pointysticks.net

While I’ll assume that it’s nice to have a huge floor loom; because of space, material, and time limitations it is not always practicable. I like to think if there’s ever a good solid apocalypse that I’ll have the presence of mind to grab some fiber, a spindle, my favorite dpn collection and my little bag of looms. That should keep me in a good mood between waves of zombies and resisting our evil robot overlords.

That is assuming I survive the first wave of annihilation.

Loop style looms like the Lilly or Loop Craft weaving looms are probably the most accessible since they are the most common and typically the cheapest. The technique is simple and completely needle or crochet optional since the weaving is done with a hook.

Using two strands start with a slip knot on the first peg and then wrap the yarn back and forth between the pegs, this will be the warp thread. If you’re going to change colors secure the yarn with a slip knot and a five or six inch tail, otherwise just go around the outside of the nearest corner. Starting opposite of the last peg weave the hook under and over to the opposite peg, then use hook to pull the the yarn through, loop it over the peg and weave the hook through over and under (or offset as in the case of a tweed or other patterned weave.)

At this point you can finish off the square and keep it from unraveling by slipping your hook into a loop and pulling the next loop through it, then repeating until only one loop is left– that technique will smooth down all the edges making for nice pot holders and washcloths.

Another option (pictured) is to use crochet thread or more of the same yarn to bind off, either using a cross tie (with a tapestry needle) or a crochet stitch (need I mention the crochet hook?)

Now the fun begins, because in the post civilized world you can use these squares individually as napkins and dishcloths, or you can sew these babies together to create a number of useful items like survival kit and foraging bags, cricket bat cozies, and thick quilts (always useful for obscuring your heat signature when being pursued by reptilian drones.) If you want to add a little much needed brightness to your nuclear winter feel free to cross stitch your own designs onto your newly formed cloth.

Although I’ve only mentioned yarn so far; strips of cloth or plastic bags, twine, pencil roving (if you’re careful not to pull it apart during weaving– it’s much stronger once woven and fulled), crochet thread, raffia, craft straw, ribbon and wire are also good candidates.

The little blue box loom is a Wonder Weave loom. It makes 4×4 inch and 2×4 inch squares and has a little heddle build right in, the removable metal bars along the side keep the weft yarn from narrowing the piece, move one side or the other to the center holes for the half square. It’s warped up by wrapping the yarn slipping every other strand into the hook of the heddle, weaving is done with a long needle. On eBay a Wonder Weave loom will set you back $7-$15 plus shipping, at garage sales– much less (minus the box and the needle.) Weaving needles are easy to replace. Instructions, if not in the box (or in my case zip baggie), can be found online.

When using silk or cotton yarn on the Wonder Weave loom, try to wrap the warp very loosely as it will tighten with each strand of weft.

These things are essentially the same as card looms, except made of metal instead of cardstock, and the teeth retract. Same basic function though, wrap the yarn around the teeth and cross tie with a weaving needle. Crochet binding is also a reasonable option, but a total pain in the thumb.

Literally.

After trying different angles of attack with a crochet hook I finally settled on putting a bandaid over the knuckle of my right thumb to protect it while pulling up on the crossed bits of yarn to sneak the needle under. I’m left handed and crochet left handed, right handed crocheters should probably work on protecting the left thumb. Your mileage may vary.

On the upside, I could actually see using these babies as weapons, like nasty square toothed shivs. They could come in handy when the mole people attack (go for the throat– not the eyes.)

If you’re not into crafting when there’s a potential for injury or an immediate need for self defense the Hana-Ami loom has two squares (roughly similar in size to the medium and small metal card looms but not quite close enough to switch mid-project.) The open peg frames make it a much more crochet (and thumb) friendly option.

The Hana-Ami loom from Clover is similar to a number of other flower or raffia looms, except instead of a fixed size there are six interchangeable peg forms. Clover’s website has three videos for using the Hana-Ami.

This loom probably sees more action than all my other combined, in no small part because it takes so little yarn (and time) to make some unique and super cute blossoms.