Backstrap loom

Weaving textiles on a backstrap loom is ancient practice in Mesoamerica (and all over the world!). The loom itself is quite simple, basically a collection of different sized and shaped sticks. It i…

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The backstrap loom is probably one of the oldest machines invented by humans. Although various versions have been used by cultures around the world for thousands of years, they are usually ...

Typical indigenous backstrap loom from Hidalgo, Mexico showing a weaving in progress. Museo de Arte Popular. Mexico City

Spira Solaris Time and Tide: The Last Viking, The Warp and the Weave

When looking back on my long trips away, it is always good to contemplate what went well and what could be improved. There are different ways of looking at success. One success for me on this trip …

Backstrap loom from the Otomi community of Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. Seen at the Museo Regional de Pueblailes

I learned to make a Discontinuous Warp the other day. Now all I have to do is learn how to finish weaving it.... (caught the flu somewhere in there and missed the lesson on how to completely weave something). I'll get there though. It's still really strange, this idea that the weavers here often weave all the way to the end of their warps. That's just unheard of on floor looms, and I've still never done it before, even though I've been here since the end of August (and the belt looms don't…

SHEDS, STICKS, AND SIMPLICITY. The simplest form of set-up on a backstrap loom is one that is based on the basic warp cross and which enables the weaver to create two sheds. Yarn is wound around st…