Looming battle?

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” _{-Mark Twain}

Playing is not only important in childhood but also throughout one's lifetime. My Brio weaving loom was found abandoned from the attic and got me thinking if it could be revived with purpose.

Brio Weaving Loom from the 80's

Fortunately the loom was in mint condition with all bits and parts still in the original box. Setting up the loom was not difficult but threading the warps took a lot of time and patience. 

I started going through closets with the loom in my mind and dug in to a pile of old bedlinen and towels that were waiting to be donated to a cat shelter. I cut out all the worn out parts and ripped the rest in to ¹/₂ inch strips to be woven. And weave I did with as much joy as back in the 80's. 

I wanted to get a feel on the mechanics of the loom and see how the thread and strips would behave. With almost endless supply of neatly folded idle bed sheets I was entitled to the luxury of trial and error. 

I had used two colours when warping the loom since those were leftover from another project. The ripped strips of different sheets created the cosy feeling of old rag rug. With Brio loom the maximum width with 70 warps is about 12 inch so the rug should be sown together from several pieces. My aimless enthusiasm had lead into a 50 inch long pretty slim rag rug but with a bit of origami style of folding I managed to compose the shape of a pillow.