​Silk Road Souvenirs

​Traditional Weaving

For this activity, you will weave a small piece of fabric, without the use of a mechanical loom.
 What you need:

• One index card (You can weave a larger piece of fabric by simply using a larger index card or by creating a larger paper card “loom.”)
• 2 or more colors of wool yarn
• Kite string/ thread
• Tape
• A ruler
• Scissors
• A pencil

Directions:
1. The easiest way to create a loom from an index card is to use the lines on the index card as guides. Use a ruler to measure and draw a line 1/4 inch from each end of your card. Then, safely use scissors to cut from each end down to the drawn line (Figure 1).


2. To create the warp of the loom, follow the steps below (Figure 2):
a. Tape one end of the string to the bottom left hand corner of the index card and position the string so it sits in the leftmost cut of the bottom edge.

b. Wind the string around the card lengthwise so that each time it passes over the edge of the card it is snugly wrapped into one of the cuts.

c. Tape the string to the index card (make sure it’s on the same side as the other bit of tape) and cut off the excess.


3. Next, create the shuttle by selecting a color of yarn and taping one end of the yarn in-line to the eraser end of a sharpened pencil.


4. Begin weaving by following the steps listed below (Figures 3 & 4):
a. Turn the index card so the taped side is the back side.

b. Pass the shuttle under the first warp string, over the second, under the third, etc. until the end of the row is reached (leaving a tail of yarn at the beginning).

c. Pass the shuttle back through the warp strings in the reverse direction, making sure that the shuttle is on the opposite side of the warp string as the previous row.

• Be sure to pull your yarn all the way through before reversing directions… AND
• DO NOT pull too tight on the sides when reversing directions. You want your side warp threads to remain straight up and down… INSTEAD
• After every 3 or 4 rows of weaving, snug your rows up toward the top of your loom with a gentle push.

d. Continue to weave rows until you reach the end of the yarn. Make sure to leave a tail at the edge.

e. Tie your next piece of yarn to the one you just ended weaving with and repeat the steps above until the loom is full.


5. To finish your weaving, complete the followng steps (Figures 5 & 6):
a. Tie a knot in each of the tails of yarn on the side of the weaving as close to the cloth as possible and then cut off the excess yarn.

b. Turn the loom over, carefully remove the tape and, in the very middle of the warp threads, cut through the threads.

c. Form a fringe from the cut warp ends by tying pairs of adjacent strings together in double knots.

d. Cut the fringe ends so they are even.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6