7 Simple Inkle Loom Patterns For Beginners
Using the same pattern over and over again will look rather boring.
Regardless if you are weaving tapes, strips, or bands, knowing a variety of different inkle weaving patterns is the key to making a beautiful design.
Learning a few new patterns opens up a world of new designs an will instantly improve your weaving skills.
We have compiled a list of some of the most useful techniques and weaving patterns for inkle weaving.
What you need to get started
Before you get started, make sure you have the following prepared:
- A good inkle loom
- Weaving yarn of your favorite colors
1 Checkered pattern
A checkered pattern is one of the easiest design to learn. So if you are a beginner, this will be a great pattern to start with.
This design give a basic but pretty design that you can pull off even if you only have 2 different colors of yarn available.
2 Weaving letters
Letters are a great way to personalize any kind of weaving. Knowing how to weave your own name is especially useful for inkle weaving because you will often make bands and strips.
If you use one of these straps on your bag, nobody will mistakenly take your bag home.
3 Speckled pickup pattern
The speckled pattern seems pretty complicated at first sight. However, it is definite worth the effort of learning it.
You can often see this design even in professionally woven items. So if you want to give you weave the appearance of sophistication, you might just want to incorporate the speckled pattern in your design.
4 Patterned band
If you are looking for a pattern that is pleasing to the eye, the next one might be for you.
This pattern just seems to flow throughout the entire weave such that your eyes just can stop following it.
Although you don’t have to use as many colors as shown in the video, it give it a little extra pop.
5 Baltic style pick up
Admittedly, the Baltic style weaving isn’t one specific pattern but a collection of patterns.
However, in this video you can see the 2 most popular inkle loom pattern. If you are interested, you might want to pick up a book full with Baltic style patterns.
6 Al Sadu design
From the Baltics all the way to Kuwait; the Al Sadu design is a old pattern originally created in the middle east.
You might not be familiar with the name, but you have probably seen some of these patterns before. They often include red colors but you can choose any color of your choice.
7 Greek key pattern
You can often see them on carpets and rugs but you can incorporate them in your inkle weaving project as well.
Seeing a Greek key pattern can sometimes make your head spin. Fortunately, weaving one doesn’t have to be as difficult as it seems. Just make sure to keep the inkle pattern in mind as you weave.
How do you read an inkle loom pattern?
An inkle loom pattern is normally made up out of small squares of two different colors (normally black and white). The different colors indicate whether the weft should go over or under the warp threads. The number of block in a row also indicate how many warp threads you need to make the inkle pattern.
More inkle loom patterns
In case you already know how to read an inkle loom pattern, you can also turn to the internet for inspiration. Here are a few suggestions to find free patterns.
- Inkle Loom Pattern Generator: here you can design your own inkle loom patterns from scratch on this page.
- E-Books: you can some free books about inkle weaving online. This is a pretty old book by Atwater but it includes quite a few patterns at the back.
- Websites: there aren’t a lot of websites with a wide range of weaving patterns. Although this particular website it in German, you don’t need to read German to understand a weaving pattern. Just click the links until you find a pattern you like.
- Pinterest: if you need some inspiration, this is the place to go. You can find many boards with beautiful designs, instructions, and specific inkle loom weaving patterns for beginners.
