What is a loom?

I remember the very first time I saw a loom…

It’s one of those memories that will stay with me, the image forever branded in whatever part of our brain stores these things. I can see every detail clear as day, the dust in the old shop, the half woven project, the black warp strings…

I was 5 or 6 at the time, my parents were given a used saddle that needed to be re-worked to fit my size; the old cowboy who retooled it lived just down the road. It was in his rusty, run down shed, where I first discovered a beading loom. I was poking about, much to his annoyance, as 5 year olds do, tripping over whatever rubbish was laying about his workshop. I half remember a grumble from the old man and that’s when it appeared to me, resting on the edge of this large center worktable: a loom.

Something instinctual stirred within me, an ancient force. I had never seen anything like it, didn’t know what it was, but it called to me. I traced my hands over the strings, noting the beading pattern, studying the way it all worked. I didn’t dare bother the cowboy, nor had the courage to ask him how it worked. So I sought out the information for myself, and made my very first loom with tape, cardboard, and string. I would go on to weave little bracelets, Christmas ornaments, and gifts for my family.

Here I was, just a few years later, on a trip to Colorado, where I was first introduced to a Navajo Style loom.

Fast forward many years, in labor with my second child (crazy right?!) weaving a bracelet on makeshift loom I made out of discarded wood.

The proper definition of a loom is, “A device used for weaving cloth and tapestry”. There are different types of looms, many vary by regions they are found in the world, and the cultures who use them. But their basic function is to hold string, in weaver’s terms “warp”, and hold it tightly. Tight enough for humans hands, nowadays machines (*cringe*) to manipulate the string and weave yarn, beads, plant fibers, old socks, or just about anything that can be woven into a tight foundation that is warp string.

Looms can be made out of anything, but more often than not they are made with wood. My main looms are a handmade tapestry style loom (vertical orientation) made out of reclaimed wood, and a 100+ year old floor loom (horizontal orientation) aptly named “Granddaddy Floor Loom”. You can see both of these looms in the pic below.

The beauty of looms, and the art of weaving in general (handweaving that is) is that the mechanics and tools haven’t changed much in thousands of years. As weavers, not only do we practice an age old craft, we literally walk (or weave) in the footsteps of our ancestors. In the beginning of civilization, weaving provided the essentials to live daily life, such as shelter and clothing. At some point in your family’s lineage, I bet good money there was a weaver.

Thanks for reading!

-Zanny