Making Your Own Loom
You don't have to spend a lot of money to get into looming. Round looms can be built easily from tin cans and rakes and knitting boards can be make from 2x2. Simply use nails or cotter pins for the pegs. The gauge of the loom is determined by the distance between the pegs, measured from the center of the pegs. Use the table below to help you create the gauge loom that you are interested in:
| Loom Gauges | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gauge | Peg Dist. | Stitches
per Inch |
Yarn Recommendations |
| Large | 5/8" | 2.5 | 1 strand of Super Bulky (6)
1 strand of Bulky (5) 2 strands of Medium (4) |
| Regular | 1/2" | 3 | 1 strand of Bulky (5)
2 strands of Medium (4) |
| Small | 4/9" | 3.5 | 1 strand of Medium (4)
2 strands of Light (3) |
| Extra Small | 3/8" | 4 | 1 strand of Medium (4)
2 strands of Light (3) |
| Fine | 1/4" | 5 | 1 strand of Light (3)
1-2 strands of Fine (2) 2 strands of Super Fine (1) |
| Extra Fine | 3/16" | 7-8 | 1 strand of Fine (2)
1 strand of Super Fine (1) |
Have fun building your loom and good luck! Remember to follow wood working safety rules.
Spool Knitting — How to make
a Spool Knitter
A spool knitter is a small round loom that can be used
to create a knitted fabric. Spool knitters are
cylinders that have three or more pegs or nails that
stick out of the top. The nails are used to form and
hold the stitches while knitting. The most common type
of spool knitter has four pegs / nails. You can buy a
spool knitter or you can easily make one. The one in
our example is made of polymer molding clay that can be
baked in the oven to harden it.
How to make your own loom from a tin can.
Created by Odette Riley, this blueprint will get you on
your way to making your own fine gauge adjustable loom.
Let's Make a Knitting
Board
Created by Dick Robinson, these instructions will guide
you through making a knitting board.
His site is no longer available but you can access it from The Wayback Machine. From his site: "There have been many people ask, 'How do you make a Knitting Board?' Well, at one time I was one of those people. A friend of my wife, Patty, works at Hobby Lobby and one day a man walked in wanting some yarn. He was carrying this funny looking contraption so she asked him what it was. He told her it was a Knitting Board. So, later she described it to Patty and asked if I could/would make her one. Her birthday was two weeks away so we decided to make one for her birthday present.
All I had was a verbal description, 20" long with nails 1/2" apart and a 1" hole (gap) in the middle. So I felt compelled to go surfin' and see what I could find out about these things. I found a 'Group' on Yahoo, won't mention any names, so I joined so I could ask about the board. You would have thought I had the plague! I understand loom (board) makers not wanting to share their secrets so just from the pictures I saw at various sites I came up with what has turned out to be a pretty nice board."
His site is no longer available but you can access it from The Wayback Machine. From his site: "There have been many people ask, 'How do you make a Knitting Board?' Well, at one time I was one of those people. A friend of my wife, Patty, works at Hobby Lobby and one day a man walked in wanting some yarn. He was carrying this funny looking contraption so she asked him what it was. He told her it was a Knitting Board. So, later she described it to Patty and asked if I could/would make her one. Her birthday was two weeks away so we decided to make one for her birthday present.
All I had was a verbal description, 20" long with nails 1/2" apart and a 1" hole (gap) in the middle. So I felt compelled to go surfin' and see what I could find out about these things. I found a 'Group' on Yahoo, won't mention any names, so I joined so I could ask about the board. You would have thought I had the plague! I understand loom (board) makers not wanting to share their secrets so just from the pictures I saw at various sites I came up with what has turned out to be a pretty nice board."
