Sammie makes a point of sitting on a loom. Maybe it's warm, maybe it's the texture. Maybe it's because it makes her look skinny (she's not)
Continuous strand weaving...defined..using a single strand of yarn as warp and weft on a loom made for the purpose with nails. No warping required. Looms can be triangular "trilooms", square, or rectangular.
I spotted my first tri-loom more than 20 years ago, at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. There was an immediate attraction, but it took me some years to acquire one. My friend who is a woodworker made me a large standing loom with a seven foot hypotenuse a couple of years ago.
I do however also love working on a loom that is small enough to use while seated. I also have a square loom that is a "lace" sett loom, with nails 1/4 inch apart. Here are some photos from the last several years of my continuous strand weaving adventures
Here is my 26 inch square loom, which is a lace sett. I purchased it from this guy who is a master at making these. I bought it to make myself shirts. This project involved one strand of silk and another of a slightly loopy cotton.
My plan to make shirts worked wonderfully. The bias weave is very comfortable!
Here are some small views of my 7 foot hypotenuse standing loom, made by my friend Greg. It has a half inch sett and is lovely for heavier yarns. This project involved handspun Sari silk which was plied with Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton, for strength. I spun the Sari silk myself, and bought it here. It made a nice and large shawl. I have made several large shawls on this loom and they are all lovely.
I recently acquired another lace sett square loom, with a 4 foot hypotenuse. I am having fun with this. Here are photos of a project involving some loopy mohair that has been in stash forever as it is impossible to knit with...
I am exploring the idea of a child's sweater...
Here is another piece on this loom with some natural dyed wool, where it came from I don't know. All the yarn is manipulated by hand...under and over. I love the tactile quality of the weaving process!
I have a small one with the same sett that I use for sampling to make sure that the product will come out as conceived...there is some takeup once it's off the loom. The way that I am weaving, it seems to be about 5%; so the finished fabric is denser than on the loom.
