Knitless loom template and method for making fabric

Description

This application claims priority from Provisional Patent Application No. 60/699,396, filed on Jul. 15, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to portable looms for the creation of fabric without the conventional requirement of knitting, and methods for making fabric employing the portable looms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Textile fabrics are frequently made by either by a mechanical loom or by hand knitting. Hybrids like portable loom templates, or hand-held looms, have been developed for creating fabric from yarn. In particular, rectangular templates with a series of indentations around the perimeter may be used. The templates are roughly planar and are firm enough to allow for wrapping yarn around the template under adequate tension, yet deformable enough to allow the edges of the template to be manipulated such that the woven fabric may be removed.

Portable looms are known, for example those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,504 to Sidore. Sidore recognizes that a need exists for a portable loom which can be transported easily and yet can be assembled or disassembled rather simply. Thus, a weaver could bring a portable loom to a class or to a demonstration or exhibit without the need for more complex looms and their attendant transportation problems.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,682 to Jenner discloses a typical portable loom which requires square or rectangular sheets of rigid material, with a series of indentations formed around the perimeters. These square or rectangular sheets are divided into equal halves diagonally or parallel to the edges. The two halves of the square or rectangular Hand Held Devices are joined together with hinges.

In Jennner, the two halves of the Hand Held Device are held stable during weaving by means of a swinging arm constructed of rigid material and having a location hole at one end. A slot is situated at the other end and attached to the loom with suitable fasteners through the location hole which is positioned at the appropriate place on the Hand Held Device. These fasteners are of such a nature that they allow the arms to swing free at the slotted end when required.

However, this and similar portable looms have several disadvantages. First, the nature of these looms necessarily requires that the loom contain a device for removing the fabric upon completion. In Jenner, this device is a set of hinges connecting two rigid halves comprising the loom template. Another disadvantage is that the prior art requires that the loom templates be made of rigid material. This is to ensure sufficient tensioning of the yarn. However, the rigidity of the template material may create awkwardness, discomfort, or even injury to the user or the fabric. In Jenner, the swinging arm is necessary to keep the loom template rigid, yet can be awkward to unfasten or may catch on the yarn during weaving and removal. For these and other reasons, an improved portable loom is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a portable loom system made of a loom template material that is readily deformable, rather than rigid. The material used in the present invention can vary, including such suitable materials as foamed polymers, or pliable plastics that readily deform yet regain their prior shape after manipulation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached drawings show various possible geometries of the loom template of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a planar view of the loom template.

FIG. 2 shows a planar view of the template as the user would begin to weave the yarn to make a fabric.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the template in its deformed state that allows the user to easily remove the woven fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The loom and method of the present invention include a knitless loom template 8 made of a substantially planar, contiguous piece of material, with a series of indentations formed around the perimeter. These indentations around the edges form notches 1 through which the yarn may be woven. The template material is firm enough to tension yarn between opposite notches, yet pliable enough to allow the fabric to be removed upon deforming the template. Any suitable configuration of notches may be employed. A preferred embodiment of this invention uses a template with 4×18 regularly spaced notches; another embodiment has 20×20 notches. The minimum number of notches on a side is 4. The loom template may have a slit 2 through which the yarn may be initially placed.

Yarn may be placed on the loom template around the notches in yarn sections 3 extending from notch to notch. When sufficient yarn has been laid around the notches, the resulting yarn intersections may be tied in knots 4.

Upon completion of the weaving, pressure may be applied to slightly deform the loom template 6 to create slack in the yarn sections 5, allowing the weaving to be removed from the loom template.

Thus, the present invention is deformable rather than rigid and entails no hinges. These benefits provide the user repeated use of the loom without discomfort or injury. This also makes the present invention easier to use as there is no set-up required prior to use and no hinges, swinging arms or dowels that can be lost or damaged.

The material of the loom template may be any suitably deformable material, such as rubber, deformable plastic, or polymer foam. A preferred embodiment is foamed polymer having additives enhancing the durability of the template. Especially preferred is UVA foam, which has ultra-violet absorbent.

Another embodiment of the present invention has one side of the template dark, and the other side light, to enable the user to better see and knot the yarn for both light and dark yarn varieties. For example, if the yarn is dark brown, the user would turn the loom template so that the lighter side is facing up, providing for greater contrast with the yarn.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1 Basic Weaving

• (1) If using light colored yarn, the user holds the loom with the dark side facing the user;
• (2) The user creates a slot, or uses a pre-made slot, between the top left corner notch and the one to the immediate right of it on the front of the loom. The user slides yarn into the slot between the first and second notches. The user begins wrapping yarn by laying it in a straight line from the top of the loom to the bottom and catching it behind the notch and then back up from the bottom of the loom to the top of the loom and behind the notch. The user repeats this process until the yarn is around the corner notch. The yarn is wrapped around the corner notch and the loom is turned ¼ turn to the left, and the process is repeated;
• (3) The user continues wrapping yarn around notches as in step (2), each time turning the loom ¼ turn to the left. This step is repeated until the desired thickness is reached;
• (4) The user then threads a needle with a long piece of yarn. On the loom, at the the upper-left yarn intersection, the needle is slipped under all the layers of yarn, and using the needle, a knot is tied around diagonally across the yarn intersection. The user then cuts the yarn at the knot, leaving the rest of the yarn on the needle;
• (5) At the upper-left yarn intersection in step (4); the user inserts the needle diagonally under all the layers of yarn, from the top of the intersection to the bottom of the intersection, leaving a loop in the yarn. The user pulls the needle through the loop and pulls the needle taut. The user repeats this process on the opposite diagonal of the intersection, creating an “X” with the yarn.
• (6) The user moves to the next intersection, located to the right of the first intersection, and repeats step (5).
• (7) The user continues repeating steps (5) and (6), moving in a pattern, such as right, diagonally down to the left, right, etc., until all intersections are knotted. At the last intersection, the user ties a know and cuts the yarn.

(8) To remove this completed section, the user deforms the loom creating slack in the yarn and pulls all the loops off the notches.

EXAMPLE 2 Joining Squares

Steps (1)-(8) are repeated in Example 1 above to produce two woven sections. The user places the edge of one section adjacent to the edge of the other section and ties the loops of the two sections together, creating a knot at each set of loops.