Beginner Weaving Lessons

The Unusual Pear Loom Instructions

The Unusual Pear | The Weaving Loom

This post is my collaboration with The Unusual Pear to provide pictures to her weaving instructions. If you don’t have a loom from The Unusual Pear, no worries, you can still benefit from these beginner instructions (especially Rainie’s awesomely easy soumak trick, seriously you need to check this time-saving method out!)  This post is jam-packed, so get cozy and ready to weave!

***Oh and if you have a circle loom from The Unusual Pear, click here for a post on that.***


WARP – the lengthwise threads of the weaving

To Warp Your Loom

  • Tie your warp thread around the first bottom left tooth of the loom.

Knotting The Warp- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

  • Tie a double knot to secure and then weave in and out of the teeth along the top and bottom of the loom on the front side only. Make sure to keep a firm tension with your warp as you do this.

Warpping Loom- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

  • Secure the end of the warp around the last tooth on the bottom right of the loom by tying another double knot.Knotting The Warp- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom
  • Check your tension by placing your hand on the warp threads – it should be firm, not loose – adjust if needed.

Cotton Warp Thread for Weaving

WEFT – the crosswise threads of the weaving

I recommend weaving from the top to bottom of the loom. This means you will have perfect hanging loops at the top when you remove the weaving. Leave a minimum of 10cm (4in) of remaining warp at the bottom of your weaving, this extra room will help when it comes time to take your weaving off the loom – use a piece of thin cardboard as a guide if needed.

TABBY / PLAIN WEAVE

This is a basic over and under technique. As you begin weaving, it is important to remember not to pull your weft thread too tight, otherwise your weaving will end up looking like an hourglass. I recommend not pulling your yarn straight through, rather, as the picture shows, make an arch and beat the yarn down.

Plain Weave- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

ANGLES & CURVES

With this technique you either lose or add a warp thread on each pass, depending which angle you are making. When you weave on the opposite side, you meet your passes again, adding or losing a warp thread.

Shop Weaving Supplies

Note From Kate | As you can see below, I am steadily building an angle, by weaving one less warp thread at a time.

Angles & Curves- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

RYA KNOTS / SHAG / TASSELS

  • Cut yarn into lengths
  • take 2-4 strands at a time (more if you want it extra shaggy) and lay them over the top of two warp threads
  • Loop around the outer sides then down and out through the middle
  • Hold in place with 1-2 rows of plain weave to secure your rya and continue this technique to build thicker layers of shag

Note from Kate | For quicker rya knot production, check out my post here

Rya Knot- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

ADDING A NEW THREAD

  • Allow the new thread to overlap the old thread for around 4-5cm (1.5-2in)
  • The cut ends can be tucked back into the weaving using your tapestry needle
  • Turn your loom around, take the cut end of the weft and thread it up through the same colour weft you have already woven

Note from Kate | For this example I used two different colored wefts to better demonstrate the thread change.  When you do this with same colored thread, the change will be less visible in your weave.

Adding Thread - how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

SOUMAK WEAVE

  • Cut a long piece of yarn
  • Loop it around the first or last warp thread (first in my case as I am weaving left to right).  Pictures 1 & 2 below.
  • Spread the two pieces of yarn, take the cut ends and thread them through the middle and under the next warp thread and out through the middle again (always through the middle!) Pictures 3, 4, 5 below
  • Repeat!!!! Pictures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 below

Note from Kate | In my example, I have woven a section to the left (dark grey) and then added my soumak weave to show that you can start a soumak weave even in the middle of your warp.  For those who like a video of this process, check out this video that Rainie put on her Instagram.

