Introduction: DIY Weaving Loom From IKEA BEKVÄM Spice Rack

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This project shows you how to build a small loom for band weaving. It can be used with a rigid heddle or with tablets.

It uses IKEA's BEKVÄM spice rack, a chopstick, some strong thread, and assorted hardware. If you have all the tools, you can build it for under €10/$10/£10.

Try to be as precise as possible as you build this. It works much better if it's square and firm.

Supplies

Materials

  • 1 IKEA BEKVÄM spice rack:
  • Base board
  • Front bar
  • End pieces
  • Dowels from the hardware package
  • 2 short IKEA BEVARA plastic clips
  • Clamp hardware:
  • 4 bolts, 6 mm in diameter, 45 mm long
  • 4 washers, 18 mm wide, center hole to fit a 6mm bolt
  • 4 wing nuts to fit 6 mm bolts
  • 4 screws, 3-4 mm in diameter, length somewhere between 25 and 40 mm. These will attach the uprights to the base.
  • 2 screws, 3-4 mm in diameter, about 20 mm long. These will attach the top bar to the uprights.
  • 4 self-adhesive feet, thicker than the bolt heads
  • about 20 cm of strong thread

Tools

  • Power drill with the following bits:
  • 1 mm (I actually used a Dremel for this bit)
  • 3 mm
  • 4 mm
  • 6 mm
  • 7 mm
  • 8 mm
  • Miter saw and miter box
  • Awl
  • Hammer
  • Screwdriver that fits your bolts and screws
  • Measuring and marking materials
  • Knife for whittling
  • Sandpaper for smoothing things as you go.

Please use the appropriate safety equipment!

Step 1: Preparing the Uprights

Start by preparing the uprights for the loom. These are the two rectangular blocks at the back of the loom. They're made from the end pieces of spice rack.

The uprights will be connected to each other with two bars:

  • The top bar, which fits into the oval cut-outs. You'll screw it in for extra structural strength.
  • The spool, for which you will need to drill holes. It will rotate freely on dowels in those holes.

Spend a minute staring at those end pieces. Each one has two faces, one plain and one with an oval carved out of it. The pieces also have four edges: two plain ones, one with a metal plate on it, and one with three holes in it. In the loom, the metal-plate edge will be mounted on the base, the edge with the holes will face the back of the loom, and the oval carve-outs will be on the inside, facing each other. Look at the picture if that isn't clear, and try it out if that's how your brain works.

Then get them ready:

  1. Remove the metal plates. You'll be re-using those screw holes.
  2. Inside each of the oval cut-outs, drill a 3 mm hole to the outside face. These will let you screw in the top bar.
  3. Mark both uprights to drill for the spool dowels. They should be 3 cm from the edge that used to have the metal plate and 2 cm from the edge with the three holes.
  4. Drill where you marked with the 7 mm bit.

Step 2: Drilling for the Uprights

You will need to fit the connectors between the uprights very precisely (so warp threads don't get caught). This is going to require some dry-fitting, so the next thing to do is to set that up.

You will be re-using the screw holes from the metal plates (they're pre-drilled, so using them reduces the risk of splitting).

  1. Mark the drill holes on the loom base, 7 mm from the edge of the loom base, 5 cm and 8.5 cm from one end. Unless you've got a drill press, mark on the top (the face with two holes at each end) so the holes line up.
  2. Use the 4 mm bit and drill the holes as straight as possible.
  3. Attach the uprights as straight as possible to the four long screws. The screws should go into the holes that used to attach the metal plates.

Step 3: Making the Top Bar

You'll be using the front bar of the spice rack for the next three steps. Measure carefully - you're going to have a centimeter and a half of bar to spare!

Always cut the bar with your miter saw so it's as straight and square as possible.

The top bar fits into the oval cut-outs on the uprights. The ends of the spice rack bar are shaped for that, but it's far too long. You'll have to cut it down, then carve a new oval on the cut-off end.

