Peg Loom Weaving

During quarantine, BluPrint (the old Craftsy) made freely available most of their video lessons. After looking at lesson options, I watched Startup Library: Rigid Heddle Weaving classes with Deborah Jarchow. I was fascinated! Then I watched Rigid Heddle Weaving lessons by Angela Tong. By then I knew I wanted a rigid heddle loom. 

If you're not familiar with rigid heddle loom weaving, this is what a $189 loom looks like. This is an Ashford 16"-wide, Samplet, a starter tabletop loom. The wider/larger the loom, the higher the cost. 

I'd need to invest in yarn too. After admitting to myself I didn't need to start stashing yarn to make scarves that I wouldn't wear here in Florida, I let the idea go.

Until I saw a twining loom that's designed for rag weaving. For $149 (stand shown not included) a Libbylula.com loom will make a rug that's as large as 24" X 41. What a great way to use fabric strips!

This time I thought, "That's pretty expensive for a couple of rag rugs."

After I mentioned my weaving interest to quilters on a Big Cypress Zoom call, Selina contacted me to offer me use of her peg loom. I had to look it up to see what a peg loom is, and how it works.

When I realized this peg loom might be a good option for what I had in mind, I borrowed it. Thank you, Selina! Happily, she lives not far from me. 

This peg loom can be used to weave a variety of widths, up to 24" - just use only the pegs you want for the width you want. I knew I wanted to weave a rug, so I used all 24 pegs. 

How to Peg Loom Weave

Each of the 24 pegs has a small hole drilled in the bottom. The warp thread - the "foundation thread" upon which the weaving is done - is fed through the hole and the peg is returned to the base (thread toward the bottom). Selina sent along a package of Gum brand floss threaders that work perfectly to pull the thread through the hole.

I used Sugar and Cream yarn (the yarn I use to knit dishcloths) to thread all 24 pins. To calculate how long each warp thread should be, double the length of your project and add 20 percent. Because I intended to make a rug that measures 24" (peg width) by 36", each strand is 90" with half the length on each side of the peg hole.

For the weft - the strands woven onto the pegs - I used 3/4"-wide selvages. For several years, I've been removing UNprinted selvages from my fabric yardage. Well, I remove both the printed and unprinted selvages, but the printed ones go in a plastic bag, and the unprinted ones are tossed in a bin. 

I prefer to join selvage strips, end-to-end, using a very short sewing machine stitch length, but I also tried the cut-a-slit method. 

Cut slits into both ends of a strip. Slide one into the other and make a loop. This joining works fine on a rag rug, but I still prefer the neatness of a machine-sewn overlap of two strips.

To weave, wind the continuous strip back and forth through the pegs, alternating direction at the end of a row. 

When the pegs are full, simply lift a peg and slide the weft (woven part) onto the warp, then put the peg back into the hole, ready for the next stack of weaving. 

Manually slide the woven part onto the warp. 

Here's my set-up. You can see how handy it is to pick a selvage from the canvas bin, machine piece it to the weft, and keep weaving. 

There's no rhyme or reason to how the colors are arranged. Though I will say that in general, selvages have a lot of white in them. I'm glad I have some solid selvages to add pops of color. 

When I saw how close I was to emptying the canvas bin, I decided to "just keep going." I'm glad I did! 

I used every single selvage in my bin. It's completely empty! Whoo-hoo!

To finish the weaving, cut the warp threads at the pegs. Pair warp threads and knot with a half-hitch, knotting across the width, then flipping the rug over to make a second row of knot the other direction. With a large crochet hook, draw pairs of tails along the warp, through the weave. 

 

Finished Peg Loom Woven Rug

The rug finished at 24" X 37. I am ridiculously happy with how it turned out!

All the color! A selvage pillow, my favorite scrap-decoupaged desk, and my new selvage rug.

This is where the rug will rest, alongside the bed where I can step onto it every night and day. 

Linda