How to Warp a Loom

What kind of a loom do you have? I’m always curious about what others are weaving on especially if it’s a loom that I’ve never seen before. Of all the lap looms I have, I’ve found that there are two basic ways to warp a lap loom. The first is the “S” warping and the second is the “figure 8” warping.

The most common I’ve found are the peg or tab looms. These looms warp in the “S” way around either the pegs on the loom or around the tabs at the top and the bottom of the loom.

To warp these looms, I start at the bottom left and tie my warp thread around the peg, tab, or even the loom frame. Next bring your warp thread up to the top peg/tab and pass the warp thread around that peg/tab and back down. Pass the warp thread around the bottom peg/tab and bring it back up. Repeat this until your loom is all warped up.

I call this the “S” way of warping, because if you were to turn the loom side ways you’d see that the warp is making “S” shapes from one peg/tab to another.

I also made a video on this, if you’re interested.

Another loom that I weave on is a frame loom. This is a loom that you warp up directly on the frame of the loom. The best part of this warping technique is that it allows you to weave on a lot of things, such as a picture frame, a tree branch, or whatever you may have that has a sturdy structure.

For these looms, we’ll be warping in the “figure 8” way. To do this, I tie my warp thread to the frame in the lower left. Then bring the warp thread up, over the front of the frame and around to the back. Then I bring the warp down and over the front of the frame and around to the back. Your warp thread is always passing over the front of the loom and around to the back, which causes the warp threads to cross in the middle and make a figure 8. This is really helpful when weaving on a frame because it brings the warp threads together in the middle and makes weaving much easier. All these warp threads are used when weaving. I have a lot more detail on it here.

And also a video on the process of warping a frame.

Oh and I have two extra warping posts for those who are interested:

• How to double warp your loom
• How to warp an embroidery hoop for weaving

What type of lap loom do you normally use? Do you have or seen a lap loom that warps up differently then the two ways I’ve described? I would love to hear about it.

Happy Weaving!

Kate

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