page_title: Loom
section_title: Back strap loom
hierarchical_section_title: Loom / Types of looms / Back strap loom
caption_attribution_description: English: T'nalak waver (T'boli people) Please feel free to use our photos but a link going to our website is required - www.wayph.com/
context_page_description: A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.
context_section_description: The back strap loom is a simple loom that has its roots in ancient civilizations. The Andes Textiles, still made today with the back strap loom, originated thousands of years ago with the same back strap loom process. It consists of two sticks or bars between which the warps are stretched. One bar is attached to a fixed object and the other to the weaver, usually by means of a strap around the back. The weaver leans back and uses her body weight to tension the loom. On traditional looms, the two main sheds are operated by means of a shed roll over which one set of warps pass, and continuous string heddles which encase each of the warps in the other set. To open the shed controlled by the string heddles, the weaver relaxes tension on the warps and raises the heddles. The other shed is usually opened by simply drawing the shed roll toward the weaver.
  Both simple and complex textiles can be woven on this loom. Width is limited to how far the weaver can reach from side to side to pass the shuttle. Warp faced textiles, often decorated with intricate pick-up patterns woven in complementary and supplementary warp techniques are woven by indigenous peoples today around the world. They produce such things as belts, ponchos, bags, hatbands and carrying cloths. Supplementary weft patterning and brocading is practiced in many regions. Balanced weaves are also possible on the backstrap loom. Today, commercially produced backstrap loom kits often include a rigid heddle.
caption: T'boli dream weavers using two-bar bamboo backstrap looms (legogong) to weave t'nalak cloth from abacá fiber. One bar is attached to the ceiling of the traditional T'boli longhouse, while the other is attached to the lower back.[4][5]
exif: {"Image XResolution": "1000", "Image YResolution": "1000", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2014:12:25 14:15:19", "Image ExifOffset": "162", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "362", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "19969", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:12:14 09:21:39", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:12:14 09:21:39", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "30", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "30"}