by Laverne Waddington on September 16, 2009
Edited by Drel Murn
The text and pictures have been copied wholesale from the weavezine article an minorly edited and rearranged for personal use. Additions are in these blue boxes.
Find the original here: https://web.archive.org/web/20240607003205/https://www.weavezine.com/content/backstrap-basics.html
Or here on Laverne's blog: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/backstrap-basics-an-article-from-weavezine-by-laverne-waddington/
Lean este artículo en español.
Basic, crude, primitive—these are all words that spring to mind when one thinks of the humble backstrap loom—a description that obscures the fact that some of history's most beautiful and complex textiles have been woven on this simple arrangement of sticks.
A simple loom, yet mysterious...the most frequent comment I hear when I pull out my backstrap rods is, "All those sticks! Where do they go and what in the world do they do?" The puzzling collection of sticks and tangle of yarn miraculously springs to life and transforms itself into a loom when the weaver dons the backstrap, attaches the loom bar, tensions the warp, and starts to weave.
Small, portable, and inexpensive—the backstrap loom is ideal for those who lack the space for a table or floor loom, would like to be able to take their weaving "on the road" with them, or simply don't have the means to invest in more sophisticated equipment.
I am fortunate to be currently living in Bolivia, a part of the world where this loom is still very much in use today. Many of its secrets have been revealed to me in the homes, hearts, and hands of my weaving teachers—homes at the end of dusty village paths on the cold, harsh, and colorless Bolivian high plains—an environment which starkly contrasts with the warmth of my teachers' welcomes, their overwhelming generosity, and the rich, intricate, and colorful designs they weave into their cloth.
In this article, I show you the basics of backstrap weaving while teaching you to create one of the fundamental parts of the loom: the backstrap.
After fourteen years of backstrap weaving, I have found that a broad and sturdily constructed backstrap, well positioned around the hips (rather than the waist) allows me to comfortably weave at my loom for hours.
I based the dimensions of this project on a beautiful braided-straw backstrap that was made for me in Peru in 1997. I use this special backstrap at home. When I travel, a strap I've woven rolls up beautifully and goes into my backpack along with my loom sticks.
This project is woven in plain weave using a medium-weight cotton yarn, and weaves up very fast. It is a simple and practical project which allows you to become familiar with the workings of your loom without having to think about complicated patterning.
I give instructions first for setting up and weaving on a narrow warp—as an introduction to backstrap weaving techniques—before moving on to the wider warp required for making the backstrap itself.
I use 8/2 crochet cotton for a lot of my projects but, in order to make a firm and sturdy fabric suitable for a backstrap, I have chosen a medium-weight (DK-weight, about 13 wraps per inch (wpi)) mercerized cotton yarn for both the warp and weft. Choose yarn that is not loosely spun or fluffy.
As I am in Bolivia, I am using a local brand and my yarn comes in balls of 219 yds (200 meters). I used almost one ball for this project.
I will highly recomend cotton. I've found acrylics to be almost sticky when weaving, which is both inconvinient and makes it harder to start. In my experience, US craft stores often have cotton yarn, advertised as for crocheters. Do not get lace weight! Specialty yarn stores may also have cotton yarn, but they tend to focus on wool.
Below is the equipment used in backstrap weaving. Yes, here is the puzzling collection of sticks and string! But bear with me...this jumble is about to turn into a loom.
Forget the fancy labels. A backstrap loom is basically two sticks between which you stretch your warp. Two more sticks strategically placed in the middle allow you to manipulate the warps to create sheds. Finally, the weft, which holds everything together, is carried and beaten into place with two additional implements. And what about that "roll-up stick"? Don't worry, all will be revealed.
Now, what's missing from this picture...? Oh yes, that would be you. Picture yourself there between the loom bar and the backstrap.
So it seems that a trip to the hardware store is in order—not necessarily. Take a look at some home-made options.
While you are weaving this project and making your own backstrap, an improvised one can be made from a pillow case. Broom handles make excellent loom bars—cut pieces 14-19 inches long. A wooden ruler can be used as a beater, pencils can replace dowels as cross sticks and heddle sticks, and simple shuttles can be cut from cardboard.
