Rug Weaving On A Floor Loom
an in-depth online course on how to weave durable, long-lasting rugs on your floor loom
watch the teaser trailer here 👇🏻
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Rug Weaving On A Floor Loom
A brand new online course demonstrating how to weave rugs on a 4-shaft counterbalance floor loom.
It takes you through the full process, from planning your warp and choosing your materials, to warping your floor loom and starting to weave. It covers 15 different rug patterns and designs, along with correct weaving technique, in-depth troubleshooting tips and how to plan and execute more advanced designs.
Along the way our founder Christabel Balfour is sharing what she has learnt in over 6 years of weaving rugs and tapestries on floor looms large and small. She will also be available to answer questions over email and in an exclusive online community group.
Included In The Course
The course consists of 6 modules (a full breakdown of each module can be found below.) Each module contains 4 videos and a downloadable PDF workbook.
There are no live elements to this course. Each video is closed captioned and pre-recored so you can re-watch at your own pace. Plus you have lifetime access to all course content!
You’ll also be part of an exclusive online community group where you can ask questions and share your rug weaving progress.
A detailed list of our recommended stockists & suppliers can be found here.
How The Course Works
When you sign up for the course, you get instant access to Module 1, and the Community Group. Subsequent modules are uploaded each week, with a break halfway so you can catch up!
You’ll be notified by email when the next module is available, and remember - you have lifetime access to all course content! So you can keep coming back to the course as many times as you need.
A full breakdown of what is included in each module can be found below.
Our Weaving Teacher
This online course is taught by our founder, artist and tapestry weaver Christabel Balfour. Christabel has been weaving rugs professionally for over seven years, working with private clients and interior designers to produce bespoke handmade rugs. Her work has been featured in the Guardian, the New York Times, and profiled by The Modern House. She has taught weaving classes at the Barbican and the V&A.
In this course she’ll be sharing the weaving techniques she uses every day in her own work, and giving you an insight into the practice of a professional weaver.
You can find out more about her work on her website here.
Course Content
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4 videos & 1 downloadable PDF
1.1 Introduction - what we cover in this course, and how to get the most out of it
1.2 What You’ll Need - a guide to the materials, tools and equipment I recommend for this course
1.3 Planning & Preparation - how to work out how much warp you need, calculating setts, and preparing your loom
1.4 Measuring Out Your Warp - how to measure out your warp and chain it up using a warping board
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4 videos & 1 downloadable PDF
2. 1 Beaming The Warp - how to wind your warp onto the loom, keeping it even and flat. Includes tips for doing it solo or with a helper
2.2 Threading The Heddles - how to thread the heddles in the correct sequence and set up your shafts to weave plain weave
2.3 Sleying The Reed - threading the warp through the reed, and different techniques you can use to alter the sett
2.4 Tying On & Spacing Out - tying your warp onto the cloth beam and spacing it out, ready to weave
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5 videos & 1 downloadable PDF
3.1 Starting To Weave - how to weave on a floor loom, with advice on technique and tips for managing the weft
3.2 Lines & Stripes - weaving stripes of different colours and thicknesses on a floor loom
3.3 Blocks - weaving separate blocks on a floor loom, and how to weave a smooth surface with no gaps
3.4 Interlocking & Hatching - linking separate blocks together on the loom, and creating striped patterns between blocks
3.5 Basic Finishes - taking your rug off the loom, stitching in loose ends and sewing up gaps.
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4 videos & 1 downloadable PDF
4.1 Triangles and Chevrons - constructing diagonal slopes on the loom and weaving triangle and chevron shapes.
4.2 Diamonds and Interlocking Triangles - how to weave steeper diagonals and link them together to avoid gaps
4.3 Downward Facing Triangles & Chevrons - weaving triangle and chevron shapes in reverse
4.4 The Hemstitch Finish - sealing the edge of your rug with hemstitch
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5.1 Circles - weaving circles using cut-outs.
5.2 Wide Curves - weaving wide curves across the loom
5.3 Scallop Patterns - using cut-outs to weave repeated patterns, such as scallops
5.4 The Folded Edge Finish - finishing your rug with a folded edge
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6.1 Advanced Hatching - creating striped patterns using multiple sections of hatching
6.2 Triangles With Hatching - how to create triangles and chevrons using hatching
6.3 Circles With Hatching - weaving hatching on a curve.
6.4 Stitching In The Warp - how to stitch the loose ends of warp into the back of your rug
What You’ll Need For The Course
Floor Loom
The loom I am demonstrating on is a LeClerc Fanny II 4-shaft counterbalance loom. This course works best for floor looms with 2-4 shafts, and can also work for looms with more shafts, and table-top looms as well.
Warping Board Or Mill
To measure out your warp you will need a warping board large enough to wind a warp at least 6 metres / 6.5 yards long. I am using the Ashford 11m Warping Frame in the course. If you have a warping mill you can use this as well!
Raddle and Clamps
You will need a raddle at least 60cm/2 feet wide and clamps to attach it onto the back beam. These can be purchased online but you can also make your own- instructions for this will be included in Module 1.
Warp Yarn
I am using a N/M 6/6 linen warp in the course videos, but you can also use a cotton or even wool warp for the course. You will need approximately 1200 metres or 1300 yards of warp to match the warp I am making in the video, but you can of course make a shorter warp and use less.
Warping Tools
Scissors and a sleying hook (this is optional, but worth trying out) I also recommend gathering some short lengths of brightly coloured yarn to tie up your warp chains with
Reed
I am using a 8dpi reed in this course, but you can use a reed in the 6-12dpi range. Anything closer spaced than 12dpi will not be suitable. Your reed should be a minimum of 60cm/2 feet wide.
Cross Sticks
These are two flat sticks with holes at each end, inserted into the cross in the warp to maintain tension. You can purchase them or make them yourself, in many cases they come with the loom.
Corrugated Cardboard
This will wind onto the warp beam in between the layers of warp keeping them flat and level. I recommend ordering a 10m roll approximately 75cm/2.5 feet wide.
Weft Yarn
You'll need a good supply of sturdy rug yarn for this course, preferably at a DK or Aran weight. We weave 4 rugs in the course, and each rug requires around 750g or 1.6lb of rug yarn.
Weaving Tools
You'll need a selection of long and short shuttles, a needle for stitching in loose ends, and a bobbin and comb.
Frequently Asked Questions
What floor loom can I use for this course?
This floor loom is ideal for 2 or 4-shaft counterbalance floor looms. However with a little adjusting you can also follow this course on loom with more shafts, a jack loom, a countermarch loom or a table loom. If you’re wondering if your loom is suitable for this course, email the team at info@balfourand.co and we can advise you.
I’m new to floor looms/weaving in general. Is this class suitable for beginners?
This course was created with beginners in mind, and you should be able to follow it even if you’ve never woven before! However I recommend trying out weaving on a simple loom first so you can get a bit of practice.
Is this workshop suitable for countermarch looms?
Yes, the techniques covered here will work for countermarch looms as well. The extra shafts make the warping process more complex and we are not able to provide sufficient support for this during the course. However more experienced weavers will most likely be able to adapt the course instructions to suit their loom.
Is this workshop suitable for high warp looms?
Yes, you can adapt the techniques here for an upright or high warp loom.
Why is there a separate enrolment page for EU customers?
We are fortunate to have students sign up to our online courses from all over the world! However, the EU has specific rules around VAT which makes selling online courses there quite challenging. Our solution is to use a platform called Gumroad which processes EU VAT on our behalf, at no extra cost to our customers. This allows us to keep the retail price the same, wherever you are in the world!
