A Guide to Peg Loom Weaving with Raw Sheep Fleece
A Guide to Peg Loom Weaving with Raw Sheep Fleece
Peg Loom Weaving: How to Turn Raw Fleece into a Rug
Are you looking for a textile craft that is deeply connected to nature, incredibly therapeutic, and results in a stunning, rustic piece for your home? Look no further than peg loom weaving!
This heritage craft, harks back to the sixteenth century, is a simple, effective, and deeply satisfying way to transform raw sheep fleece—straight from the shearer—into beautiful rugs, seat pads, and wall hangings.
This guide will walk you through the simple steps of creating your very own peg loom rug using natural, unprocessed fleece. Usually in the U.K such fleece is available free or very cheaply from local farmers or smallholders, we usually pay about £5 per fleece!
What You Need to Start Your Peg Loom Weaving Project
Peg Loom weaving requires surprisingly little equipment:
- A Peg Loom: This is the wooden base with vertical pegs. Looms come in various sizes; a longer one will allow you to weave wider projects like rugs and throws. Some looms are adjustable for different material thicknesses, but most for raw fleece, use a single row of holes.
- Warp Thread: The warp is the strong vertical framework that holds your entire weaving together. Choose a durable thread like waxed linen, garden twine, or strong cotton. It’s important to cut your warps to a generous length—often a foot or more longer than your expected finished project.
- Raw Sheep Fleece (The Weft): This is your main material. Natural, locally sourced British fleece provides a soft, cushioned feel and a rustic charm. Medium staple length fleeces are generally the easiest to use.
- Optional Tools: You may want a latch hook or crochet hook for tidying and sewing in tails at the end.
Step 1: Preparing Your Raw Fleece for Weaving
Unlike working with yarn, using raw fleece requires a very simple preparation step.
The fleece you receive may still contain bits of dirt, straw, or lanolin (natural oils (technically an 'ester'). While you can wash it, many traditional makers use the fleece in its "greasy" state for a truly rustic look. You will also find this adds a patination to the wood of the peg loom.
The key technique is Twisting and Drafting:
- Pull a "Noodle": Gently pull a long, straight, or relatively smooth piece of fleece away from the main bulk. This piece is your weaving material, or "weft."
- Twist and Draft: As you pull, gently twist and pull apart (draft out) the fleece to lengthen it and even out the thickness. This creates a continuous strand, or 'noodle,' ready for weaving. The goal is to work with a relatively similar thickness throughout the project to ensure an even finish.
- Joining: Raw fleece is incredibly forgiving because the wool fibres are naturally barbed, meaning they stick to each other. When one 'noodle' runs out, simply overlap the end with the start of a new piece, twist them together, and the fibres will "felt" onto each other, holding securely once they are woven into the rug.
Step 2: Warping the Loom
The warp threads are what make peg loom weaving possible.
- Thread the Warp: Thread your strong warp strings through the holes at the bottom of the loom, ensuring they are tightly secured at the start. You can also tie loops and thread the warps through the loops in the pegs, which some find less fiddly.
- Start Position: Lay the warp strings out away from your body to prevent them from becoming tangled in your lap while you weave.
Step 3: The Peg Loom Weaving Process
This is where the magic happens and the therapeutic rhythm of peg loom weaving begins.
- The First Row: Take your prepared fleece 'noodle.'
- Weave In and Out: Simply weave the fleece over the first peg, under the next, over the third, and so on, back and forth across the loom.
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Twist as You Go: Twist the fleece as you weave to keep
it tidy and ensure it stays tucked into the space between the pegs.
- Keep Consistent Tension: Don't pull too tightly. The fleece is bulky, and you want to ensure the weaving is firm but not overly compressed.
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Build Up the Layers: Continue weaving, moving the fleece down towards the bottom of the pegs, until the weaving has built up to the tops.
Step 4: Advancing and Finishing
The unique feature of a peg loom is that you can weave a piece of any length, regardless of the loom's size.
- Advancing the Warp: Once your weaving reaches the top of the pegs, you must transfer the weaving onto the warp. The wooden pegs are removed, and the woven section is gently pulled down onto the warp threads below, freeing up the pegs to continue weaving. Always check for any skipped pegs before advancing!
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Finishing: When you reach your desired length, secure the final weft piece. Once the rug is cut from the loom, the warp threads will need to be secured (often by knotting) and trimmed. You can use a latch hook to sew in any loose tails of fleece to the back of the rug.
The result is a stunning, durable, and completely natural rug—a beautiful piece of heritage crafted by your own hands. Enjoy the wild, rustic charm of your handmade, sustainable creation!
Where in YOUR home would suit a raw fleece rug?
If you fancy learning, craft teacher Julie Jordan at Wild Harvest School offers Peg Loom Weaving courses in half-days, full days and in some of our retreats. We also supply the peg looms themselves if needed, hand-made from wood, in-house, here in Yorkshire.
Links to Wild Harvest School Courses that cover Peg Loom Weaving are:
Self-Sufficiency Day in the City
Peg Loom Weaving Day
