Simple peg looms are useful because they can be adjusted to work with materials of all sizes to make products of all dimensions. For the sake of our instructions, assume we are using wool yarn to make a scarf. When weaving with a peg loom, the string threaded through each peg is the warp. The yarn wrapped around each peg is the weft.
To build a peg loom you will need the following materials:
Drill a series of holes into your 2" × 4" into which each of your dowel rods will sit. These rods are your pegs for the loom. Drill a hole at the base of each peg through which you will thread the warp strings. These holes should be high enough that when the pegs are placed in the holes on the 2" × 4" you can see them above the edge.
Determine how long you want your final product to be and use double the amount of cordage. Now thread one piece of yarn through each peg. I use a small wire hook to help pull the string though the peg holes. Pull the yarn through until both sides of the yarn hang evenly from the peg hole. These hanging yarns will operate as the warp.
Now that your peg loom is set up, it is time to begin weaving. Pull the tail from your ball of yarn (or whatever material you are using) and tie it to your first peg. Use an overhand knot that is secure and will not come undone. Pass the yarn behind the second peg, in front of the third peg, behind the fourth peg, in front of the fifth peg, behind the sixth peg. Now bring your yarn back to the first peg by passing it in front of the sixth peg, behind the fifth peg, in front of the fourth peg, behind the third peg, in front of the second peg, and in front of your first peg. Now send that yarn back down the line of pegs. Each row of wraps you make around the pegs will essentially lock in the previous row of wraps because they will wind in the opposite direction.
Continue passing the weft around the pegs until your stacks of wraps are about three-quarters of the way up your pegs. As you weave, push down the rows of wraps with a beater stick or your hands. This not only tightens up the rows on your work but also allows you to fit more rows on the pegs.
You can expand your peg loom so that it will work with projects and materials of all sizes. Simply drill an additional series of peg holes above and below your first row. The holes can be farther apart for wider materials or closer together for smaller cordage. Make the holes bigger for bigger pegs or smaller. The larger setting in your peg loom can be used for shreds of animal hides. Peg looms can have as many as 30–40 pegs, depending on the width of your materials and desired size of your finished product. You can place such large looms on sawhorses for stability.
I like to tie a slipknot in the bottom of my hanging yarns to make sure that my weaving holds together as I unload the pegs. Pull the pegs out of their holes and slip each stack of wraps off the pegs and slide them onto your hanging yarns. Put the pegs back into the holes and wrap the yarn around them again, alternating directions, until they reach about halfway or three-quarters of the way up the pegs. Once more, slip them off the pegs and slide them onto your weft. Continue doing this until the piece reaches your desired length.