Bead Looms

[Nikki P]

I've been given a bead loom as a present but have never used one before. Can anyone recommend a good book showing me the basics, also how to attach work to findings etc.

I'm looking forward to using it as looks like could be very therapeutic after a busy day, I just need pointing in the right direction.

Thanks.

[AnnieAnna]

Is no one helping Nikki?

I thought I'd try and look on Amazon but the books on there don't look at all inspiring (to me). I did bead loom weaving yonks ago in my hippy flower power ethnic rules day.
I learnt there are two traditional techniques. The African way and the North American way. I have the how to American Indian way in a book in the attic. If you get desperate, Nikki, give me a shout and I'll photocopy the relevant pages.
I seem to remember Dryad doing a cheapo leaflet telling you how to.
Go to www.fredaldous.co.uk They have a massive section of craft how to leaflets. It might be there.
I suggest you have a look on Youtube. I bet there are tutorials on there.

[Nikki P]

Thanks for your help. I've had a look on Amazon and you're right that there is nothing particularly inspiring there. Good idea about YouTube - I've had a quick look and there are a couple of tutorials which will at least start me off. Sometimes I find its better to work it out myself once I've got the basics. I'll let you know how I get on.

[AnnieAnna]

Hi Nikki. I've found an e-paper based explanation http://www.hanksville.net/art/beads/art_bea2.html
Scroll down to find the loom instructions. Basically it's warp up the loom. Thread a needle with your weft thread and thread your beads onto it. Lay each bead between and on top of two warp threads and run a second warp thread under the warp but through the beads trapping them in place. (For anyone not ofay with weaving jargon warp is longways and weft is crossways.)
I remember you have to get creative with the beggining and ends. You can weave triangles/points and when you cut your piece free of the loom knot the warp threads and weave them into the beads out of sight. You could leave it as a rectangle and attach it to a metal or leather bar which then becomes a fastener. If your warp threads were pretty there is a multitude of ways to braid them into a cord that could become the fastening.

[AnnieAnna]

Ooooo I've found another way to do it. http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/ssinstr.htm

And this is the first way http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/dsinstr.htm

And some way the Indians finished off the ends. I'd forgotton about beaded fringing. http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/wamppics.htm

[Nikki P]

AnnieAnna you are amazing. I shall be spending a happy hour or so looking at all these websites in fact there is a good chance nothing else will get done today!

A few people have suggested this is such an "old fashioned" way of working that no-one does it much these days but to me surely the point is to embrace these techniques and just adapt them for a contemporary look.

[AnnieAnna]

I think some of the modern examples look cluncky or tacky. If you look at the originals they are very neat. I think time was spent matching the size of the beads and a bit of taste applied to picking the colours. I do like subtle but I was wondering if there was any milage in using coloured silky looking thread, rather than traditional creamy natural thread. From memory don't go for anything that frays easily but tough crocheting cottons should be fine. You'll need ultra fine needles or one trick was to use bent fuse wire and expect to shatter a bead or two when their holes are too small.

[sparrowprince]

check out some japanese bead books they are so good!

[yogi77]

Waterstones offers a beading loom project as a pdf file. Youtube offers many sources as well. There is a "The Beginner's Guide to Beading on a Loom by alexandra kidd. Hope it helps.

Yogy