Abstract:
A portable looming template for creating fabric from yarn comprising a rectangular planar body having a series of indentations in its perimeter defined between adjacent projecting fingers around which the yarn may be looped. The template may comprise a pair of planar members which may be connected together with hinges to be movable between a position in which they define the rectangular body for use and a folded position to permit release of the fabric article from the template.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present invention is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/062,524 filed Feb. 5, 2002 and entitled SET OF HAND HELD DEVICES 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This present invention relates to a portable looming template for weaving and creating squares and rectangles of fabric from yarn.  
         [0004]     2. Description of The Prior Art  
         [0005]     Hand weaving is a popular hobby which enables square or rectangular fabric pieces to be created from yarn however the means for creating such fabric pieces are antiquated. For example a basic hand weaving loom which has been used for many years includes a wooden frame carrying nails which are hammered into the periphery of the frame around its periphery. Yam is then wrapped around the nails in a systematic fashion to create pieces of woven fabric. To remove the woven fabric from the frame, however, the loops formed around the nails have to be cut off with scissors, effectively limiting the scope of the usefulness of the pieces of fabric formed using a loom of that form.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention aims to overcome the above disadvantage by providing a portable looming template which enables woven fabric pieces to be formed simply and effectively. The present invention further aims to provide a template which enables the woven fabric pieces formed on the loom to be readily removed from the loom without damaging the pieces.  
         [0007]     The looming template typically comprises a square or rectangular body of a flat planar material provided with a series of indentations around the perimeter thereof. Opposite sides of the body are suitably capable of being folded relatively towards each other to permit release the woven fabric piece from the loom. The sides of the body are suitably being capable of being folded about a fold line or axis extending transversely of the body and extending substantially parallel to the plane of the body.  
         [0008]     The body may be formed by a pair of substantially identical planar member which can be joined together along a join line extending diagonally of the rectangular body or parallel to a side edge of the body. The members may be of a triangular or rectangular configuration. The edges of the panels which are adjacent each other are free of the indentations. In a preferred form, the two members are joined together with hinges or interconnected by means of any flexible joint or connection.  
         [0009]     Releasable holding means may be provided to hold the template members in a substantially coplanar attitude to form the template body. The releasable holding means may comprise one or more arms of a suitable rigid material which can provide support to the template members to hold the members in their coplanar relationship. The arm may be pivotally connected to one member and be pivotally movable to engage with the other member. The arm may have a location hole at one end and a slot at the other end. The arm may be secured to one of the members by means of a fastener through the location hole. A further fastener may be provided on the other member for engagement by the slot at the other end of the arm. The fasteners are of such a nature that they allow the arm to swing free at the slotted end when required. The arms in their engaged position preferably extend at right angles to the joint line between the half panels.  
         [0010]     The members of the portable looming template may be made from suitable material such as MDF or moulded plastic or other substantially rigid material. The arms may also be made from any suitable material such as MDF or plastics. The fasteners may be made from any suitable material such as brass or moulded plastic. The hinges between the half panels may be made from any suitable material such as brass, or moulded plastic with any flexible joint.  
         [0011]     The planar members may be of a right angle triangular configuration and means may be provided for connecting the planar members along or adjacent to their hypotenuses Alternatively the planar members are substantially rectangular and the members are connected to each other along a line extending parallel to one of the side edges of said body.  
         [0012]     The indentations around the periphery of the portable loom may be of any configuration however to allow ready detachment of the formed pieces from the loom, the indentations are suitably in the form of tapered slots or notches. The tapered slots may be defined by projecting fingers around the periphery of the rectangular body, the side edges of the projections forming the tapering slots therebetween. The projecting fingers at the corners of the rectangular panel are preferably enlarged compared to the projections along the side edges thereof. The projecting fingers may be of a truncated isosceles triangular configuration.  
         [0013]     This portable looming template of the invention enables yarn to be woven into fabric pieces and released from the template with the loops intact around the perimeter, ready to be stitched into garments, rugs, cushion covers and craft items. For use, the yarn is simply wound around the body being located by the indentations and in varying patterns. The created fabric square may be detached from the looming template and the fabric squares may then be joined to form a competed fabric product.  