  1. Measure the space between the faces of the uprights. It'll be somewhere short of of 7 cm. Mark that on the bar. Then add another 6 mm to carve down to fit in the oval cut-out. Adding in the original cut end, the top bar will have a total length just over 8 cm.
  2. Once you're sure you've measured it right, cut the bar with the miter saw.
  3. Dismount the uprights from the base so you can test the fit in the oval cut-out.
  4. Re-measure, then carve that last 6 mm down to fit into the oval cut-out. It can be a little loose, because the bar will also be held in place by screws.
  5. Assemble the uprights and the top bar. Poke an awl in the hole you drilled into the oval cut-outs, then drill those holes deeper with the 3 mm drill bit (otherwise you risk splitting the top bar).
  6. Re-assemble the uprights. Re-attach them to the board.
  7. Use the two shorter screws to screw the top bar in.

Note: if you've messed up the top bar cutting, you can try again with the other end of the bar and use a thick dowel for the spool.


Step 4: Making the Spool

The spool should fit between the uprights, with just enough space to turn. It's held in the drilled holes by dowels. You can use the ones that come with the spice rack itself, or get longer ones from the free IKEA hardware drawers (make sure they're the correct width - 6 mm in diameter).

  1. Measure the spool against the re-assembled uprights.
  2. Cut it with the miter saw. If you've cut it a little large, sand it down.
  3. Mark drill holes in the middles of the ends of the spool.
  4. Drill them as straight as possible with the 6 mm bit. (If you use a smaller bit and you may split the wood as you pound the dowel in). Drill to about half the dowel length. You can use a piece of tape on the drill bit to mark where to stop drilling.
  5. Hammer (gently) the dowels into the holes.

Attached to the spool is a warping bar.

  1. Cut piece of chopstick just shorter than the spool. Make sure it's the same diameter all the way along (so not a pointed end).
  2. Mark around the chopstick about 5 mm from each end. Carve a shallow groove in it.
  3. Mark the spool for drill holes at the same width as the grooves in the chopsticks. (See the illustration.)
  4. Drill 1 mm holes through the spool.
  5. Use the strong thread to attach the piece of chopstick to the spool as shown. Make sure the knots won't slip.
  6. Dismount the uprights, slip the spool dowels into the drilled holes, and re-assemble.

Step 5: Making the Clamps

At each end of the loom base is a piece of wooden bar held in place with bolts and wing nuts. They provide the tension for weaving.

  1. Cut two 10 cm pieces of the front bar. There will probably be very little left of it after this.
  2. Place each piece under the end of the loom and poke the awl through the holes to get the spacing right.
  3. Drill through the bars as marked, using the 8 mm bit. You'll need the extra wiggle room because the holes in the base may not be completely straight.
  4. Screw the bolts into the holes in the loom base. It'll be a tight fit, but that means the bolts won't rotate as you tighten the clamps down.
  5. Put the bars on the bolts, add the washers, and screw the wing nuts on.


Congratulations! You've made a loom. Below are a few tips for warping and using it.

Step 6: Warping and Using the Loom

To warp the loom:

  1. Tie or loop the warp threads around the chopstick.
  2. Gently roll the threads onto the spool (it's a bit awkward getting your fingers in there...).
  3. Roll them with paper to keep threads from sinking into previous layers. (You can use the spice rack instructions, cut into strips and taped together.)
  4. You can use a comb to ensure it all stays roughly right.
  5. Don't let the warp threads drift to the edges of the spool so they don't fall into the gap.
  6. When there's only enough warp thread left, replace the clamp (but don't tighten it).
  7. Use the BEVARA clips to keep the warp in order as you pass it over the top bar and to the front.
  8. Add tablets or a heddle as required.
  9. Clamp the ends of the warp threads under the front clamp. Again, use a BEVARA clip on the other side of the clamp.

You need the BEVARA clips because although the clamps are good for the overall warp, they can let single threads through.

When it's time to advance the warp, use BEVARA clips at the back so that what comes off of the spool stays in good order.

Step 7: Tablet Pegs (optional)

If you notice a few things on my loom that I haven't described, it's because I've kept hacking at it. I drilled a pair of holes partway through the base, large enough to put pieces of chopstick inside. I use the upright chopsticks to keep my tablets in good order as I'm threading them. The chopstick pieces live on the back of the loom, in a cup hook screwed deeply into one of the holes there.