Three days away from warping up our sprang-along project! If you're hesitant to join because you don't have a loom, this tutorial is for you!
There are many ways to make a loom and many ways to work your sprang warp without a loom. So first, I am going to go over DIY looms and work arounds if you don't have a loom or don't want to make one. Though my cross loom is very easy to make.
If you already have a loom you love or a great DIY loom you have used in the past, share it! Comment here, or on the sprang FaceBook group or post it to Instagram with the hashtags #sprangalong2020 and #sprangloomDIY.
I talk a lot about warp weighted looms and using two objects to suspend your warp between. The great thing about both of those ideas is that you don't have to worry about adjusting tension. With a warp weighted loom, whatever you use as weights at the bottom will be the same at any point throughout the process. If you use something like a chair and a table, you can slowly move the chair towards the table as you go to loosen your tension.
I don't talk about it in the video, but I have also set up backstrap style warps, where one end is attached to a fixed object and the other end is attached to your waist. This only works for short warps since you cannot roll excess warp onto your holding dowel.
I know U shaped looms are also great for sprang. I made one once but I don't think I used a big enough branch for the U. My understanding of how to make a U loom is to procure a long, flexible branch (a sapling works great), bend it into a U shape and tie a piece of twine to both ends to hold it in that U shape. I would think that U frame looms would be easier to warp directly onto the loom, but since I won't be warping directly onto my loom for this sprang-along, that isn't as important.
Other loom ideas:
A large picture frame
Laundry basket
Cardboard box
Warp weighted from a curtain rod
The back of a chair
Suspended between two chairs, or a chair and a table
Over a door using a door hanger, also warp weighted
A really big warp suspended between a chair and my loom.
How to Make A Cross Loom
The cross loom is really great for this particular project because it is small, portable and sturdy. It is easy to make, all you need is four branches or dowels, twine and scissors.
I am using two branches 36in/90cm long and two branches 24in/60cm, this made a loom approximately 27in/70cm long. You could make a smaller loom then this, but don't go any smaller then 22in/55cm in length. You can work out if your branches will be long enough to make a loom that size by holding them together in a cross shape.
As noted in the video, the biggest downside to this loom is that it is hard to warp directly onto. Since my preferred method of warping (and the one I will be showing on Monday) is done off the loom then transferred over to the loom, this is not an issue.
My favorite thing about this loom is that you can sit at a table and have this loom in your lap, leaning against the table and it sits at a great angle for working the warp.
You can look up diagonal lashings for more videos on how tie your branches together.
Getting ready for Monday
In my original post on the Sprang-Along I mentioned dowels as useful but not necessary, I am going to be revising that to necessary if you are going to follow along on how I warp. I have no doubt that you could work something out without dowels, I have done so in the past, but having dowels will make everything easier.
So, why do you need the dowels?
We will be warping up off our loom, and to do so, you will need one of the following:
Two dowels held in place the correct distance apart with enough room to pass your yarn around them. This could be on a table using clamps, or suspended between two chairs
A box that you can wrap your yarn around that the perimeter of is the correct length for your warp. Laying a dowel along the box and warping over that as well is helpful.
Warping onto a box with a dowel. You will need something removable between the warp your and box to make tying your warp to your holding dowels easier and to make removing the warp from the box easier.
Warping onto dowels held in place by warping pegs on my desk. Clamps will work as well. This is my preferred method since you have complete control over the distance between the dowels.
I hope you now have some good loom ideas you can work out over the weekend.
See you Monday!!