Weaving Beads on a Loom

Your next craft addiction:
Weaving Beads on a Loom
Brought to you by Mirrix Looms
mirrixlooms.com
1
Why weave
beads?
Bead weaving is fun, easy to learn and offers endless creative possibilities!
Weaving beads is much faster than off-loom stitches and
the wider your piece, the faster it is. The equivalent off-loom stitch would be square stitch which is the most time-consuming off-loom stitch there is. It’s difficult for beginners to get correct tension when weaving off-loom
stitches, but on the loom, the loom automatically provides
the right kind of tension so that is never an issue.
On a Mirrix you can make many different types of bead
woven pieces. From jewelry to large beaded tapestries and
even pieces combining beads with fiber or using wire, a Mirrix offers versatility you won’t find with other looms.
Find the perfect Mirrix Loom for your needs and
join the Mirrix community to learn, grow and be inspired!
1
2
Why a Mirrix
Loom?
The Mirrix is a pioneer in the world of bead weaving. All of
our looms can be used as traditional bead looms, and any
loom with a shedding device can also be used for a secondary method for weaving beads. This method is great
for wider pieces (beaded tapestries). Once you’ve got it mastered, it’s faster than the more traditional method of
bead weaving. All of our looms except the Mini Mirrix can
be purchased with a shedding device (learn more about this
in the next chapter of this ebook), but you can also just add
one on later.
Versatility: Mirrix Looms are tapestry looms and bead
looms, but they’re also much more. We have customers who
weave wire, paper and found objects and many who use
their looms for inkle weaving, Saori Weaving, rag weaving,
Soumak knotting, lace making and more.
Portability: Even the largest Mirrix Looms are portable
and have fold-out legs for easy storage under a bed or in a
closet. The smaller looms are perfect to throw in a bag and
take to a workshop or on vacation.
2
Strength: Mirrix Looms are made primarily of copper and aluminum. This
makes them the strongest looms on the
market. Once, Mirrix’s President Claudia
Chase ran over a loom with her car. It was
fine.
Functionality: Mirrix Looms work. They
are precision engineered for functionality
and are designed to last a lifetime.
Made in America: Mirrix Looms and accessories are lovingly handcrafted in our
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin manufacturing facility.
The Mirrix Community: When you
buy a Mirrix Loom you are entering a community of artists and craftspeople who
not only care about their work, but about
their fellow weavers as well.
Freebies: At Mirrix we believe in sharing
information. From instructions to projects, tutorials and weave-alongs,
we offer tons of free stuff to get you
started weaving.
What can you make
on a Mirrix?
From simple beaded bracelets to large
beaded tapestries, purses, pieces combining beads and fiber, fiber tapestries,
3
wire pieces and much more, a Mirrix
Loom brings versatility to the next level.
Here are some examples of pieces made on
a Mirrix Loom:
3
The Mirrix
Shedding
Device for
weaving
beads
4
The Mirrix Shedding Device can seem a puzzling contraption to those unfamiliar with weaving.
Shedding devices are devices used to lift warps in order to
pass fiber or beads through them more easily. The space between the warps is called the SHED, which is where the
term SHEDding device comes from.
On a Mirrix shedding device,
when you change the
position of the handle, the shedding device shifts position and opposite
sets of warps are
raised, securing your
beads or weft between the warp threads. The wooden clips
hold your shedding device on the loom, but also serve to
hold your warping bar in place when warping your loom
(and before you install the shedding device).
The shedding device is attached to the
warp threads with heddles. These heddles
pull up on the correct warp threads when
the shedding device is engaged.
When weaving beads with the shedding device, you string up a row of beads and
then place them between the raised and
lowered warp threads. Then you change
the position of the shedding device, securing those beads between the warp
threads.
On a Mirrix Loom, using the shedding device is recommended for tapestry weaving as it makes the process much
faster and easier. For combining beads and
fiber, a shedding device is also very useful.
For beads, you can employ either the traditional bead weaving method of placing
your beads behind your warp threads and
then sewing through or the method using
the shedding device and placing the beads
between raised and lowered warp threads.
The method using the shedding device
takes a little more time to set up, but once
you get the hang of it it’s a fast and fun
way to weave beads!
5
4
Choosing a
loom
Need help? Fill out this
form and we’ll tell you
which loom we think is
best for you!
http://info.mirrixlooms
.com/choose-a-loom
We get this question a lot at Mirrix Looms. How do you
choose just one? First, ask yourself a few questions. Do you
want to weave just beads or are you also interested in weaving fiber? Do you want to use the shedding device?
How important is being able to take your loom places with
you? Do you want to be able to weave large pieces or several
small pieces at one time?
