Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving — Bucilla Magic-Loom: “It’s good and it’s bad.”*

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Almost everything I need to know about pin looms I learned on the eloomanation website. I found pattern books, little-loom trivia, and I learned about looms I might not otherwise have known existed. That’s good and that’s bad. It’s good because you want to know there are other options, and it’s bad because you may or may not be able to get your hands on them.

I’m lucky. When I first learned about the Loomette with bars I searched for it on eBay, found one, and “buy-it-now” bought it. I purchased a Jiffy Loom (JL) before I even knew what it was. I saw Wonder Weave looms in abundance before I decided to buy one.

With the Bucilla Magic-Loom (BML) I was not so instantaneously lucky. I looked for over a year and never saw one. When I finally found one, it was offered on eBay as a package deal with two other looms I already own–and that’s good and that’s bad. I knew a package deal would cost more which is good because the higher price would scare away some bidders, but it’s bad because it would drive the price up for me as well. Too bad the loom didn’t come with the “adjusta bar,” but it’s good that it came with its original instructions and box.

I won the auction, so now I own one and I’m really happy about that.

Bucilla Magic-Loom with(out) adjusta bar

Bucilla Magic-Loom with(out) adjusta bar

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Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving—Using the Jiffy Loom

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For Sabrina, because she asked.

Some of my small collection of Jiffy Looms

Some of my small collection of Jiffy Looms

I don’t have a lot to say about this style of loom because I haven’t used it much. The fact that it has one more warp and weft strand than the Weave-it intrigues me with its pattern-designing possibilities. My brief experiences with it lead me to the opinion that though not impossible, it’s difficult compared to the Weave-it, to use. Jiffy Loom is certainly worth exploring–so I plan to persevere. Read More →

Bulky yarn–an extended re-visit

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Some questions have come my way since my recent post on bulky yarns, and I realized one thing I didn’t cover: what will happen if a weaver decides to weave a square using bulky yarn in all four layers?

Answer: it will be doable but difficult.

Here we have some pretty Patons Classic Wool Roving yarn–suitable for dyeing, less suitable for 4-layer pin loom weaving.

Patons Classic Wool Roving yarn. It has twist, so it won't tear apart easily. It's pretty and smooth--a dream to weave with, but not on this loom (unless you like nightmares).

Patons Classic Wool Roving yarn. It has twist, so it won’t tear apart easily. It’s pretty and smooth–a dream to weave with, but not on this loom (unless you like nightmares).

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How to Avoid MIS-Adventures in Pin Loom Weaving—Trouble Shooting

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As of today, the following information is as accurate as I can make it based on my 16 months of experience with the pin loom. Feel free to comment if you have other experiences or questions. While this post is meant as a trouble-shooting post for beginning weavers, I’m also including extra information so it will all be in one place. The information herein will serve as a glossary until I get a separate one made.

***Remember you can click on a photo to enlarge it. Click the back arrow to return to this post.

ANATOMY OF THE PIN LOOM

Pin looms have a frame and pins. Many pin looms have pins grouped (generally) in threes (three of the corners have different groupings). We call this a “three-pin configuration.” The Loomette’s pins are not arranged this way, but you can still weave with it as you would a three-pin configured loom.

The loom has four corners, three of which are numbered on the Weave-it and Weavette; Zoom Loom numbers all four of its corners. Loomette doesn’t number the corners, but there’s a notch for anchoring the yarn at corner 1.

From L: Weave-it, Loomette, Zoom Loom

From L: Weave-it, Loomette, Zoom Loom

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