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PVC Pipe Loom

10/27/2015

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

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 .
Picture
 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?
Picture
Picture
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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
Picture
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....


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STC Craft/ Melanie Falick Books 
are invariably glorious.
Lena Corwin, my amazing illustrator, continues to do remarkable things.
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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!!
Picture
Most beautiful back cover ever! And one of my favorite weaving photos of all time
PictureTapestry 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.

Picture
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:
Picture
Picture
Picture
A pair of red wrenches
and collection of pipe pieces
Picture

make all manner of things possible,
even weaving on two looms
at (almost) the same time.
Picture
Picture
I learned about  
Archie Brennan's Black Pipe Loom 
 10 or 12 years ago.
Picture
and have been riffing off his idea ever since.
Picture
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.
Picture
 I use the 1/2 inch pipe the most often
Picture
as long as the thing I'm weaving is less than 18" wide.
If it is wider, I use thicker pipe.
Picture
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.
Picture
Pipe Looms:
just one of those 
life changing things
 a gal gets to try
every now and again.

Thanks, Archie.

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​
​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.
​

Picture
See you then!

A Four Selvedge Jig

10/13/2015

 
I hate to shop 
Picture
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
Picture

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.

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

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

Picture
Plenty of room under the jig to manipulate a bobbin
filled with  supplementary warp:
​fly Line Backing in white,
Picture
with florescent yellow (or is it green?)
​for the top.
Picture
The jig is easy to dismantle and remove
​once everything is secure.
Picture
Hand Spun Wool Warp (2 ply), approximately 18 yards for a warp 5" x 7"
Satisfying.
Picture
Anticipation ©Sarah C. Swett 2015

What I meant to do today

10/6/2015

 
Picture
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).
Picture
But this morning I dropped my phone.
Picture
So I decided to tear apart the studio
Picture


mop
the
linoleum
​

Picture
and mend my jeans.
Picture
"It's kind of Pretty..." ©Sarah C. Swett 2015

Next week 
everything
​ will be back to normal.

​Whatever that is.
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


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