How to Weave Using a Loom

learn how to loom weave!

Loom weaving is a wonderful textile project for kids, and it is a great way for anyone to begin to learn to hand weave. 

I was recently visiting my parents who wanted me to look through my childhood items stored there. The first item to come out of the storage box was my hand weaving loom. 

Amazingly, it had a piece of loom weaving, that I had been working on as a young teen, still on the loom!  

The hand weaving loom had been a Christmas gift long ago, among many other crafting items.  Before I began hand weaving, I was doing other yarn projects on a spool knitter.

Check out this great yarn activity on our spool knitting page.

For our weaving project, we are using a Melissa and Doug Wooden Multi-craft Loom. This wooden loom is well made and of excellent quality, as are all Melissa and Doug products.

Weaving a project is something that will keep your kiddos busy indoors on those rainy days or during the much needed breaks from using their technology devices!

The loom we are using has an easy adjustable frame that allows you to make a variety of projects, and included with the loom are patterns for a scarf, a mug rug, a drawstring pouch, and a purse.

With some creativity of your own, you can come up with many other DIY weaving loom projects to be made on this loom!

Look below for a link to purchase the weaving loom we are using here. You can also look for this multi-craft weaving loom at your local hobby and craft store.

This video tutorial will show the steps for the bar placement, dowel placement, how to string the loom, how to weave, how to add more yarn and how to finish a mug rug.

The basic weaving technique is the same for all of the projects included with the loom.

If you are looking for other projects and activities to keep your kids busy indoors, our 60+ Indoor Home Activities and Crafts for Kids page has great ideas.  Best of all, a lot of the craft activities can be made with everyday items you already have around the house.

If you'd like, watch our YouTube video with the loom weaving tutorial, or you can keep reading this article for written hand loom weaving instructions.

What Is Loom Weaving?

All fabric begins with some type of thread or yarn that is worked to make the fabric.  You can knit, crochet, or weave the yarn. There are other ways to make fabric too, but we will just stick with these as examples.

The tool used for weaving is a loom. Weaving on a loom began in ancient Egypt around 3400 B.C.  That’s a long time ago for sure!

When we weave, there are two areas of thread; they are called the warp and the weft. The warp is the thread that is strung over the loom vertically, and it holds the tension when you are weaving.  

The weft is the thread that you weave between the warp threads.  It is what creates patterns and designs in your woven piece. 

With hand weaving, a needle or shuttle is used to weave the weft yarns back and forth between the warp.

There are many types of looms ranging from hand looms to intricate mechanical looms in factories. The loom we are using is a simple loom for beginners.

Loom Woven MUG RUG (COASTER) INSTRUCTIONS

What you need to make a mug rug with a loom

• Melissa and Doug Multi-Craft Loom or a similar multi-craft loom
• Yarn
• Scissors

Step 1: Position the Bar on the loom  

You will need to first set up the loom to make the mug rug. Begin by positioning the horizontal bar in the bottom and middle notches of the hand weaving loom.

This will be the bar placement for the mug rug we are making. You will be changing it for other loom weaving projects as you progress in your skills.

Step 2:  position the dowels

Once you have the bar positioned, you will need to line up the dowels.  Be sure to place them in the first and tenth dowel holes.

See the photo below to assist you in the bar and dowel placements on the weaving loom.

Next, you will string the loom with your yarn.

Step 3: String the Loom

Before you will be able to weave, you will need to string your weaving loom.  Do this by tying one end of the yarn to the top of the left side dowel above the bar.

Next, insert the yarn down and up through the notches filling the weaving area from left to right. 

After covering the weaving area with vertical strands of yarn, tie the yarn to the top of the right side dowel above the bar. Your yarn will now be tied at the top on both ends

Step 4: Weave Your yarn

Taking a good length of yarn, tie one end to the loom weaving needle and then tie the other end of the yarn to the bottom of the right side dowel.

Using the needle, start weaving behind one vertical strand and in front of the next vertical strand, behind, in front, behind, in front, etc.

Continue this hand weaving technique until you get to the end of the first row.

Once you are at the end of the row, loop the yarn around the dowel and the last vertical strand.

Pull the yarn a little snug but not too tight. Your mug rug will be distorted if the tension across your weaving is too tight or too loose.  

Start weaving the next row by going behind the strands you weaved in front for the first row of yarn, and in front of the strands you weaved behind. Think of how a basket is woven.

As you weave, gently push down the rows with your fingers, being sure that the tension across the mug rug is consistent.

Step 5: ATTACH MORE YARN

While you are weaving, you will most likely run out of yarn before you've completed the entire mug rug. 

To add more yarn for weaving, first remove the yarn from the needle by either untying the knot or by cutting the yarn from the needle with your scissors.

Next cut the new length of yarn to be added. You will need to make a square knot to tie the two pieces of yarn together.

Once the yarn pieces are connected, tie the other end of the yarn to the needle.

Continue weaving as you were, being sure to tuck and weave the short knotted ends into your woven piece of fabric.

You will want to keep weaving until your project is the desired size, adding more yarn as needed.

Step 6: FINISH off THE PROJECT

Remove the dowels by gently sliding them up and out of the holes. Be patient when doing this!  You've worked hard hand weaving, and you will want your finished pieced to show all of your wonderful weaving skills.

Carefully, unhook the top loops.

Cut each of the loops in the center and then double knot one strand of yarn with the strand of yarn next to it. Repeat this step with all of the bottom loops.

Trim the ends of the yarn evenly, taking care to trim the ends closely without cutting the knots. If you have any yarn sticking out from where the yarn was knotted, carefully trim the pieces. 

Below, we have pictures of some projects woven on the hand weaving loom.

Examples of Loom Projects - Mug Rug & Drawstring Pouch

Once you know how to weave with the loom, you can get creative and use it to weave things other than yarn, like ribbon, strips of fabric, vines and much, much more. 

For more ideas for kids weaving, check this page.

Hand-woven items are just perfect for gift giving, too!

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