What to do With Loom Waste?

When you're a weaver, loom waste (sometimes called "thrums") is inevitable. When the warp is tied on to the loom at the beginning and the end, those areas can't be woven. If you're planning to incorporate fringe into your project, the beginning and end can become your fringe. Even then, you usually have to cut off some part of at least one end to even things up! 

​With my textured warp, there was a lot of loom waste. All the different warp yarns had a different amount of stretch to them, so before I tied on to the loom, I trimmed the longer bits to even things out. Then there was the fact that I had to cut the warp in half so it would fit on my loom - more places to tie on equaled more waste. 

At first I was disappointed because I was concerned that all that waste meant I wouldn't have as much fabric as I'd planned for. (I'm still worried about that, tbh.) But when I realized how much loom waste I had, I realized I could try something I'd been thinking about for a while.  

While weaving the first piece, I put all the loom waste in a bag as it got cut off. Then I spent a couple of mornings going through the pile, knotting each end together to create six balls of yarn. Why six? I stopped when it felt like I had a shuttle's worth of yarn, but in reality, each ball is really enough for two shuttles.

Then I warped the loom again, this time with one type of wool yarn. Hopefully this means I won't have the same issues with excessive waste this time! 

The weave structure is plain weave, and there are two rows of thin yarn in between each row of thicker "waste" yarn. Initially, I'd planned to leave all the ends hanging out of the fabric like faux fur, but decided it looked too busy, so all the ends are woven in as I go. The weaving process is really enjoyable, and I can't wait to see what this fabric is like once it comes off the loom!

If you're looking for more ideas for what to do with waste yarn, check out my Pinterest board here - it's not just for weaving! There are ideas for knitters, spinners, crocheters, and sewers too!