If you want to weave small, beaded pieces such as bracelets
or necklaces and do not want to use the shedding device,
the 5ʺ″ Mini Mirrix or the 8ʺ″ Lani Loom (without the shedding device) will work fine for you.
If you want to weave larger bead tapestries or want to
weave more than one beaded piece at the same time, the
12ʺ″ Little Guy, the 16ʺ″ Big Sister or the 22ʺ″ Zach Loom all
work great. (If you want to weave very big bead pieces the
larger looms would be appropriate.)
For combining beads and fiber, make sure to choose a loom
with a shedding device!
6
5
Getting
started
weaving
beads on a
Mirrix
7
It is easy to get started weaving on a Mirrix! This is how to
weave beads using the traditional method (without the shedding device):
Step one: Warp your loom! Warping is easier than you think. Basically you tie your warp thread to the warping bar and wrap
it around your loom, changing directions every time you hit
your warping bar. When you’re finished, you simply need to tie
off back onto your warping bar! Learn to warp here with our
easy warping instructions.
Step two: Pick up your beads
Step three: Place your beads behind your warp threads
Step four: Sew through your beads, going over the top of your
warp threads and pull through!
6
Warping
See some Mirrix warping
videos here:
http://www.mirrixlooms.
com/learning-center/vide
The question we get the most at Mirrix is some variation
of: Is warping difficult?
The simple answer is: Warping is easy!
Warping a basic piece on a Mirrix is very simple. It just
takes a little practice to become an expert. Doing a very
wide piece and adding the
shedding device and heddles is
a little more complicated, but
once you get the basics down
you’ll be ready to take on any
warping challenge!
For more detailed warping instructions take a look at one
of our warping .pdfs here:
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/beginners-guide/warping-instr
uctions/
8
7
Beads,
threads &
supplies
9
Types of Beads
There are so many beads to choose from because you can
weave any kind or size of bead on the Mirrix loom. The variety of warp coils accommodates this large selection of possible beads that can be woven on a Mirrix. Even some of the
new bead shapes like the Tilas and duos can be woven on a
Mirrix. You can also mix bead sizes and shapes. For example, our No Warps To Weave in Bracelet combines size 8/0
seed beads with Magnatamas. We find that when the beads
we want to use are slightly different sizes it is best to alternate them both in a row and then again in the following
row. It is like putting together a puzzle. One of our Affinity
bracelets uses Tila beads and size 8/0 seed beads. The Tila
beads take up twice the width of the seed beads, so we set
the warp twice as far apart where the Tilas will be placed.
We wove a row of six size 8/0 seed beads to begin, but the
middle two seed beads did not have a warp between them
so that for the next row we could weave two seed beads,
one Tila bead, two seed beads. The next row was two seed
beads, then you sew through the second
Tila hole and then two more seed beads.
This just illustrates the fact that you can
allow your beads to determine how your
piece will be woven. There is a lot of room
for experimentation. I think the habit
with bead loom weaving in the past has
been to rigidly stick to one size and one
kind of bead using a variety of colors and
finishes to create the pattern. We like that
too. Our beaded purse kit employs only
size ten Delica beads in three colors.
Speaking of Delicas, they and the equivalent Toho Treasure were designed
for bead loom weaving. They provide a
much more fluid surface than round seed
beads and play with light differently because they are curved in only one direction
(because they are cylinder shaped) and not
rounded like regular seed beads which reflect light in a bunch of directions. The
cylinder beads retain a sharper sense of
color and shine and evenness. But that is
not always your desired result. Sometimes
the round seed beads are the right choice.
Most of the glass beads we use for bead
loom weaving (and they tend to have a
catchall name of seed bead even when they
are not round) come from either Japan or
the Czech Republic. The Japanese beads
tend to be relatively more consistent in
shape and size and one has to cull fewer.
10
They are also more expensive with the Cylinders commanding the top price although this is also relative since their
larger holes make them weigh less and
hence you get more of them per gram.
Czech beads tend to come in strands and
hanks. The fact that they are not as regular
can become a design element or a distraction depending on your perspective.
Besides the vast possibilities provided by
glass beads, there are also crystals and
stones that can be used in bead weaving.
We like to combine crystals with our glass
beads for certain projects. The same can
be done with stones. Therefore, bead weaving on a loom is not much different
from off loom bead work in that you can
use and combine a huge selection of bead-like materials. And the Mirrix, because of its fabulous tension and overall
fabulous design, provides the perfect work
surface for these wonderful little points of
light and color.
Our advice to you is: try every bead shape
and size you can get your hands on. Mix
them up. The great thing about bead weaving failures is you only waste a little
thread. The beads can be ripped out and
reused forever. Your time is never wasted
because in that failure lives a huge lesson.
