Weaving on a Wooden Picture Frame

Say you don't have a lot of money but you'd like to weave something.

I decided today was the day to work on a weaving project I started a few weeks ago and then got sidetracked. The reason I'm putting it here instead of my usual craft blog is I realized how much of it is re-purposed.

First off I made the loom out of a used wooden picture frame following the directions from a library book. If you don't have an old frame laying around, they are often available for under $5 at thrift stores. Just pick a sturdy one and make sure to get some sandpaper to smooth it so it doesn't snag your yarn.

I often buy yarn at thrift stores but it is usually unused yarn left over from someone's knit or crochet project. Well, I scooped up some bags of yarn balls without being attentive, and found out it was yarn that had been unraveled from a sweater or something. It was fuzzy and had lost all it's stretch. In other words, it would be a bad idea to try to knit or crochet with it again.  But I couldn't think of any reason I couldn't weave with it, and in fact it is working out perfectly. So I'd say the yarn was about $2.00. I did buy a new roll of cotton thread for the warp. That was about $2.50. Then I needed a shuttle so I cut the handle off of a wooden spatula. The spatula was actually new, but a whole bag of them was about $5.00...so it was a dollar.

In other words, this whole project is going to cost me under $7.00 and the frame is reusable for another weaving project. Sweet.

A shuttle I made from a spatula handle.

A loom made from a wooden picture frame.

Thrift Store Finds

On a whim I went into a thrift store on the way home looking for nothing in particular. I eventually found the craft section. I picked up black and white yarn for a mime hat I'm going to weave. I dug around and also found 2 bags full of buttons for $2.50 each. So many crafts need buttons. Everything from doll and teddy bear eyes to hanging signs to crazy quilts. Some projects take quite a lot of buttons, like those dolls with the button arms and legs.

I also got some wide tooth combs and Afro picks. No, I'm not  planning on growing an Afro anytime soon, but they will be great to tamp down yarn in my weaving projects.

Anything you get from a thrift store extends its life and keeps it out of the landfill just a little bit longer.