Blog Archives

PVC Pipe Loom

10/27/2015

I got a good start writing down the PVC Tapestry Loom information

To Build The Loom You will Need:

1 10' (300 cm) length 3/4" PVC Pipe
cut as follows:

2 24" (60 cm) pieces
2 12" (30cm) pieces
1 11.5" (28.5 cm) piece
4 8" (20 cm) pieces
2 2" (5cm) pieces

Pipe Fittings:
4 3/4" 90 degree elbows
4 2/4" Ts
2 1" x 1" x 3/4" Ts

1 12" (30cm) piece of 3/4 " wooden dowel

2 2' (60cm) strong utility (aka camping/ sleeping bag) straps with easy to use buckles

Some Tape

(note that the drawing above does not include elbows on the feet, but the photo below does, if you were wondering what the other two 90 degree elbows are used for)

Even labeled the sketch .

But then when it came to describing how to put on a continuous warp,
which is the thing I really wanted to talk about,
I didn't get as far as I would have liked --
at least not far enough to put the instructions here.

I've attached a few photos for the ambitious though,
because who could resist?

My favorite things about this loom are:
- extreme portability
- super easy assembly (friction fit parts and easy-to-cut pipe)
- super low cost
- simple and lightweight tension mechanism (that it HAS a tension mechanism, which many frame looms do not)
-the fact that no matter what you weave, your work will look better
than your loom

A Loom for All Seasons

The Photos and drawings above are for
a simple tensioned frame loom
without a shedding device.
Sadly, I really didn't provide enough information to work with.
But if you want to try anyway, read on
because....
Kids Weaving has plans and straightforward instructions
for building, warping and using a PVC loom.
The version in the book uses a little more pipe
because it includes a shedding mechanism
but it'll work perfectly well for tapestry
as well as for scarves and blanket strips
and bags and shoe laces and a dog collar and....

STC Craft/ Melanie Falick Books
are invariably glorious.
Lena Corwin, my amazing illustrator, continues to do remarkable things.

The continuous warp instructions are pretty great, if I do way so myself, and Lena Corwin's drawings make everything crystal clear

Sadly, the book is currently out of print
BUT
there are over 12,000 copies floating around
so check your library or
local used book store.
PLUS
it is scheduled to be re-issued in the spring of 2017
HURRAH!!

Most beautiful back cover ever! And one of my favorite weaving photos of all time

Tapestry Workshop - Bellingham, WA

Kids Weaving is secretly,
or maybe not so secretly,
for makers of all ages--
pipe looms
an integral part of my
secret plan for weavers
to take over the universe,
bringing peace and joy
and fabric to all.

Come on! Let's do it.

Galvanized Pipe Looms

10/20/2015

This morning I went to the kitchen
to get a cup of tea
(Earl Grey)
and returned
to this:

A pair of red wrenches
and collection of pipe pieces

make all manner of things possible,
even weaving on two looms
at (almost) the same time.

I learned about
Archie Brennan's Black Pipe Loom
10 or 12 years ago.

and have been riffing off his idea ever since.

1/8 Inch Galvanized pipe Loom -- detail

From the thinnest steel pipe I've been able to find
to the thickest I've yet needed,
this versatile system
meets most of my tapestry needs.

I use the 1/2 inch pipe the most often

as long as the thing I'm weaving is less than 18" wide.
If it is wider, I use thicker pipe.

1 1/4 inch and 1 1/2 inch Pipe for the top and bottom beams of bigger (36" - 48" ) wide looms. Note the reducers so they can still be used with 1" feet and side pieces

With the flick of a wrench
a piece of pipe can be a side bar,
a bottom bar, a leg or a foot.

Pipe Looms:
just one of those
life changing things
a gal gets to try
every now and again.

Thanks, Archie.

Next week
(if I'm organized)
I'll talk about another fave,
the loom everyone loves to hate,
the least expensive and lightest
tensioned pipe loom on the block.

See you then!

A Four Selvedge Jig

10/13/2015

I hate to shop

So when the bits of PVC I used for my last 4 selvedge jig were otherwise occupied,
I rummaged around till I found this motley collection of parts

The dowels aren't the same length,
which worked in my favor
since the bottom PVC T on the jig
was deflected by the Galvanized T
on the loom itself.
If the dowel had been longer
the jig wouldn't have fit.

Note the technical tools
that hold everything in place.
(Broccoli comes with the nicest rubber bands).

You also might notice
that the top dowel has a cardboard shim--
an easy way to make slight height adjustments.

Plenty of room under the jig to manipulate a bobbin
filled with supplementary warp:
fly Line Backing in white,

with florescent yellow (or is it green?)
for the top.

The jig is easy to dismantle and remove
once everything is secure.

Hand Spun Wool Warp (2 ply), approximately 18 yards for a warp 5" x 7"

Satisfying.

What I meant to do today

10/6/2015

Badlands National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, South Dakota, USA

was write about my September travels
from Idaho to New Hampshire
and back.

I planned to wax poetic
about the astonishing Swetts
who live in the east
and made it all possible.

I would have grown long-winded
on the subject of long-missed friends
from elementary and high school
some not seen in fifteen, thirty, even forty years
who came to New Hampshire from all corners of the East
--not forgetting to marvel at delightful hours
in the company of our headmistress.

I intended to rave
about the AVA gallery
and show off the flattering review
in the Valley News.

And there was to be no restraint
when it came to enthusiasm for driving
back and forth
across this beautiful country
in the new car
with husband Dan (west to east)
and sister Lyn (east to west).