Recently, while working on tablet weaving trim, I found myself hitting a bit of a roadblock. I was using the narrow band tablet weaving pattern from the Oseberg ship burial, which calls for all forward rotations of the cards. This led to a lot of twisting in the warp threads on my inkle loom that I couldn’t release. As a beginner, I didn't have a quick fix in my mental toolbox, so I decided to take a break and see if the internet had any wisdom to offer.
It's known that medieval Norse folks didn't use inkle looms. Archaeological findings, including weights, textiles, and artwork suggest they primarily relied on warp-weighted looms (looms that used small weights to keep the warp threads under consistent tension). While there's no direct evidence other than the tablet woven bands themselves, it's likely they also used backstrap looms for tablet weaving, as this method was widespread across many cultures and regions at the time.
For the sake of convenience, I wasn't keen on creating or using one of those more traditional looms just yet. But since my inkle loom wasn't playing nicely with the pattern, I ended up building my own simple board loom using some scrap wood and about $15 in hardware.
I’ve seen similar looms online and carried around in craft bags, and it seemed like a good fit for my needs. I built the base from a thin plywood sheet, a couple of cut 2x4s, and wood glue. The goal was to ensure the base was sturdy enough to handle the tension of the yarn and the pressure of the bolts at the ends.
The end pieces of the loom were made by stacking three pieces of wood: two 2x4s cut to around 10 inches, and a thinner piece added to increase the height slightly. This extra height allowed me to comfortably use my larger tablet weaving cards.
Next, I drilled holes through each end piece—one hole for each corner of the loom (see photo). Through these holes, I inserted 6-inch carriage bolts, securing them with wing nuts. When finished, these end pieces serve as clamps for the yarn.
Pro tip: Make sure the holes are slightly larger than the carriage bolts! I learned this the hard way when I didn’t account for the size difference, and the pieces got stuck together. Throughout the process, I sanded down any rough edges to prevent splinters and to keep the yarn from snagging.
Most board looms I’ve seen tend to be smaller and more compact, but I wanted mine a bit larger to accommodate future projects that may require more space.
Though it’s not the loom historically used for tablet weaving, I am enjoying the simplicity of this setup. It's been fairly easy to maintain consistent tension on the warp threads, and the twisting problem has been significantly reduced. While I’d love to try more traditional looms in the future, for now, I'm excited to see what projects I can create with this one. I may even decorate it if I’m feeling saucy!
References:
Warp Weighted Looms: Then and Now Anglo-Saxon and Viking Archaeological Evidence and Modern Practitioners; Petty, C. (Author). 31 Dec 2014, Student thesis
BACKSTRAP LOOM; Posted by donna kay, Published on Apr 5, 2022, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/backstrap-loom/
