I was very nervous about my first project. I did the direct warping (I watched this video over and over again) and I guess a modified “crank and yank” method and it worked really well. It seemed pretty intuive to me to pull the yarn to straighten it out.

I didn’t have trouble with tension. I did have some issued with the sharpness of the heddle hook piercing the yarn a bit. I found a place out in the county that has a limited weaving section and bought the Ashford tool there. It’s nylon plastic so it was a little smoother than the metal hook and loop Kromski provided, although it does seem a little flimsier.

I wish I had realized that I needed kraft paper or warp sticks or something to warp on with when I ordered my loom. I was excited to get started but had to wait a couple days. I did get some kraft paper from Amazon I can use again for steamed crabs but I didn’t find it easy to work with when warping on alone. It kept wanting to fold or crinkle.

I ordered warp sticks from the Woolery and liked them a lot. They are the perfect size and thickness and sturdy enough I could slide them in between the layers myself with one hand.

I used about 3 1/2 balls (total) of cheap old Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn from Michaels for the warp and the weft. The warp is one whole ball in green and then about a third of another in blue. For weft I used a little over a ball of variegated yarn that had had the same blue and green in it so it self striped.

My edges are a little raggedy in places but I washed it a second time (hand washed with plain old liquid soap) and it evened out more (picture below is of it drying after the first wash). You can see a glimpse of it in the background of this recipe on my food blog. It’s very sturdy and nice looking!

And here it is all clean and dry draped on a chair.