What's New in The Loomy Bin

This website is overdue for a reorganization. A lot of my aging software will disappear and more pictures will come. There are and will be inconsistencies on many pages for a while. I'm sorry about that.
You may wonder how to warp the Better Loom. One way is to set up a continuous warp, weave a header, and then move to the Better Loom using one of my clamping methods. That does not work for threaded-in designs. Here I show you how to warp a complicated threaded-in pattern, how to set up the warp on the loom and start weaving. (Mar 2019)
"Where do patterns come from?" you may ask. In the TWIST Journal/Spring 2017 I am talking about where some of my patterns come from. (March 2017) Some "uplifting" tricks for weaving with the Better Loom (Aug 2016)

If you are interested in Andean Sling Braids you must check out Rodrick Owen's new book:"Andean Sling Braids - New Designs for Textile Artists". Rodrick invented a braiding stand that lets you master complex braids with a core without overworking your fingers and brain. It also shows some of my simple Andean Sling Braids and explains how to make them and how I use them. (Aug 2016)

The Mar/Apr 2016 issue of HANDWOVEN has my article "Purple Tablet-Woven Bag. It describes in great detail how to weave the bands and how to make the larger bag that is shown in my gallery under Purple Pouches" (March 2016)

"Functionality meets Beauty" was published in the TWIST Journal/Summer 2015. It tells you how the Better Loom came about. If you are not a TWIST member you can read the story right here (Sept 2015) There is more information about dimensions, setup and weights using the Better Loom.  (Mar 2015, Aug 2015). You may have seen my Simple Loom for card weaving which works really well. Now we have a Better Loom. (Sept 2014).

"Faux Ikat for Card Weaving" - you can read my article in the TWIST Journal/Fall 2014 and see some more samples in my gallery. (Oct 2014). I presented a seminar at the Complex Weavers Conference in Tacoma,WA, June 27 - 30, 2014 about designing card woven bands that have no "other" side. "A Trek from Trash to Textile", my story about weaving with unusual materials is illustrated at CNCHnet. (August 2013) A new incarnation of my shadow weave page is up. The patterns are shown as diagrams and there is a new "Square Designer". (Jan 2013) My website now has a gallery with pictures of my card weaving, braiding and weaving. (May 2012) A new card weaving page with Kivrim patterns woven in the vacant-hole technique. These patterns are not easy to weave but fun to study for everybody. (May 2011)

People often ask me what I do with my many card woven bands. Here is a new and exciting way to use them: artwork for the book cover of Quantum Computing, A Gentle Introduction. (March 2011). A paperback edition came out in September 2014.

There is an addition to my saga of "Two-for-one scarves". It is an article in the October 2010 Journal of Complex Weavers. A study group in Germany got inspired by the original article and took the idea even further. Take a look at Fadenwechsel.(October 2010) If you get the TWIST Journal/Spring 2010 you can find out what my idea of a good loom for card weaving is. You can also read it here and see bigger pictures. (April 2010) If you read HANDWOVEN you may have seen my article "Two-for-one scarves in lazy lacy doubleweave!" in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue. The article is three pages long and describes a red and a blue scarf. They were woven simultaneously. There is also a smaller picture of a copper/grey/white scarf that was woven using the same technique but doublewidth. Space is limited in a printed magazine but I want to show you a few more pictures of the copper/grey scarf.(Dec 2009) Click to see a new addition. (April 2010) A new, very simple pattern was added to the Ram's Horn page. (Sept. 2009) Braids, Braids, and Braids - a new pattern page. (April 2009) Those of you who saw me at Convergence 2008 and the Complex Weavers Conference in Florida may remember my tubular necklace with the TWIST pin. Later I wove a similar piece and wrote an article for Handwoven, Nov/Dec 2008, p. 62, 63. In the article I show how to weave a tubular piece and how to create a corkscrew effect. For some more thoughts on "Tubular Card Weaving with Extreme Twist" and pictures click here (Oct 2008). I'll be teaching two seminars at the Complex Weavers Conference 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida: Possibilities in Card Weaving Cross-pollination in Fiber Arts A new TWIST Journal (Spring 2007) came out and it has an article of mine, "Anglo-Saxon - or Split Pack Card Weaving Technique". The picture portion can be viewed right here. (Apr 2007). Single copies and back copies of TWIST journals can be purchased. They are $5.00 if you live in the US, $6.50 in Canada and $7.50 if you live elsewhere. For details send an e-mail to TWIST and put "TWIST Back Copy" in the Subject line. To become a TWIST member click here.. Check out my "Starry Scarf in Deflected Double Weave", Handwoven Magazine, Jan/Feb 2007 I will be teaching an introductory card weaving class at Custom Handweavers in Mountain View, CA on March 31, 2007. Sometimes people ask me what I do to keep the ends of my bands from unraveling. The beginning is obvious, you weave the weft end in with the regular weft, one or two picks. But what do you do at the end? Go here and see how it is done. A workshop in Berkeley, California: The friendly people at Lacis are giving me the opportunity to teach a workshop at their location. It'll be one day only, the date is Oct. 15, 2005. The teaching is a streamlined and enriched version of Day 1 of my workshop at CNCH 2005 in Asilomar/April this year. .You can see the full class description here. (Sept 2005) I am pleased to let you know that an article of mine, "Design Challenge: Patterns on Both Sides", was published in the latest TWIST Journal, Fall 2004. The picture portion can be viewed right here (Nov 2004). If you are looking for a good reason to travel to California next spring, here is one: CNCH, the Conference of Northern California Handweavers. The location is the scenic California coast, the facility is the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove which is close to Monterey and Carmel. Card weaving is one of the workshops, and I am honored to be accepted as a teacher. The dates are April 14-17, 2005. (Sept 2004) I never told you that there were publications in 2002 of my shadow weave patterns.     For details please visit my Shadow Weave page (Feb 2004) Card Weaving Pattern Library: In support of the TWIST article "Design Challenge: Patterns on Both Sides" of Fall 2004, I updated the page Two Color Patterns (Nov 2004). Many card weavers' first big challenge: the Ram's horn pattern (Sept 2004). A new version of an old favorite, the Birka pattern as Egyptian diagonal. (Aug 2004). And a knot pattern as Egyptian diagonal (Aug 2004). Birka and Beyond - Part II - new pattern page. This page contains all patterns described in my article "Birka and Beyond - Part II" published in the TWIST Journal of Spring 2003. (April 2003) Birka and Beyond - new pattern page. This page contains all patterns described in my article "Birka and Beyond" published in the TWIST Journal of Fall 2002. (November 2002) Two Color Patterns - new pattern page (March 2002) Andean Slings Braids. Updated - now has a 4-colour example (Feb 2002) Kivrim page - page was updated with more patterns and photos. (Dec 2001) Viking Patterns - New page (Oct 2001)    Card Weaving: I wrote up a description of a very simple card weaving project:     "What is Card Weaving". It is a good project for any beginner, for public demonstrations, and especially for children. Consider this page to be a starting point to understanding how the threading of cards and rotation of cards create a pattern. (January 2004) Syntax definition of pattern files - this is of interest to software developers who think about writing a card weaving design program. If you use this format or something compatible for the input file, users have a chance to use their patterns in both systems. (June 2002)