nor use up my fabric that way ...
Since then I acquired a small table loom, and really enjoy the back and forth meditation it allows me -- but it's quite a process to get the thing warped. So I was looking for a simpler option ... Back to the Picture frame loom idea. On Pinterest, I found a couple of sites / videos that looked most useful :
This one used the idea of heddles on the Picture Frame Loom. I love the heddles on my table loom. That is what makes the process of weaving go so fast. I don't have that option on the Tri-Loom, which is what makes me hesitate starting a new project there--that and the space it takes up.
This one puts is all together : Heddles, shed sticks, even foot peddles to make the shifts smoother.
In this video, Noreen Crone-Findlay explains it all, and talks you through the process, even including tension bars, warping this type of loom, and putting in the heddles and a recycled/upcycled folding / spinning stand for the picture frame loom that makes warping and working this kind of loom easier and more ergonomic. I think this is going to be my fall project with Sweetie this year. ;-)
And so my husband and I set out to build a picture frame loom modeled after Noreen Crone Findlay's mostly recycled loom. I know how expensive these are to purchase new, and I love the idea that it's so simple to build a workable loom yourself. And so we did ...
The only thing we purchased new was some hardware for about $8. The picture frame was $2 at a local thrift store. The rest of the wood was from my husband's stash--cherry and walnut.
A heddle bar scavenged off an old broken drying rack, and a shed stick salvaged from a bed frame that otherwise fell apart.
The legs fold into each other (like nesting dolls) so that it folds flat for storage.
Brilliant design, NCF!
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