Fun with PVC

Today I made myself a little PVC tablet-weaving loom, using Alice Schlein's instructions for the PVC hybrid loom on her Weaverly blog.

It went together quite easily!  The hardest part was hauling the 10' length of PVC pipe throughout the store.  The store clerk snickered every time I dropped it or banged it into something.  The teenager accompanying me was mortified.  Too bad -- if you worry too much about being embarrassed, you risk missing out on a lot of potentially fun things.

I followed the blog's advice and got a PVC pipe cutter, too.  That took a few minutes to figure out.  But soon enough, I was marking out measurements and cutting PVC.  After the pieces were cut, the assembly was extremely rapid.  I don't plan to glue anything -- I want this to come apart for easy transport.

The next few days look pretty busy, but I will try to warp up a few tablets to take my new little loom for a test drive.  Usually, I use a couple of C-clamps and weave between them, or I tie one end to a doorknob and the other end gets attached to my waist.  It will be interesting to try this little loom.

Depending on how well this works, I might make Sharon Kersten's PVC Inkle Loom from the March 2009 issue of Handwoven.  Inexpensive, easily-transported looms are a fun concept.

It cost about $10-12 plus the cost of the PVC cutter (another $12 or so).  I have 30" of PVC left along with some L and T connectors from the bags of each that I bought.

I am a terrible photographer, but I will try to add photos sooner or later.