Laverne has since written more about this at the article here: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/backstrap-weaving-the-backstrap-loom-all-those-sticks/
If you do not have a wooden ruler, I recomend going to the pre-made wood crafts section or a craft store to looki for something suitable wood and long. You might want to sand down the edge a little so it can pack tighter.
As for the loom bars, you can generally getinch thick dowels at a hardware store.
I, personally, would not recomment pencils as cross sticks, I've found them to be too fragile. Chopsticks on the other hand work really well, even just disposable ones. Knitting needes also work.
As for shuttles, cardboard does work, but I've found it gets kind of irritating quickly. If you continue to do this, a cheap way to get a more solid shuffle is to cut up a paint stirring stick.
The warp is the vertical length of the fabric.
Clamp stakes to a board to measure the warp. Clamp them firmly. They must not be able to move at all while you are warping. I have wound a short warp below as an example.
Have two thin dowel sticks ready to preserve the cross, with thread handy to tie them together. If you don't have grooves in your cross sticks to hold the thread, they can be bound together with adhesive tape. Use a length of cotton to secure the end loops.
Your warp will have two sheds: one controlled by continuous string heddles, and the other by a shed rod or shed loop.
A helpful video can be found here: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/backstrap-weaving-basic-warping-for-backstrap-looms/
While the page is about warping for a specific technique, it does show plain warping, and Laverne explains some of the terms she uses which aren't as widely used.
The following isn't very relevant to the current project, but it's good to know for the future.
This is a warp-faced weave. This means that your warps will be placed very close to each other and will completely cover the weft. My 13-wpi warp yarn yields approximately 1 inch of width per 20 ends. That is, 10 complete revolutions of warp will produce a one-inch—wide band.
I find that measuring like this, when my warps are on the cross sticks, is the easiest way to judge approximately how wide my piece will be.
The warp is placed on the loom bars as shown below. The loom bar that has the end of the warp with the knots (where the warp started and ended) will be attached to a fixed object.
There are several ways to do this. Experiment and find the way that is most comfortable for you.
Weavers in Guatemala weave with their warps angled steeply upwards. In Bolivia, women weave a narrow warp stretched between their waist and big toe, with the warp angled downwards. I prefer to work on a warp that is slightly angled upwards and I find Option 3, above, the most stable set-up.
The other loom bar will be attached to you by way of the backstrap. I feel most comfortable with the backstrap positioned around my hips.
Weavers come in all shapes and sizes. You can see in the photo how the strap should sit on the body. Bearing in mind that the woven area in this picture is 17-1/2 inches (45 cm) in length, you can make the necessary adjustments to the length of your project to suit your shape and size.
I feel comfortable weaving with the front loom bar posititoned about 4-1/2 inches (11.5 cm) away from my body.
(Note: In the videos accompanying this article, you will see my loom bar is farther than that from my body—this is to provide an unobstructed view, and is not how I normally weave.)
Remember in backstrap weaving you are part of the loom and there are some basic moves and techniques with which you need to become familiar:
I recommend weaving a narrow sample band of around 28 ends (14 revolutions on the stakes) to become familiar with your loom before attempting the wider piece which will be used to make your backstrap. At the end of this article, I have provided suggestions for how to use narrow bands to make small gift projects.
Don't forget to wind around your warping stakes in a figure eight path!
Before you begin to weave, you must make continuous string heddles and a shed loop. My weaving teachers in Bolivia use their warp yarn for heddle string and I do likewise. However, in Guatemala the weavers use nylon thread for their heddles as it is smooth and slippery and does not abrade the warp. While nylon definitely has its advantages, I personally don't like it, as it slides around too much and doesn't hold knots well.
Create your heddles and shed loop as follows:
Video of process at the end
Pass your heddle string under the warps that are passing over the lower cross stick.
Anchor the string with your left thumb while pulling up more string from between the 1st and 2nd warps.
Draw this string up and over your hand. The first warp is now enclosed in its heddle.
While anchoring the string with your left thumb, pull up more string from between the 2nd and 3rd warps.
Once again, pass the string up and over your hand.
Continue like this across the warp.
Pass another "tie up" piece of yarn (shown in black) through all the loops that were wound over your left hand and tie an overhand knot.
Cut your heddle string. Pull up the starting and ending tails of the heddle string and add them to the "tie up" yarn. Tie two more overhand knots.
