Beginnings - How I learned to love the inkle loom

My introduction to weaving came about 5 months ago, during our shire's demonstration at Camelot Days.  This was also our second SCA event, so we were still a bit apprehensive about the whole thing.  Not that we did not like the people or the environment, we were just still shy and unsure as to whether we would have anything useful to contribute.

It was sort of awkward arriving there and seeing most of the shire members working on something or other while we had nothing really to show.  Luckily, our shire has some very welcoming and helpful members and we found a home for the day in the tent on Lady Morgan, our local fibers expert. She asked whether I would like to give a try using this funny looking implement called an inkle loom and the rest is history.

This first piece was already warped an about 6 inches were already woven. I figured I'd give it a try, and with Lady Morgan's guidance, I managed to finish the whole belt within a couple of house. Many mistakes were made. Luckily the belt was a simple plain red number, and the inkle loom is extremely forgiving of mistakes. The edges were horrendous but that's exactly what can be expected of a beginner.

My very first attempt on the inkle loom. I look very focused, which I was!

I had not expected to enjoy myself as much as I did and I basically sat there with just a couple of quick breaks util the thing was complete. It may be ugly as sin in hindsight, but I was extremely proud of myself.

I enjoyed myself so much, in fact, that I had Lady Morgan teach me how to warp the loom and got to working on my second belt  that very day. It was supposed to have a single chain pattern in yellow on a green background, but of course I screwed up the warping so I ended up with something somewhat different. I was still very happy with it, however, and the improvement in the edges could be seen as the weaving on that one belt progressed.

Oh, but that was not the end of our adventures at Camelot Days. I completed that second belt on day 2 and immediately warped a third. I was only able to get through a foot or so of that one, but completed it at home over the next few days.

Here is a comparison of those 3 belts, progressing from top to bottom:

First belt, nightmarish edges.

Second belt, edges are wonky at first, still wonky near the end, but improved.

Third belt, edges are somewhat sloppy at first, but have basically stabilized near the end. This is the first belt I'd call usable.

As the pictures make quote clear, the improvement over those 3 belts was marked. My obsession with the craft was also quite firmly cemented by that point.

I was so hooked that I had purchased the loom I worked on by the end of that 2-day event.