Noreen Crone-Findlay - Peg Looms and Weaving Sticks

To my Beloved, my best friend and husband, Jim Findlay, and also to our wonderful familyChloe, Clancy, James, Angus, and Alliwith gratitude and love to infinity and beyond. And to my sister, Lesley-Ann, who is a treasure beyond measure. Also to my wonderful weaving friends: You inspire and delight me, and I hope that this book will, in turn, inspire and delight you!

May it be a stepping stone to your creativity. Happy weaving!

Published by Stackpole Books

An imprint of Globe Pequot

Trade Division of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

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Copyright 2017 Rowman & Littlefield

Photography by Noreen Crone-Findlay

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

The contents of this book are for personal use only. Patterns herein may be reproduced in limited quantities for such use. Any large-scale commercial reproduction is prohibited without the written consent of the publisher.

We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of these instructions. We cannot, however, be responsible for human error, typographical mistakes, or variations in individual work.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Crone-Findlay, Noreen, author.

Title: Peg looms and weaving sticks : complete how-to guide and 30+ projects / Noreen Crone-Findlay.

Description: Lanham : Stackpole Books, an imprint of Globe Pequot, Trade Division of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017018886 (print) | LCCN 2017019646 (ebook) | ISBN 9780811764810 (e-book) | ISBN 9780811716123 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Hand weaving--Patterns.

Classification: LCC TT848 (ebook) | LCC TT848 .C6845.2017 (print) | DDC 746.1/4041--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017018886

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

First Edition

Printed in the United States of America

W ithout peg looms and weaving sticks upon which to work, this book couldnt happen, and so I am most grateful to the generosity of the following lovely people: Donna and Gary McFarland from Dewberry Ridge, dewberryridge.com; Lynette Richter from Daisy Hill Handiworks, daisyhillhandiworks.blogspot.com; Dennis Riley from Daegrad Tools, daegrad.co.uk; Jules Kliot at Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles, lacis.com.

A weaving book also does not happen without yarn, so I am hugely grateful to my main yarn supplier: Thank you, John Little at briggsandlittle.com. Thank yous also go to the gracious people at Lion Brand. My daughter-in-love/law, Alliston Findlay, of nomadfibreworks.com, is a master spinner and I appreciate how she blesses me with her beautiful hand-spun yarns.

I am so grateful to all the people who have worked so hard to bring this book into being, beginning with editor Deb Smith, who began the process at Stackpole Books, and Candi Derr and Julie Marsh, who took the book to completion at Rowman & Littlefield. Thanks also to the production team, especially Wendy Reynolds. I am very grateful to you! Thank you!

I first began weaving with peg looms and weaving sticks almost two decades ago, and I am still madly in love with them. In fact, the more I work with them, the more I love them. I am constantly astonished and delighted by the creative potential of these simple little looms.

I have absolutely loved developing new ways of working with peg looms and weaving sticks. My hope is that the projects and techniques in this book will be a source of inspiration for you, stepping stones that will enhance and expand your delight in peg loom weaving. I am looking forward to seeing what you weave based on these designs and techniques.

This book was written with a sense of joy and completely comes from a place of love. I hope that you will feel that in its pages and come up with your own creative projects and designs.

This, my friends, is my wish for you. Happy weaving!

With love and gratitude,
Noreen.

B efore we begin, I am going to go pour myself a cup of tea, and I suggest that you pour one for yourselfor whatever you like to linger over while chatting with a friend. You see, this chapter is very much a conversation. As I am writing it, I am remembering the questions that people have asked me in workshops, on Facebook, and on Ravelry, and I am going to answer them for you to the best of my ability. Even though I have been weaving with peg looms and weaving sticks for decades now, these are my opinions, based on my experiences, so my answers might not quite fit your circumstances. So Id like you to take my opinions and use them to form your own answers.

Lets pour our tea, and get started.

A little bit of confusion swirls around the exact nature of a peg loom. Some looms on the market are called peg looms, but they are not the kind of peg loom that we are going to be working with in this book.

Those other peg looms are quite different from ours. They are frame looms that use nails or plastic or wooden pegs to hold the warp strands strung in tension back and forth starting from the upper to the lower edges of the loom. The weft goes under and over the warp strands until the loom is full.

The peg looms in this book could probably be more accurately described as dowel looms. Dowels, called pegs, fit into holes drilled into the base so they stand vertically and firmly in place. If the pegs dont stand firmly in place, they will fall out and pull together while youre weaving and the tension will be awful Test the pegs to make sure they are firmly in place before you buy a peg loom. If you cant test the loom yourself (perhaps because you are buying it online), be sure to buy from a trusted, reputable loom builder.

Just slightly above the base, each peg has a hole drilled in it so warp strands can pass through the peg and hang freely behind the base The weaving is done on the pegs When the pegs are full, they are gently lifted out of the base, then eased up through the weaving until the weaving is resting on the warp strands and the pegs are empty, ready to be filled with weaving again.