8
Tips & Tricks
Weaving a wide piece using the shedding device:
If you’re weaving a wide piece, you don’t have to weave the
whole row at once, you can weave it in sections. Simply
weave through
part of your pice
and then make a
loop with your
warp sectioning
off a piece of your
weaving and pull
that loop to the front of the weaving. Then, place your
beads into the warps and continue doing this section by section. Hold the thread where the red arrows are to insert beads section by section.
What happens when you make a mistake?
Don’t worry! If you realize when weaving a bead tapestry
that you have made a mistake, it’s really easy to remove
rows, just keep switching your shed and removing one row
at a time.
11
How to find the correct tension:
You want enough tension so that you get a
clean shed and have a tight warp. Your
warp should be tight enough that your
beads stay securely in once you place them
between the warp threads.
Which side do I start weaving from?
If you are right handed, sew through from
the right side. If you are left handed, sew
through from the left side. Mirrix Looms
were designed for both right and left
handed people. When using the shedding
device, put the handle on the side of your
dominant hand. You will be weaving both
from left to right and right to left.
How to finish and start a weft thread:
When your weft thread (the thread that
holds the beads) gets too short, partially
sew it through the row of beads below,
wrap it around a warp thread to tie a knot
then continue sewing through the row of
beads. Do this until you feel the thread is
completely secure.
You begin a weft thread in exactly the
same way, starting a couple of rows of
beads down with the goal of getting the
thread to the left of the piece if you’re
right handed and to the right of the piece
if you’re left handed. (note: if you are using
the shedding device it does not matter
which side you start weaving from.)
12
How do you know what warp coil to
use?
Place the beads you plan on weaving on a
needle and measure an inch. Then, count
how many beads are in that inch. The number of beads minus one is the warp coil
that will be used. For example, if you are
using Delicas you would find 19 Delicas are
in one inch, so you would use the 18 dent
coil. There is some leeway in this, and depending on the beads you are using, it
might not work out perfectly (numerically), just close. Using a smaller (lower
number) coil is better than using a larger .
Tutorials & Techniques:
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/learning-cent
er/tutorials/
9
Accessories
No Warp-Ends Kit
The no warp-ends kit eliminates the
need to weave in warp ends when
bead weaving. It can only be used without the shedding device. It is perfect for using with any kind
of warp material including wire. Set
up with the No Warp-Ends kit is
very easy and once you have it in
place, you can weave as many pieces
as you want (as long as they are the
same length) using the same set up.
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/store/no-warp-ends-kit/
Extra Warping Bar Kit
This kit allows you to put on a shorter warp. In so doing
you will reduce warp waste. Because it also eliminates having a layer of warp on both the front and back of the loom,
it allows you to better position your hand for weaving wider
13
pieces with the traditional method of
bead
weaving. The
package includes
an extra warping
bar, several yards of Texsolv cord, and special pegs to attach the Texsolv cord to
the warping bars. You don’t have to warp
your Mirrix this way for weaving beads,
but it’s a nice alternative and adds yet another dimension to ways you can use the
Mirrix loom to fit your weaving needs.
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/store/extra-w
arping-bar-kit/
Bottom Spring Kit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALTa1L
iwSy8
The bottom spring kit is a plastic tray for
holding a spring at the bottom of the loom
with two attached brass acorn nuts for
holding the spring (warp coil).
-Weaving wide bead pieces
-Weaving wide tapestry pieces
-Small format tapestry (more than 18 DPI)
Intended primarily for bead weavers and
small format tapestry weavers, the bottom
spring kit allows you to attach a warp coil
on the bottom of your loom. The warp coil
on the bottom is useful for keeping the
warps correctly aligned when putting on
that first row of beads or for evenly spacing the warp for small format tapestry
weaving. It is simply and easily attached
with permanent 2-sided tape. Your top
spring (warp coil) and bottom spring must
match, so make sure you have two of any
spring you will be using. Additional warp
coils must be purchased separately.
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/store/bottom
-spring-kit-warp-coils-not-included/
Warp Coils
Warp coils (also called springs) are used to
set the spacing of your projects. You can
buy additional/extra warp coils separately.
Available in 8, 10, 12,14, 16, 18, 20 or 22
Dents Per Inch.
Bottom Spring Kits are Perfect for:
14
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/store/warp-co
ils-springs/
10
What next?
Check out our ebook “Weaving is Easy” for some more basic information on Mirrix Looms and
weaving on a Mirrix!
http://info.mirrixlooms.com/weaving-is-easy-ebook
Get some free projects:
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/learning-center/projects/
Learn more about each of our looms here:
http://www.mirrixlooms.com/product-category/looms/
Take a course:
Craftsy (get 50% off with this link): craftsy.com/beadcuffs
Craftartedu:
http://craftartedu.com/claudia-chase-crystal-and-bead-wrap
-bracelet
15