The backstrap loom is probably one of the oldest machines invented by humans. Although various versions have been used by cultures around the world for thousands of years, they are usually identified with the Maya and Inca Native Americans. In South and Central America, women still use backstrap looms today to make their brightly patterned blankets, belts, and shawls. I was taught to use a backstrap loom in Nicaragua wayyyy back in 1988, by a young girl who spoke no English but just strapped me in and pointed to various things and showed me how they worked. The basic process is not hard to do once you figure it all out, though it takes a long time to learn how to do all the intricate pattern weaves that the natives do. I only know how to do simple patterns of stripes and bands.
Backstrap looms are good for me, as a vandweller and traveler, because they can be used any place where there is a convenient tree (or inside the van), and when not in use the whole loom rolls up into a small bundle that will fit in a backpack.
So here’s a photo essay on how to make a backstrap loom.
So my first project will be to make a belt, then a camera strap, then a water-bottle carrier, then a summer blanket.
:)