DIY Wide Inkle Loom

Good morning!

I wanted to make an inke loom – or at least an inkle-ish loom. I read that inkles are narrow bands of fabric and I’m NOT going to end up with any of those, lol.

Waste not, want not. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Great ideas!

I used an old, ripped apart maple dresser from the pile by the fire pit.

Out of it, I ended up cutting;

4 – 15″ lengths (7/8″ x 3″)
2 – existing lengths 33″ (7/8″ x 3″)
2 – 10″ sliders from the slider sections inside the dresser.

They looked like this…

I hollowed out the slider part (it was only partially clear)…

We sanded the cut wood to make it new again!

SO cool how beautiful the wood comes up after sanding Very satisfying turning old into new

We bought 5 60″ (15/16″ diameter) hardwood broom handles from the local hardware store. Just under 5 dollars each but much better than hardwood dowels! We cut them to size;

6 – 29″ length
4 – 27.25″ length

I used size #6, 1.5″ long wood screws (countersunk about 1/4″) and glue to put together the loom.

Purchase;
#6 wood screws, 1.5″ long
#8 wood screws (2), 3″ long (for tension dowel)

Each upward support piece (the 15″ lengths) I marked with a line where it should line up with the base (check for square), painted the surface with glue where it would be against the base, clamped and drilled and screwed on from the OUTSIDE of the base. The base is inside and the uprights and sliders are on the outside in my design.

Here’s a little diagram…

Be careful doing the other side, that the base is on the inside

Only one side is complete in the picture, the other is just sitting up against it…

After completing the sides, let them dry for a few hours, ideally overnight. I’m way too impatient for that even though I know it’s best!

Drill your holes in each base/side peice for the dowels, as follows…

Again, drill a little countersink with a bigger bit to allow the screws to imbed into the wood. I sanded and drilled the ends of the dowels. You’ll notice some of the dowels are not perfectly straight. I found this didn’t have a big effect on the project.

Then, beginning with the shorter (bottom) dowels, paint each screw with glue and attach the dowels between the bases. I began with one side and then attached all four on the other side.

Next, attach the longer (29″) dowels – I stuck one of each into the top dowel position to keep the uprights from pulling together more than I wanted as I attached them from the lowest to the highest.

Finally, screw your longer (3″) screws into the tension dowel. Don’t forget to drill the holes a little larger first!! We don’t want to split any dowels. The screws need to be screwed with the dowel in place or you won’t get it in later. I’m planning to sink the heads of the screws into the rounded tops I cut off the broomsticks for a clean/knob type look – using 5 minute epoxy – on a day I don’t want to weave

To create the tension device, drill holes periodically along your slider section. I’m using screws as ‘blockers’ but you could use small nails too. You need two blockers for each side so as you remove one the whole dowel doesn’t sort of ‘jump’ too far.

A picture of it partially warped…

I have yet to create shuttles and I have to finish warping and tie the string heddles in place.

If you have any questions – just ask! Hopefully you’ll enjoy this project as much as I have

~ by knitsnthings on May 3, 2009.