I thought I would do a post on simpler weaving. I think I may have posted something similar a few years ago. A few of my readers have mentioned an interest in weaving, but something simpler than a floor loom.
Floor looms do take up allot of space. The ideal set up is to have a dedicated weaving room. My floor loom is pretty small. You may remember I had a 45" vintage rug loom that I just never got set up-I think I was intimidated by it, now it would have been too much for me to handle so am glad that I was forced to sell it when we moved here to the lake. and--There was no room for it which also forced me to downsize, and my age with normal aches and pains would have been a challenge working with that size of loom now.
Weaving is an expensive hobby-or it can be. I hunted around at the time I was buying yarns and tools for sale prices. Webs and a couple others online had allot of bargains/closeout sales that I took advantage of. It is surprising to find some weaving yarns or supplies at resale shops or garage sales on occasion so I always keep a lookout
I have never worked on one-but all the rage right now is weaving on a rigid heddle loom. They come in different widths and you work at a table-so much simpler and less space to use. I always thought about what I would like to weave and what is the width I would need. My small floor loom is a 30 inch but that is wide enough to make allot of things, even clothing pieces. I think this is an ideal width that doesn't limit you as much. I would personally look into a 30 or 32 inch rigid heddle loom.
I just ran into this site that I was not familiar with before, and they have allot of information and free weaving patterns Here is their article on Introduction to rigid heddle weaving
From this article I am sharing an Ashford loom (Ashford is one of my favorite weaving companies)
If you do an online search for rigid heddle looms you will find numerous styles and companies. There are many newer books on the market now about these looms as well.
Here is a video about the rigid heddle loom
I was searching for videos and wow I found this one that is set up on a stand-I think this would be really comfortable to weave at, and it's by Ashford
Rigid heddle looms are 2 harness's-which are set up in the reed-where as if you have a floor loom with at least 4 harness's you have many many choices for patterns. With 2 harness's your patterns are in the fibers. Saori weaving is a floor loom but the original only had 2 harness's so it's plain weave but patterns are with fibers and different techniques.
So I would think about what you want to weave and do allot of research on what is available now.
If you would just like to have a little fun with plain weaves you can make a simple loom from cardboard or cardboard boxes.
Here is a video on how to make cardboard loom
a video on how to make cardboard box loom
If you have an urge to play a little with weaving you can do that simply with a handmade cardboard loom
Hope this will give you some ideas if you would like to try weaving.