Soumak Weave- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

FINISHING / TAKING YOUR WEAVING OFF THE LOOM TO HANG

  • You should have a minimum of 10cm (4in) exposed warp at the bottom of your weaving – cut the warp threads at the very bottom of the weaving, bit by bit (it makes it easier to tie the knots if some of it is still on the loom) and tie the warp threads together two or four at a time – this will secure your weaving. The loose warp ends can be cut short or woven back into the weaving – it can also be used as fringe.Cut Off Loom- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom
  • Use a piece of wooden dowel or a foraged stick to hang your weaving. Weave the dowel / stick through the loops at the top of the weaving – just like the tabby / plain weave you started with

weave2

^^Here is another weave I made, that shows the versatility of these looms ^^

^^You can warp them on fewer tabs if you want and weave all the way down to around 10cm (4in) from the bottom^^

Note from Kate | Once the bottom warp strings are cut, you will be able to easily pull the loops off the top tabs.  Since my loops are larger then my dowel rod, I twisted my loops a few times so that they secured the top of my weave, then put my dowel rod through the loops.  You can make your loops smaller while weaving if you wove closer to the top tabs.  You could even use the Hem Stitch weave to secure the top of your weave.

Hanging Your Weave- how to use your Unusual Pear Loom|The Weaving Loom

  • Hang up your very own hand woven wall hanging and start all over again.

The Unusual Pear | The Weaving Loom

 

Congratulations on your first weave and many more to come!  Keep up to date with my weaving tutorials that work on any lap loom, by signing up for my email list below!

Happy Weaving!

Kate

I received the mini bamboo loom as a gift from The Unusual Pear. All opinions are my own and I only accept and recommend products that I personally like and use.

Sign Up!

Don't miss out, sign up for blog post notifications sent to your inbox.
For more fun, follow me here -> pinterestinstagram

You Might Also Like

  • Shweta
    November 30, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    I would like to learn weaving and would like to get this weaving set. How can I place order for this ? I am currently in shenzhen,china.

    • Kate
      November 30, 2015 at 8:56 pm

      Hi Shweta, These looms are sold on Etsy by The Unusual Pear. So if you have access to Etsy then you can buy them at this link https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheUnusualPear

  • Rhonda Martin
    January 28, 2016 at 2:58 pm

    I received my loom today and I am very disappointed. I did not receive the needle or the comb for the kit, only the board. I feel like for the price I should have received that along with the kit. I purchased my own thread. Was it accidentally left out???
    Thank you,
    Rhonda Martin

    • Kate
      January 28, 2016 at 8:48 pm

      Hi Rhonda, I’m sorry to hear that. I do not sell the looms, nor do I get compensation for them. Please reach out to The Unusual Pear with any issues, I’m sure she can help resolve them.

    • Countess
      June 18, 2016 at 10:39 pm

      I am just ordering from there now, I think you may have ordered incorrectly. You need to specify in the order if you are ordering the loom, or the “kit”.

  • kg
    February 13, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    LOVE this blog… always learning from it. I have oddly struggled with the conventional soumak weave, and I am going to try it this way next time… the way in this post makes sense to me!

  • sharee
    February 17, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    I read you recommended starting from the top of the loom but the tutorial looks as if your doing bottom up. Im confused ???

    • Kate
      February 17, 2016 at 10:05 pm

      Hi Sharee, you’re right, I did these basic steps from the bottom up. I usually weave from the top down, but turn my loom upside down (that sounds even more confusing). I normally create my whole weave upside down and end with the rya knots, however this is just how I like to weave so that I can decide on how the bottom of my weave will look last. That doesn’t mean it’s the right way to weave, it’s just my preference. For these tutorials I was just showing the basic steps so I wove it bottom up without even thinking about it. If you are more comfortable weaving from the bottom up, then continue doing that 🙂 I hope that helps, I didn’t mean to confuse anyone :/

  • Francesca De Grandis
    August 10, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    Kate, thanks for an incredibly clear, useful, and thorough guide.

    I’m confused about one thing:

    The instructions twice say to end putting on the warp with a double knot. At first I thought the repetition is a typo but then noticed the second time you say to end with a double knot there is a different set of pictures. I don’t see in the photos any difference between where the first double knot is tied and the second one is tied. What’s the difference?

