"Another Looper Rug......"

I finished weaving another looper rug yesterday. I hadn't woven one like this before because this time, I used every color of looper that Great Northern Weaving Supply had to offer. Here is a view of the piles from where I am choosing the color sequence before connecting them into chains. In case you have forgotten, loopers are a by-product from the sock industry.


I also have found another way to help wind the warp onto the looms warp beam while keeping the tension somewhat even. I'd borrowed some spring clamps from our neighbor Rob to try last time I dressed the loom and liked how they worked. Before I began dressing it again, I came up with a few other uses for them (like attaching the warping board to the side of the loom for measuring out the warp), so I decided and purchased a number of them. Using the chairs for weight resistance, the clamps make it easy to adjust as the warp is wound onto the warp beam.


I even use larger clamps to hold the chairs together. Notice the blue sky/water pattern on the back beam. It is corrugated cardboard that I ordered from Dick Blick Art Supplies, a company that I used at times when ordering supplies for my classroom. I tried finding corrugated cardboard on a roll locally, but no one carried it. Thank goodness for being able to buy things from the internet! :)


As the warp is wound onto the warp beam, the chairs were drawn up close to the looms front beam. Eventually, I had to turn the chairs around to allow winding as much of the warp onto the loom as possible.


This was as far as I could go using the chairs as resistance.


Another view of the wound warp.......


After threading the heddles in the correct sequence, the warp has to be also threaded through the reed, ending in tying it onto the front iron rod.


Some woven looper chains......


A closer view of the weaving. Truthfully, my loom isn't really heavy enough to weave rugs, but I have found it to be "adequate" for looper rugs. Someday I would like a heavier loom that will allow me to pack the weave tighter, but until then, I am satisfied with how the looper rugs turn out. They are soft to the touch and go through the washing machine quite well.


The finished rug (with the exception of tying the warp ends, that is).


It ended up being a little longer (approximately 3'x5') than I'd planned for, but I am happy with the results. :) I'm hoping for some sun today so that I can take a photo of it outside. If I do, I will post one which should show the true colors.