Make your shed loop by passing a short length of yarn under the warps that are passing over the upper cross stick.
Tie this length of yarn in a knot. Remove the cross sticks. Your continuous string heddles and shed loop are now finished.
In the following video, you will see how to make heddles on a stick and install the shed stick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptf-Y8cZhB8
Now you are ready to start weaving! Is one end of your loom tied up to a sturdy fixed object? Is your backstrap around your hips and connected to the other end of the loom? Ok, let's get started!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUcX9zCU-g
The following is a note on an alternate way to begin weaving, but perhaps not the best way to start:
You can have a smooth start to your woven piece, rather than leaving warps for a fringe or braids as shown in the video, by passing a steel needle through the warp ends. The needle is then lashed tightly to your loom bar.
When your piece is finished, withdraw the needle, pass the starting weft tail through the loops with a sewing needle, and cut. You can use a length of sturdy coat hanger wire or cut down piano wire instead of a steel knitting needle.
So, you have been weaving your narrow band. Your edges were probably more than a little wobbly at the beginning, but they eventually settled down to give you an even and consistent width. I would guess that your attempts to open the heddles now feel less like you are wrestling with the warp and more like a gentle coaxing. All the movements are progressively better coordinated and feel more natural.
Now you are ready to move on to the wider cloth that will become the backstrap for your loom!
Warp this project with 92 ends.
The methods used to set up your loom and weave with a wider warp differ from those used for a narrow warp in the following ways:
Start your wide piece in the same way as your narrow sample; that is, by inserting a piece of cardboard into the shed. For the backstrap project, this piece of cardboard should measure 6 inches (15 cm). These unwoven 6 inches of warp will be later braided. The entire length of the warp will be used so there is no waste. Cords are passed through the braided ends which serve to attach the backstrap to the loom bars. The 92 ends will make a width of 4-1/2 inches (11.5cm). Keep a ruler handy and check the width of your piece every now and then so that tendencies to narrow or widen can be immediately corrected.
Follow the video tutorial above to insert the heddle rod. I will note that personally, I like to ahve multiple heddle rods when my piece gets wider, because the wider pice had greater friction, and it's more difficult to lift all of the heddles at once. This doesn't seem to be something anyone else does though.
Now you can remove the cross sticks and start weaving. The following video shows how to open the sheds when working on a wide warp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cRytIBw9A
In this final video, you will learn about joining on a new weft as well as the adjustments that need to be made as you near the end of your warp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E45tPJj5YjU
Here you can see two finished backstraps. I used 4 warps per strand to make 3-strand braids on one backstrap (upper) and 4-strand braids on another (lower). Through the end loops I passed 3- and 4-strand braided cords made with my warp yarn.
The ends of the cords (in white) can be either:
Your first project has been completed and you now have your own hand-woven backstrap!
Now what? Keep practicing those skills! Perfect them by weaving more bands and wide pieces with medium-weight yarn.
Put your pieces together to make bags, belts and straps. Then move on to progressively finer yarns. Get creative, play with stripes. You can find instructions on how to prepare your warp with combinations of stripes and horizontal bars in Laverne's Backstrap Warping Tutorial.
With these basic skills under your belt, and your collection of familiar sticks and string, you are also ready to learn about pick-up weaves and other patterning techniques employed by indigenous weavers around the world.
[Editor's Note: to learn how to do beautiful pick-up designs like the ones shown below, take a look at Laverne's new eMonograph: Andean Pebble Weave.)
I'd like to specifically recommend the page on Laverne's blog: https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/backstrap-weaving-basic-warping-for-backstrap-looms/ for when you want to do horizontal stripes or try Andean Pebble Weave.
Laverne Waddington has been both learning to weave and documenting spinning, weaving and braiding techniques in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala for the last 16 years.
She has shared her skills and experiences with many visitors to Bolivia in informal one-on-one classes over the last 10 years. She runs the Backstrap Weaving Groups on Weavolution and Ravelry and has a gallery of her work on Flickr. She also blogs at Backstrap Weaving, where she shares her latest projects and her experiences with indigenous teachers. She is the author of Andean Pebble Weave, a mongraph on how to create pick-up designs in warp-faced fabrics.
Photos and video: Laverne Waddington and Jorge Beyer