    Thanks again so much!

    • Kate
      August 11, 2016 at 6:32 am

      Thanks for reaching out! The first double knot is to start the warping and the second double knot finishes the warp thread on the loom. Does that answer your question or is there a different spot you’re talking about? It is possible that I made a typo, but I couldn’t find it. I did see that for starting the warp I said tie a knot and then in the next point I said tie a double knot, but that was for clarification.

      • Francesca De Grandis
        August 11, 2016 at 8:59 am

        Thank you so much for your speedy reply.

        Here’s the place I’m talking about: you say “Secure the end of the warp around the last tooth on the bottom right of the loom by tying another double knot.” Then there are two pictures showing a double knot being tied. But then it says “finish with a double knot,” followed by two *other* pictures showing a double knot being tied.

        Are you just repeating yourself there for emphasis or are two double knots supposed to be tied at the end of the warp?

        Sorry if I’m being obtuse, I’m new at weaving. Thank you again!

        • Kate
          August 11, 2016 at 10:12 am

          Oh I see what you mean now. The “finish with a double knot” words are part of a picture block of four pictures along with those words. I’m showing four pictures, the first three are the first knot with the fourth being the double knot. I’m just over-explaining in this picture to help reinforce what to do, I’m sorry if it caused you confusion. Let me know if you have other questions.

  • GreeneFroggFineArts
    August 18, 2016 at 10:38 am

    Good morning! Quick question… How do you recommend that a round, 20″-24″ woven piece be hung? I definitely will NOT be leaving it on the loom/frame, and need some suggestions. Any ideas and advise will be appreciated. Thank you.

    • Kate
      August 19, 2016 at 7:30 am

      That is a hard question. What pops into my head is (1) you could hang it from a branch with thread attaching from the branch to the top half of the circle (2) mount and frame the round weave (3) I’m not sure if this would even work, but possibly sew sawtooth picture hangers to the top and sides of the weave and try hanging it that way (this would probably take a few hangers due to the weight).
      Hopefully one of these ideas helps!

  • Kerri
    September 21, 2016 at 8:52 am

    Hi Kate, great tutorial! I’m starting to get an hourglass look to my weaving where it’s getting thinner towards the middle. Do youthink it would be that my warp strings are too tight or maybe I’m pulling the thread too tight once I’m done a row? Ay thoughts would help. Thanks

    • Kate
      September 22, 2016 at 10:55 am

      Oh yes, the dreaded hourglass shape. This happens when you weave the weft with uneven tension, and don’t worry it happens to all of us. Over time you’ll get better and better at weaving with an even tension and I have a post on how to help make your tension more even https://www.theweavingloom.com/weaving-tip-back-to-the-plain-weave-basics/

      I hope this helps!

  • Victoria Valentine
    October 21, 2016 at 8:20 am

    Can you weave on this like you can on the Miramax looms ??

    • Kate
      October 25, 2016 at 2:24 pm

      I think you meant a Mirrix Loom? I haven’t woven on one of those, but yes this loom has a similar weaving style in that they are both frame looms. I think the mirrix loom has a few more special features, but the basic idea is the same.

  • Megan
    November 10, 2016 at 9:01 pm

    Hi Kate,
    When warping the loom how have you ended up with two warps in each tooth space?
    I’ve tried wrapping around the teeth on the front side only and get one thread in each space. Have you gone across the loom and back again?
    Thanks 🙂

    • Kate
      November 12, 2016 at 4:27 pm

      I think the issue might what space you’re bringing the warp thread down to. I have a video of me warping a similar style loom, which might help you get a better idea of what I’m doing here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCRb3K74otg

  • Dagny
    November 18, 2016 at 6:46 am

    That dark navy/turquiose/grey roving weave you have there is just stunning!

    • Kate
      November 22, 2016 at 4:36 pm

      Thank you! I liked that one too 🙂