The Mirrix Tapestry & Bead Looms Blog

A Mirrix Loom doesn't need fancy accessories to be the best portable loom on the market, but loom accessories can make your weaving experience even better. From our Harvey Loom Stand that allows you stand or sit at you loom to our brand new Shasta Combs that make warping a breeze, we have tons of ways to accessorize any size Mirrix.

To help you get your hands on whatever accessory you've been eyeing, we're offering 15% off of loom accessories all week with code accessorize at checkout.

Since our Shasta Combs debuted earlier this year we've had a lot of questions about the differences between the Shasta Combs and our No Warp-Ends Kit. In this post we will attempt to break down the differences.

My adventures in painting and using hand-painted silk.

The Summer Weaving Challenge that was all about seeing your surroundings.

They talk about the runner’s high. I, in fact, may have experienced that at one point in my life, when I was running. We all know this. We hear this all the time. Go get high. Run! And some people do but most people do not. So much for that. I have been noticing recently that I can reach this kind of blissful state . . . when I do artwork.

It is through failure that an artist succeeds.

We are nine weeks in to our 2019 Summer Weaving Challenge and still have four more to go! Below is our 9th challenge and the first and only challenge we are posting publicly. Feel free to take part, even if you are not a challenge participant!

Over the years I have had friends ask me to sew or knit or crochet things for them. 

Each time it has annoyed me because, first of all, I don't sew or knit or crochet. And as you know, weaving isn't sewing. It isn't knitting. It isn't crocheting. It isn't even close. 

Second, I don't like the idea of people requesting creative work for free. 

But third, and this is the one I want to focus on, the idea that some people are "crafty" and that extends to any number of crafts and others "aren't crafty" and therefore can't, encourages those self-named "non-crafty" people not to pursue crafts, whether that be sewing on a button or learning to weave. 

As Mirrix's 23rd birthday month winds down, we have decided to celebrate with a rare sale on loom starter packages. Usually, loom starter packagesare not included in sales because most of our packages are already discounted to some degree. This means, for many package, you'll be saving much more than 10%.

If you haven't heard, Mirrix Looms turned 23 years old this month. It's hard to believe that so much time has passed, but it's true! Some of your looms are old enough to have graduated college. When do you think they'll finally settle down and give you grand-looms?

If you'd like to help us celebrate, send Mirrix a birthday message or, even better, a message alongside a picture of your loom or something you've made on your loom. We'll post select pictures and messages to Instagram and Facebook and will even read a few out loud and post the videos! 

Review (part 2) by Deb Bednarek of the Spencer Power Treadle. 

The concept of putting on heddles is fairly straightforward, but there are a lot of chances to make mistakes when putting them on. It is important to pay attention to what you are doing and keep checking to make sure you aren’t making mistakes, as one mistake can make it so your shedding device does not work properly. 

This week may be a good one to find deals on televisions and tablets, but if you'd rather shop small, it's also a good week to buy a loom! We're offering free shipping on looms* (and anything else in your loom order) within the United States through July 17th. If you're located elsewhere, email us for discounted shipping rates.

The starting and ending wefts are always something a weaver needs to deal with. There are as many techniques as there are many different weavers.For thick wefts any overlapping of the weft tails will be bulky. I like the splicing technique. You are undoing the plies from the old yarn and the new yarn.

Recently my mom gifted me a beaded purse that had belonged to a relative of ours. The purse was woven on a loom with rows of thread between each row of beads. It got me thinking about incorporating thread into the design of a bead weaving. I happened to have just received some fun weaving yarn from GIST: Yarn & Fiber and decided to incorporate some of that. I warped my loom with a silk and stainless steel weaving yarn called Tetsu created by ITO Yarns in Japan and also used that to string my beads.