Clamp Loom

The clap loom is the most basic loom next to the frame loom. It is ideal for sculptural, installation or architectural weaving. All it requires, other than clamps, is two stable (or weighted) surfaces that can be clamped to. Tabletops, door frames, shelves are all possible surfaces to clamp to, spanning across a table would work, though raising the weaving above the table top would be easier to work on.


A length of wood with an extra cut added to both ends makes an ideal structure for a clamping loom. This is the style that is depicted in the picture. The metal plate is something I had lying around, wood would work as well. There are nails in one end of this loom, which I ended up not using in favour of clamps on both ends, as the clamps were really fast to change.  The knife at the bottom is used to hold the yarn in place as the clamps I had in my studio were barely wider than my wood structure. It worked just fine. Bobbins make excellent heddles with their wide ends. The weft can be wound around a nail, pencil or rod, which can act as a beater at the same time.



BEST USE: incorporating--either other objects or into another weave
PROS: really fast set up, able to alter warp mid weaving, the warp can be much longer than the loom
CONS: no reed so limited number of warp threads, warp must be of similar thickness, tension isn't perfect


With this type of loom it would be possible to incorporate all of the furniture in a room into a single weave or to add supplemental warps across a floor loom running at a different angle than the floor loom's warp(like a "t" shape). This loom's purpose is entirely geared towards non-traditional weaving.