I'm a weaver, but I also love woodworking. Making looms brings me back to the days spent in my father's workshop, I loved the smell of the sawdust and the feel of the wood in my hands after it was sanded smooth and finished. I think that's why I fell in love with weaving - all of those lovely wooden tools!
I'd like to show you how I make the looms and weaving needles featured in my shop.
The first step is to sand down the wood, here I'm using birch plywood. I try to keep my shop as earth friendly as possible, and birch is a sustainable wood.
![Sanding wood for little looms](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/IMG_3296_2048x2048.jpeg?v=1601231887)
Then the plywood sheet is put into the laser cutter - here's a sheet all cut and ready for finishing.
![laser cut wooden looms](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/looms-in-laser-bed-croped_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231889)
I sand the pieces in my garage - this is when I get to listen to my podcasts and audiobooks.
![sanding the looms](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/blog-sanding_1_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601235601)
I clean the sawdust off with a little turpentine - water would make the wood rough again. My father taught me that one.
![wooden looms ready for finishing with danish oil](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/looms-ready-to-soak_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231898)
I guess this step is sorta like a spa for the looms. I soak them in Danish oil, which moisturizes and gives it strength. Ahhh that feels so good!
![wooden looms soaking in danish oil](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/soaking-looms_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231890)
I drain off excess oil and save it for the next batch.
![draining the oil from the loom](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/looms-draining-blog_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231891)
One last sanding makes the wood super smooth - this used to be my final step, but then one day I tried some finishing wax, and it gave the loom such a silky finish I knew I had to add it to the finishing process.
And it also meant I could justify one more tool, my little buffer!
![buffing the wooden looms](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/buffing-tiny-loom_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231897)
But the needles need to be rubbed by hand.
![waxing the wooden needles](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/buffing-needles-blog_2048x2048.jpg?v=1601231867)
The final step is winding the yarn - weavers call it the warp - onto the loom so you can start weaving right away!
![winding warp onto little loom](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1161/6046/files/winding_warp_2048x2048.png?v=1601240059)
Find out more about my looms and needles, click here to go to my shop!