By Emilee Gettle
I love collecting unusual craft patterns and looms, especially vintage ones. Earlier in the year I went to a vintage fashion expo. After meandering through a menagerie of oddly dressed individuals and great-grandmothers’ closet rejects, I found a small booth filled to the brim with old patterns, buttons, and lace. A leaflet from the 1930s with instructions on how to make lace with a spider loom caught my eye, and I instinctively snatched it up.
Spider looms were originally made in the 30s and 40s from light wood and even plastic, and sometimes they were sold in kits with a needle and pattern book. I found a few looms listed on eBay, but the bidding fervor made my pocketbook shrink in horror. So I decided to design my own loom using the pictures in the old leaflet.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to make your own spider loom. With this loom you can make round and square pieces of delicate lace. I’ve also included the original instructions from my amazing find to ease you into the process of learning to use the loom!
Materials
Pattern, provided below as PDF
Scissors
Scotch tape
Scrap of foam board
X-Acto knife
Tapestry or upholstery needle
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Download the Pattern PDF Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs. |
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Download the Pattern PDF Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs. |
Directions
Step 1: Print the PDF pattern provided and cut it out along the solid line.
Step 2: Tape the pattern onto the piece of foam board and carefully cut the foam board with the X-Acto knife.
Step 3: Make sure the pattern is still taped onto the now-round foam board. Then use the needle to punch out each dot on the pattern. Make sure the hole goes through to the back. You will also need to punch a hole in the center of the pattern, where the large dark circle is.
Step 4: Remove the paper pattern, and you have your very own loom!
About the Author:
Emilee Gettle loves reinventing vintage craft patterns and finds particular joy in constantly reorganizing her craft room and rediscovering orphaned projects. She writes about her latest finds, recipes, and mishaps at Heirloom Girl.
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