I’ve taught beginner sprang before, and it occurred to me that it was time to start documenting some of what I’m doing.
The loom I use is made from pvc pipe and pvc elbows, so that it snaps together. The warped loom stands on its own, and gives you an almost vertical work area, making it easier to manipulate the thread.
In addition to the pvc pipe, there are also 8 elastic bands: pairs of 2 elastic bands tied together. Two sets each on top and bottom to hold the double pointed knitting needles I had handy. You don’t need to use knitting needles, of course; chopsticks or skewers or anything not too thick that can withstand a little pressure from the yarn.
I’ve also warped the loom, by using a bi-coloured ball of yarn. The ball of yarn is made by combining two colours of wool using a ball winder. The loom is warped by tying off at one end of the top knitting needle (leaving a long tail to use later to sew up the side of the pouch), then winding the ball around the bottom and top needles in one continuous spiral, finishing up at the top needle.
(In this case I used 14 loops of the ball, or 28 loops total. Half pale yellow, half blue.) Again the end is cut with a very generous tail, and tied off with a double hitch. You don’t want too tight off a knot since we will have to unpick it later.
Other tools I use include 4 skewers (or skinnier knitting needles), and eventually a long crochet hook and a latch hook.
Next post I will start talking about how to sprang.