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How to Make and Use a Floor Loom

July 23rd, 2008 by Simone

Bree of hotteaapparel.blogspot.com is today’s guest contributor with this amazing loom. So simple, so cool. This is a great way to reuse end-of-season t-shirts to make a comfy bathroom rug to greet fall.

When I was a teenager I’d spend two weeks of each summer at Swedish Language camp. My absolute favorite arts and crafts activity was weaving on a beautiful floor loom. I’ve longed to weave rugs ever since, but the price tag on such looms is prohibitive. I came across a book in the library that inspired me to make my own, simpler loom: Twined Rag Rugs: Tradition in the Making by Bobbie Irwin.

To make the same loom, you will need:

4 flat corner irons (metal in the shape of an L with holes) and screws
2 pieces of lumber (I used 1″ x 2″) 4 feet long
2 pieces of lumber measuring 28-1/4″ long
52 screws (no longer than 3/4″) for the warp
Drill and bits
Tape measure or ruler
Strong string, twine, or yarn (I used heavy-weight nylon upholstery thread)

I was lucky to move into a home with a pile of leftover lumber and found a nice long piece of 1×2 lumber (which actually measures 1-1/2″x3/4″) which I cut into two 4-foot lengths using a simple hack saw. You can cut your own lumber with any number of different saws (please use appropriate safety precautions when using tools) OR you can ask the lumber/hardware store if they can make the cuts for you. I then cut a piece of leftover trim from a vanity (which was basically another 1×2) into 28-1/4″ length and happened to have another 1×2 of that size available. Once you have your four pieces of lumber, you can put together the frame.

Place the two long boards on the ground parallel to each other. Fit the two shorter boards inside the longer boards; one at the top, one at the bottom. Place the corner irons at each of the four corners and mark the holes. Remove the brackets and pre-drill the holes with a small drill bit before screwing on the brackets. Also, make sure the screws do not drill all the way through the lumber. You don’t want sharp points sticking out of your loom.

Your loom is beginning to take shape now and you should be able to pick it up and carry it in one piece. It may shift a bit out of square when you move it around, but as long as it’s holding together well, it’s fine.

Flip the loom over so that the brackets are on the floor/ground. (Note: this is an upgrade from the loom I made – as you can tell, I placed the screws on the same side as the corner iron and had to use one of the corner iron screws for my warp.) You are going to pre-drill holes for the screws that will hold your warp (the parallel strings that you will be weaving into). You will use 26 screws at both the top and bottom of the loom (the top and bottom are the shorter boards). I recommend cutting a piece of scrap paper that is the length of the shorter boards (28 inches is fine) to make a template for your screw locations. You may have to tape some newspaper together to get the length. Starting from about 1/8″ from the edge of the paper, make a dot every 1-1/16″ (or just barely past the 1″ mark on the ruler) until you have 26 dots. This should give you a nice even spacing for your screws. Tape the ends of the paper on the top of the loom and pre-drill your holes right through the paper into the wood. Remove your template and tape it on the bottom of loom and repeat. The one trick is to make sure you aren’t drilling into a screw from your corner iron on the back. Check to make sure and if it IS lining up with the L-bracket screw, move only that pre-drill dot just enough to avoid the screw. Ideally this won’t be a problem.

Now you can screw in your 52 screws, but don’t screw them in all the way. Leave them sticking out about 1/4″ because these are your pegs for wrapping the warp.

You are now done drilling! Hooray, the loom is finished. Bring it to a comfortable working spot. Mine is leaning up against my fireplace because it’s in the living room and we’re not currently using the fireplace. I do recommend leaning it up against a wall where you can sit in front of it either on the floor or in a chair.

To get started making your first rug, you will need to thread the warp. The warp will be your string of choice. You will need quite a length for this, so keep the string in a ball and unwind as you go. First, tie the end of the string to the left-most screw on the bottom. Then bring the string up to the left-most screw on the top. Keep the string taut and bring it up and over that first screw and over the second screw and down to loom to the second screw on the bottom. Bring it under the second screw and under the third screw and up to the third screw on top. Keep the string taut at all times. You should see the pattern now and continue this until you have come to the final screw. Tie off your string on the final screw. Your warp is done!

The warp string will be used when you are finished weaving to tie the wefts tight. For this reason, you do not want to start weaving at the very bottom of the loom or you won’t have enough string to tie off. So, to make sure I didn’t end up with the weft (the fabric you use to weave in and out of the warp) at the bottom, I cut out some pieces of cardboard (from a cereal box or tissue box – anything you might have lying around) that were about 3″ wide. I weaved these through the warp at the very bottom of the loom. This is a place holder to make sure your weaving doesn’t slip down to the bottom of the loom.

Now you are ready to begin making a rug from scrap fabric. You can use any type of fabric, but keep it consistent. If you want to use jersey knit, continue using jersey knit for the whole rug. If you are using cotton quilting fabric, keep using that type of fabric. Have fun with this part and think of other cool options to weave with like plastic bags, rubber tire tubes, ribbon, etc. Cut strips of material as long as possible and at a consistent width. Thinner pieces will require more weaving for a finished product, thicker pieces will weave up faster and make a thicker rug.

You have a choice now in how to weave your rug. You can use a plain weaving, a simple under-over-under-over technique, which will result in a loosely woven rug (but is the best choice if you are using stiff material like rubber or thick leather) or you can make tighter weave (and thicker rug) using the twining method. Twining requires that you use two strands simultaneously and criss-cross them between each warp string (like twisting twine). I have chosen to use jersey fabrics with the twining method (which you can see in the photos).

Happy weaving!

