My Keel Loom

This morning Bob and I left New Mexico and drove almost four hours to the little town of Van Horn, Texas. Van Horn is a town that has little to offer except a place to get off the road when you’re on the way to someplace else. We leave tomorrow morning for Fort Stockton, Texas.

I wanted to share about my new loom that Bob made for me. On Ravelry, the inkle weaving group has been discussing Keel Looms, which are built using the plans found in the book “Small Looms in Action,” by Elizabeth Jensen. The “keel” refers to the way the loom’s base hangs down, allowing the weaver to hold it between their thighs to weave. Before we left Mesa I asked Bob to build me one, which he did. The book calls for 1/2” furniture grade plywood to be used, but Bob instead took scraps of wood in different varieties to build it, along with 3/8” dowels. 

Isn’t it sweet? I modified the plans to include a tension peg rather than use moveable dowel pegs to tension the warp. And it weaves very well! I am able to get almost a yard of finished inkle band from it.

I’m going to have a lot of fun with this little loom.