One of the benefits of taking a break from the Facebook Pin Loom Weaving Support Group is that I now have leisure time to explore. Without noticing, I’d practically left off embarking on personal pin loom weaving adventures.
Weaving the 3-layer method on a Sue-made equidistant pin loom
My current adventure is to explore weaving with thicker yarn than the standard Weave-It, or Wunderwag, loom can handle. My ultimate purpose is to design a loom that will allow me to use some of my thicker-than-standard handspun yarn.
Most likely I’ll mess up the use of this vocabulary word and someone will come along and correct me, but I think I’ve got it right this time. The sett of the loom in the photos* is 5 epi (see *Additional Posts below). Overall it consists of 33 warp ends and 33 weft picks. (This was an arbitrary decision on my part. I meant to make a 6″ three-pin configured loom and accidentally cut the foam to 6″, leaving no place to put the pins! Since I can’t bear to waste materials, I made a 5″ square loom with equidistant pins. I practiced a little bias weaving on it, but . . . Let’s just say I need more practice.)
The 3-layer warping and weaving method for this loom is a bit weird, as it usually is with equidistant pin looms*. I had to fiddle with it to make it work; beginning and ending locations for each layer were different from those of the Weave-It. For example, L1 ends at Cr4; L3 ends at Cr1.
For my first attempt I used worsted weight (category 4) yarn and followed a modified U3, O1 pattern. Most category 4 yarn works quite well on the Weave-It, but some is a bit on the too-thick-for-comfort side*.
Basic “3-and-1” pattern adapted to this 33 x 33 epi/ppi square
#4 weight category Acrylic yarns that are too thick (in my opinion) include: Big Twist, Red Heart Super Saver, Red Heart with Love, I Love This Yarn, Caron Jumbo, Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice, and Premier Sweet Roll. (However, Red Heart Soft, Red Heart Soft Baby Steps, and Caron Simply Soft are excellent choices for the Weave-It.)
I was unsure how the yarn would weave up; it turns out I warped it too loosely. I think the finished square would have looked better if I’d tightened up a bit (don’t pull it taut, just leave no slack).
On the next square I used Big Twist Chunky (#5 weight category). I warped the way I described above—no slack, but not pulled tight. So far, so good. I’m confident it will remain easy to weave to the end.
“Star Panel” (using #5 weight category yarn)
“Star Panel” Instructions
R1: P
Even Rows: P9, (O3, P3) x 2, O3, P9
Odd Rows: P12, U3, P3, U3, P12
R17: P
Because this is a panel pattern, you can use it on any loom; just adjust the number of stitches necessary to keep the pattern centered. On even rows, you need to center 15 stitches (O3, P3, O3, P3, O3); on odd rows, center 9 stitches (U3, P3, U3). However, for the Weave-It/Wunderwag looms you’ll have to change the stitch order*.
Finished square
I look forward to further adventures with this wider sett type of loom . . .
*Additional Posts
Adventures in Pin Loom Making—And So Can You! (Post includes link to a video demo.)
Looms with Equidistant Pins
Looms with Equidistant Pins, Part 2
Yarn Thickness Comparison
Star Panel—4″ and 6″ pattern for Weave-It