Each month I explore a craft or technique. September 2024 was weaving on frame loom.
It started innocently enough a couple of years ago. I bought a “child’s” loom at IKEA. It was a sturdy, table-top frame loom that came with warp string and fabric strips to weave with. This should be an easy project, after all, it’s a child’s loom. But it sat in the box, untouched for several months as I was busy with other things.
My daughter came home from college for the summer and decided she would give it a try. We warped the loom and she wove six strips of fabric in her college colors. Then she was bored. And the loom sat in a corner of the room for almost a year, taunting me.
Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I unwove the strips and rewarped the loom. I decided to use some bulky yarn and a coordinating worsted weight yarn to start, because that’s the type of fiber they used in the 15 YouTube videos about frame weaving I consumed leading up to this project.
Oh. my. gosh! It was so fun. Frame loom weaving allows for a lot of free-form weaving and creative use of the yarn. I was a bit dismayed that I had waited so long to give this craft a try. I’ve done other types of weaving before, including card weaving and pin weaving. This is so much easier – and meditative.
I could use up weird bits of yarn leftover from knitting projects. And those skeins of novelty yarn would make great textures in woven pieces. And that wonky hand spun yarn (not to mention the bags of roving in my stash) now could find a happy place in woven art. I could make a dent in my stash! Just kidding. I’m barely scratching the surface. But the possibility is there – especially if I made larger and larger pieces.
Instead I had a smaller loom made so I could make tiny woven pieces to turn into necklaces. Which is also fun and meditative, although not stash-busting at all.
I can weave one of these up in an hour or so (plus time to finish the construction of the necklace). And it’s portable, so I can sit at night and weave while watching TV. Nirvana.
I have lots of ideas I want to try – on both the bigger loom and the smaller one. So I will continue to weave, fitting it into my weekly activities. And I plan to put together an intro to weaving class, both via video and in person. Be sure you’re on my mailing list to know when they happen.
Maybe I’ll finally make a real dent in my stash!
Next month I’ll be trying a new craft, and will be sure to blog about my adventures! Some of my finished projects appear in my Etsy Shop, Stacy Creates Stuff. Check it out!
