Backstrap loom

Weaving textiles on a backstrap loom is ancient practice in Mesoamerica (and all over the world!). The loom itself is quite simple, basically a collection of different sized and shaped sticks. It i…

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The backstrap loom is an ancient technology. It is considered, along with a simple frame loom, to be one of the original looms with which humans made cloth. It is known that humans were weaving cloth in the Stone Age in the earliest agricultural villages. However, it really is not known whether or n

I learned to make a Discontinuous Warp the other day. Now all I have to do is learn how to finish weaving it.... (caught the flu somewhere in there and missed the lesson on how to completely weave something). I'll get there though. It's still really strange, this idea that the weavers here often weave all the way to the end of their warps. That's just unheard of on floor looms, and I've still never done it before, even though I've been here since the end of August (and the belt looms don't…

Hello again everyone! I am recently finished with my doctoral training and in a new job and back to crafting again. Well... technically, this post's topic of weaving I originally started as a stress-relieving activity during the height of my studies. Weaving is meditative and creates satisfying, well-ordered structure in front of you with minimal mental gymnastics. At least if you're not making any complex fabric. "Weaving" probably initially brings to mind images of gigantic, unwieldy…

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Warp faced plain weave with warp substitution technique is a nice way to learn pick-up as a warm up to doing one-weft double weave. You have a lot of freedom to create striking patterns on the uppe…

The backstrap loom is probably one of the oldest machines invented by humans. Although various versions have been used by cultures around the world for thousands of years, they are usually ...

Weaver Margarita Navarro Gomez displays the designs on the fabric she is weaving on her backstrap loom. Santo Tomas Jalieza, Oaxaca, Mexico

So what is backstrap weaving? Well, the art of backstrap weaving is practiced by many artisans in the highlands of Guatemala and have been indigenous to this region for generations.... According to Maya myth, backstrap weaving originated with Ixchel, the Maya goddess taking numerous forms, Moon, Water, Weaving and Childbirth. Okay so now you know the history and how ancient it is. It is one of the most beautiful things I've seen...watching someone use a backstrap loom to create the most…