Working With A Loom

[Riverwoman]

Just wondering, out of curiosity, what is a good loom to work with? I have never done it, but it sure looks nice when it's done right(loom bead work).

Any tips on picking one up? I would like to start a crown on one, or maybe some earrings, choker etc.

Any help would be appreciated! You can either pm or email me, as I am not sure how to start

[Selina]

well, I started with bracelets.
It is very easy and you can practice.
Then I went over to a bigger project: the belt for my outfit.
The best loom is one where you can spool up the already beaded strip. So you are not limited to the size of the loom.
Or you make a loom yourself.
Then you can design the size you want!
hope I could help
:D

[Blackbear]

a crown on a loom? Hey if you start that..I want to see the finished results for sure!

Try making one... for pieces of wood to make the size loom you want...a few nails in teh end to tie up your warp threads.. a spring across the top to hold them in place... maybe slightly more complicated than it sounds but definitly not hard.

[TWDBear]

Riverwoman2000 << Just wondering, out of curiosity, what is a good loom to work with? I have never done it, but it sure looks nice when it's done right(loom bead work).
Any tips on picking one up? I would like to start a crown on one, or maybe some earrings, choker etc.
Any help would be appreciated! You can either pm or email me, as I am not sure how to start>>

My first loom (32 years ago) was a "scout" loom, the small kind that you have two small rollers on a wire frame. Those are fine for VERY small projects, and they are a bear (pardon the pun) to string up. But i still have that loom and i still use it for small beaded strips, like about 3 inches long.

I now make my own looms from two blocks of scrap wood, with two 3/4 or 1 inch holes drilled in them, and two wood dowels the same size as the holes i drilled. (i usually get my dowels from Walmart for about $1 each). Those dowels are 3 feet long and if i need onger dowels (like 4 feet), i go to my local hardware store. ( I know of a man who made a loom like this, six feet long. I usually keep mine to a length of 2 to 4 feet.) I then use screws to attach the dowels to the blocks of wood.

I make the holes about a 1/3 from the long edge of the block and in about 1 inch or so.

On the end blocks, across the long top narrow edges, i run a doubled thread of beads i want to work with and tie them off onto small nails i've nailed into the shorter side narrow edges. These beads will keep my threads separated the correct space i need for the piece.
I can also use this same loom for any size beaded piece since all i have to change are the double threaded beads on the blocks. (i usually work with 13/0's or 10/0's, depending on the piece and it's purpose).

Also on the large flat side of the end blocks, away from the center of the loom, i put in several small nails so i can wrap the loom threads around.

Stringing up a loom like this is much easier than a loom with rollers because you just make a loop in the end of your thread and go over the beads in the top of the loom, down to the far end, around the nail and back to the end closest to you. You just keep doing this until you have enough loom threads, plus one, for the width of the piece you're wanting to make. And for extra strength of your loom piece, you may want to double the outside threads.

Regarding your crown (or any other shaped piece besides the standard square or rectangle), if you start beading the piece at the widest place, you can bead it, working from the center to the end..

I've beaded triangles, circles, medallions, etc. like this.

I hope this helps.

[Selina]

WOW!

Very useful information THX!!
I can use it, too!

Thanks a lot

Selina
:D