Warping The Loom

Warping the Loom
Since this is on a blog, and since blogs are arranged upside down, it isn't safe to assume that everyone reading this section has read the previous two postings. So, it may save some unnecessary confusion to restate that everything shown and described here assumes the use of Delica 11/0 beads, with Fireline warp and weft, on a Mirrix loom. However, the concepts underlying this system may be of interest.


That said, let’s start with a picture of how this is all supposed to look when it is finished (Note: to enlarge pictures, right-click on them and select Open link in new tab).
What you do not see in this picture are warp threads going across spacing springs and behind the horizontal bars on the loom. Instead, the warp thread is tied off and looped over common paper clips that are strung along an aluminum bar. These clips serve as both hooks for the warp and spacers between warps.

The hooks and spacers strung on the top bar should look like this.

On the bottom bar they will look like this:

Note that in both pictures, the double loop side of the clip faces toward the middle of the loom with the point of the wire end toward the weaver (that’s us). Also, note that the point of the wire on the spacer clips is to the back of the loom—where it is less likely to snag the thread as you are warping.


The number of hooks required will always be determined by the number of beads in the width of your project. The following diagram shows how you set up projects with an even number of beads per row differently than if there are an odd number of beads in each row.



Article 01: Finishing School
Article 02: How to Make A WarpsBead Jig
Article 03: Warping the Loom