         [0014]     Many people are unable to knit or crochet and the portable looming template of the invention offers a novel way for those people who are looking for a simple craft method of turning yarn into fabric and product. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     To assist with understanding the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention and in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates in front view a portable looming template according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the template of  FIG. 1  with the component parts of the template of  FIG. 1  folded together;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the portable looming template of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0019]     FIGS.  4  to  6  are views corresponding to FIGS.  1  to  3  respectively of a portable looming template according to a further embodiment of the invention;  
         [0020]     FIGS.  7  to  9  are views corresponding to FIGS.  1  to  3  respectively of a portable looming template of yet a further embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0021]     FIGS.  10  to  12  are views corresponding to FIGS.  1  to  3  respectively of a portable looming template of yet a further embodiment of the invention 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     Referring firstly to FIGS.  1  to  3 , there is illustrated a portable looming template  10  according to the present invention which is of a substantially planar square configuration and provided around its perimeter with a series of indentations  11 . The indentations  11  are of a tapering or V-shaped slot-like configuration and defined between coplanar projecting fingers  12  of the template which are in the form of truncated isosceles triangles and arranged along each of the four sides of the template  10 . Further larger fingers  13  again in the configuration of truncated isosceles triangles are arranged at each corner of the template  10   
         [0023]     The template  10  is divided along a diagonal join line  14  into two parts or members  15  and  16  which are of a substantially identical right-angle triangular configuration and which are secured together along their hypotenuses by spaced hinges  17  which enables the parts  15  and  16  to be pivotally moved in one direction about a pivot axis extending along the join line  14 . In the position of  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the edges of the parts  15  and  16  along their hypotenuses are in abutment or substantial abutment with each other.  
         [0024]     To hold the parts  15  and  16  in their operative relationship relative to each other as in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , one of the parts  16  is provided with a swinging arm  18  which is pivotally connected to the part  16  by means of a headed fastener  19  which secures the arm  18  to the part  16  which permits swinging or pivotal movement of the arm  18  in a substantially coplanar manner about the fastener  19  and parallel to the plane of the template  20 . The arm  18  additionally is provided at its end opposite the fastener  19  with a recess  20  for cooperation with a further headed fastener  21  provided in the other part  15 .  
         [0025]     In the non-operative position, the template  10  may be folded to the position of  FIG. 2  where the two parts  15  and  16  are pivoted about the hinges  17  to lie in a substantially juxtaposed face-to-face relationship. For use, the two parts  15  and  16  are unfolded and pivoted about the hinges  17  such that they are substantially coplanar. The swinging arm  18  is then pivoted about the fastener  19  until the recess  20  therein receives the headed fastener  21  as in the position of  FIG. 3 . This will hold the parts  15  and  16  in a substantially coplanar and rigid relationship with each other ready for use.  
         [0026]     FIGS.  4  to  6  and  7  to  9  illustrate portable looming templates  22  and  23  according to the invention which are similar in configuration to the embodiment of FIGS.  1  to  3  except that they are of greater dimensions and have a greater number of indentations  11  and projecting fingers  12  although the latter are of similar configuration and size.  
         [0027]     The use of the template will now be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . An end of a yarn is secured to the rear side of the template  22  such as with tape and the yard is wound as shown in dotted outline from one indentation  11  say at the left hand end of the template on one side edge of the template  22  across the template  22  to the opposite indentation  11  and looped around the protecting finger  12  and wound across the template  22  back to the opposite indentation  11 . This procedure is repeated until the opposite end of the template  22  is reached. The template  22  is then turned ¼ turn to the left and the procedure repeated with the lengths of yarn in this run crossing the previously wound yarn lengths. This procedure is continued until the desired thickens of yarn is achieved and the yarn ends back at the starting point. The ends of the yarn may then be tied together at the front of the template  22 . The crossing points  24  of the yarns may then be secured together by further lengths of yarn by knots. To release the finished article, the arm  18  is pivoted away from the headed fastener  19  permitting the template parts  15  and  16  to be folded about the pivot axes along the line  12  which will release the woven article in one piece.  
         [0028]     FIGS.  10  to  12  illustrate a further looming template  25  according to the invention which in this case is of a rectangular configuration comprising a pair of rectangular planar rigid members  26  and  27  which are hingedly connected together by hinges  28  for movement about a hinge axis  29  extending parallel to the longer edges of the template  25 . The template members  26  and  27  are of a substantially identical rectangular configuration and as before, the side edges of the template  25  formed by the members  26  and  27  are provided with indentations  11  and projecting fingers  12  as before. One of the parts  27  is also provided with a pair of swinging arms  30  which are of the same configuration as the arms  18  and which function in the same manner as described above to hold the template member  26  and  27  in a substantially coplanar relationship. Release of the arms  30  permits the members  26  and  27  to be folded as in  FIG. 11  to release the woven product from the template  25 .  
         [0029]     Whilst it is preferred that the templates be formed with a pair of substantially identical members with the join line separating the looming template into two equal parts, the members which form the template may be of unequal size.  
         [0030]     Articles such as Afghan rugs, throws, jackets, bags, coat-hanger covers, cushion covers, doilies, mats and many more items can be woven on the looming templates, and because of the small size of the templates they can be taken and used anywhere. Weaving with the looming templates is very easy and can be used by school children through to the mature crafter. The looming templates further can be used by occupational and diversional therapists as therapy for their patients.