Triangle Loom Theory

You need to understand the geometry of triangle weaving:  the triangle in question has one 90 degree angle corner and the two adjacent legs of the triangle are the same length.  This is very important.  You need to be able to secure all three corners so the triangle is nice and secure.  You will need to have the same number of warp thread connectors on each side (not counting the connectors at the corners).  In most cases, you will use small nails as your connectors.    So far, so good, the challenge, as you will see if you decide to construct a loom, is getting the spacing even.  Unless you are a math-geek, that statement will sound really stupid to you.  What's the problem?  You just get a ruler and measure out spacing because you want your threads evenly spaced.  True enough, except that there are two legs of the triangle that are the same length, but the other one is a lot longer and you have to get the same number of nails on each one.  So, yes, you can measure the lengths of the sides and then do some math to figure out the relative spacing so you can get that same number of nails on each leg of the triangle.  That's great.  Now try to find a ruler that will measure that evenly.  Save yourself a headache, and just don't go there.  There IS a better way, thanks to the magic of geometry.  The secret is this:  If you use a t-square or graph paper, working from either the long leg of the triangle or the sides, you can mark a location on the opposite side.

There two diagrams below illustrate the two possible ways to measure nail placement, starting from either one of the short legs or from the long leg.  Yes, it does matter where you start.  Because of math, if you have the same nunber of nails on each side of the triangle, the placement of nails on the short legs of the triangle will always be closer together than the placement of nails on the long leg.

It is probably time to discuss how far apart to place nails on a triangle loom.  Even though it looks incredibly coarse, a 1/2 inch spacing has the advantage of giving you plenty of room to maneuver your fingers and/or crochet hook as you weave.  On no account should you position nails any closer together than 1/4 inches.  If the nails on the long leg of the triangle are 1/2 inch apart, the nails on the two shorter legs will be closer together than that.  Conversely, if the nails on the short legs of the triangle are spaced 1/2 inch apart, the nails on the longer leg will be spaced more widely.  I recommend starting with wider nail spacing, at least when making your first loom.  If you really hate the spacing after you have made a few projects, you can always add more nails in between the ones you start with.

Diagram 1 - Using graph paper to position nails on a triangle loom, working from the short legs.

Diagram 2 - Using graph paper to position nails on a triangle loom  working from long side.