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On a loom, a whole row of beads goes on at once, so loom patterns grow quickly and the beads sit in a perfectly straight grid. Here’s how to get from an empty loom to your first finished rows.
You’ll need a bead loom, beading thread, a long beading needle and your beads. See beading supplies for beginners if you’re still shopping.
How loom beading works
Lengthwise threads called warps are stretched across the loom. A second thread, the weft, carries each row of beads. The beads sit side by side, one between each pair of warps. The weft passes under the warps on the way across and back over them through the same beads, which locks the row in place.
1. Warp the loom
- Count your warps. You need one more warp than the number of beads across. A pattern 35 beads wide needs 36 warps. The width is on the pattern’s cover and on its page here.
- Leave long ends. Each warp needs a tail of about 8 to 12 inches past the beading at both ends. You’ll use them to finish the bracelet.
- Space them evenly in the loom’s springs or slots, one warp per gap, centered on the loom.
- Keep the tension firm and even. The warps should feel like guitar strings, all the same tightness. Loose warps make wobbly rows.
2. Start the weft
Cut an arm’s length of thread. Longer is tempting but tangles. Tie it to the outermost warp on the left, leaving a tail of about 6 inches to weave in later.
3. Weave a row
- Pick up the beads for row 1 in order, using the chart or the word chart. Double-check the count.
- Bring the beads under the warps and push them up with your finger so each bead pops up between two warps.
- Hold them there and pass the needle back through all the beads from the far side, this time going over the warps.
- Pull snug and check every bead is in its own gap.
That’s one row. Repeat for each row, pushing each new row close to the one before.
4. Add new thread
When about 6 inches of thread is left, finish it off: weave it back through a few rows of beads, going over the warps, then trim. Start a new thread a few rows back the same way, and bring it out at the end of the last row you finished. Never tie knots in the middle of the work. They can show and pull through.
Keeping it neat
- Start from the middle on a long piece if you like. Some beaders weave from the center row out to each end so both ends finish evenly.
- Check the count of each row before you push it up. An extra bead is easy to spot now and painful to find later.
- Watch your edges. Even tension on the weft keeps the edges straight. Don’t pull so hard the outer warps bend inward.
- Use the middle arrows on the chart to keep the design centered on your warps.
Next steps
When the last row is done, take the work off the loom and finish the ends. See finishing a beaded bracelet. Then pick your next design from our loom patterns.
