The first problem to solve when writing about inkle looms is that auto correct always wants to change it to ankle. However, when actually using the loom that’s not a problem. Inkle looms are used to make bands such as guitar straps or lanyards. Most looms can’t go wider than three or four inches. I bought a tiny one after finally letting go of my 25″ by 30″ by 16″ table loom. The inkle loom that I bought is 14″ long, 5″ wide and 71/2″ tall. That is a huge space saving.

The basic idea of an inkle loom is that you wind thread around all the pegs and create a continuous warp. You slide that continuous warp around as you weave the band and when the already woven aspect returns, you are done. Here is the third set of threads I warped onto the loom.

The smooth flow of those golden colors over a peg satisfies some place in my brain but the actual band is very unexciting. The design, which can be seen in the lower left of the picture, does not show up well. On the other hand, here are my first two bands.

They turned out quite well. I think the lesson is that inkle needs sharp contrasts in the threads. For my 4th try, having considered the lesson in contrast, I warped in pink, copper, blue, green, and yellow. I made a different fundamental mistake. The peg I am pointing to below is the governor of tension. As the band grows, the loop of continuous threads shortens. The threads are slightly bent up and down by being woven. This shortening is so significant that if the tension peg is not near the front of its slot when weaving begins, the weaving will be cut short. Look closely and see that I started to warp but forgot to move that bar forward first. Ugh. And it can’t be fixed.

Also, I don’t like those colors as they are arranged. The pink looks very odd.

So I took everything off and will try again.

Really, it’s just like a story. Sometimes you have to try over and over and over, making one mistake after another. But I guarantee that I’ve moved the peg to its proper starting point.