30 Responses to “How to Make and Use a Floor Loom”

  1. Sulungta Sembiring Says:

    Thank you very much for your information. I want to try.

  2. Cheryl Hirzel Says:

    What a great project, and you explained it so well! I am one of those fortunate ones who have a floor loom of the scandinavian variety, salvaged and reworked from someone’s coal bin. These directions would work pretty well for someone who wants to give weaving a try, although I would strongly recommend the warp (string) to be very strong. We use carpet grade warp on the big looms, but for the spacing on this home-made loom I would suggest even more strength due to the large spaces between. Perhaps use a cotton yarn (less stretch than others- use the kind used for dishclothes), twine, jute, or even dental floss x2. This would decrease the chances of snapping the thread somewhere while you weave or wash it. Depending on what fabric you are using for “woof” (the fabric you are weaving), the softer the fabric, the deeper the warp is buried.

    Have fun everybody!

  3. Beth Says:

    I just learned so much and I’m intrigued. Thanks so much for this informative and interesting piece!

  4. Jane Catherine Says:

    Your photos are great! They really make me want to try. I like the way you reused materials that you found for the whole project, it sounds like. The clear way you described how to do it makes it sound like something I could do pretty easily, too. Now I wish I had saved all those t-shirts I gave away!

    One time I went to a garage sale of an old, Swedish couple in Minnesota who were moving to assisted living. Almost everything was sold by the time I got there. But the man said there were still some things in the closet of their spare bedroom that they were just going to toss. It was chock full of fabric his wife saved over many years. On the closet shelf was a very special loom with the last rug she ever worked on. The frame was made from an old orange crate and the rug was half-finished with woven, brown, faded calico prints and water stains. I loved it and the story. Now it’s hung with care on my guest room wall, a proud, fabric-art legacy to this old woman.

  5. Denise Felton Says:

    WONDERFUL information! I can’t wait to share this with my readers!

    Denise
    http://needlework.craftgossip.com

  6. Mandie Says:

    Love your blog! Thanks for sharing your creative crafty ideas!

    Mandie
    http://lifeinthecraftlanewithmandie.blogspot.com

  7. Dolly Says:

    how do you finish the rug and take it off of the loom? are the first strings that are attached to the screws permanent or temporary and come off with the rug? Like I said before I have a LD that causes me to have to see and then ask questions on step by step instructions. But not instructions that are just written as those are the ones I have a problem trying to understand and follow.
    Thanks you
    Dolly
    [email protected]

  8. Bree Says:

    Dolly – to finish the rug, simply cut off the strings and tie two together all the way down the row. You’ll want to tie them tightly to keep your weaving nice and snug. Have fun!

  9. Lil' d Says:

    What a great project. Much better than the wee looms I made for the kids using old picture frames and nails. I might pull those nails out and replace them with screws.

  10. Sorcha Says:

    Ok Like Way cool! I have been wanting a loom for so long but the price…OUCHY!!!
    I can do this. Thank you so much for posting this project. KUDOS

  11. Linda Says:

    THIS IS REALLY NEAT!!! SHOWED MY HUSBAND, HE SAYS HE CAN BUILD THIS, NO PROBLEM—DID I EXPECT HIM TO SAY THAT===YES!!!
    THANKS FOR THE GREAT INSTRUCTIONS AND PICTURES!!!
    CAN’T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!!!

  12. Donna Says:

    you didn’t explain how to add fabric when you want to change colors in the rug

  13. Anna Hardy Says:

    Lovely clear pictures, made a frame loom before seeing your site. I made the warp too close together – made it fairly fiddly, now am going to try the screw method and more widely spaced warp threads, great site, Thanks, Anna

  14. Laura Says:

    I am so glad I stumbled upon this! My husband says he’ll make it for me this weekend. This loom solves the problem of the braided rag rugs I’ve tried in the past never getting finished. Thanks for sharing!

  15. bunny Says:

    the instructions on how to weave and make a Loom are good.

    however, what you have made and woven on is NOT a FLOOR LOOM.

    WHAT YOU ARE INSTRUCTING PEOPLE TO MAKE AND WEAVE ON IS CALLED A “FRAME LOOM”.

    please correct this. Having the loom LABLED WRONG causes folks like me doing searches for FLOOR looms to find info that does not apply cause it is mis-tittled.

    thanks

  16. Lori Says:

    Great instructions – this is just what I’ve been looking for!!

    I do agree, however, with Bunny that the terminology can be very confusing, but otherwise it’s very clear and understandable, unlike some that use the wrong terminology (ie – salvage instead of selvage when describing the edge of the fabric).

    Thank you for helping me find a great family project! I have plenty of cotton warp – I have more than enough fabric cut – the loom will be ‘under construction’ this weekend! The grandson is going to enjoy this! (Maybe his Mommy and Daddy, too!) ;o)

  17. Sally Says:

    When you get to the end of the rows, what’s the proper way to turn and go the other way?

  18. Linda Says:

    These are absolutely great instructions and pictures; but, I agree — this is a frame loom. I weave on frame looms — my husband has made all of mine. I’ve got tri-looms in about every size and frame looms that I use for baby blankets, 4×6 throws, scarves, and placemats. I really like the idea of the screws, we have always used nails. I’d also like to know how you finish it. Thanks!

  19. Callipygian Says:

    This is the best description I’ve found so far (admittedly, only looking for ten minutes at this point) and I’m excited to get started.

  20. Ian Says:

    Thank-you so much, your set of instructions I can acually understand. I was wondering, can you make more then just rugs, an if so can you have a set of instructions just as good as these!!! :D

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  27. penny Says:

    Love it!Just built one attached to the basement stairwell, as our firewood is used up for the winter. Starting to weave right now!

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