Beadwork Looming

Q: I have a bead loom and at present I am working on my first project which is a beaded hat band. My biggest problem is that once I have the right length for the band I don't know how to remove the work from the loom. The book that I have been using is called "The Technique of North American Indian Beadwork" and for everything else it has been very informative and helpful but on the removal of the piece from the loom the instructions are very vague. If there is anyone who could give me any advice on how to do this it would be greatly appreciated.

A: I have tried three ways to end a loomed piece, depending on what you intend to do with it. First, you can snip each warp thread, leaving a couple of inches attatched to your work, and weave it back into the body of the piece. This is the most time consuming, but ends up looking the best, especially if you want your piece to stand alone. If you want a continuous hat band with no backing, I would suggest knotting each opposing warp thread together, and weaving the ends into the opposite side of the work. Second, you can use your thread minus the beads to weave a half inch of fabric at each end of your work. Coat with something like Fray Check, let dry, and cut the remaining thread ends away. This leaves a lip of fabric at each end that can be turned under and tacked down, or used to attatch findings to, or I use this to create a reinforced rim to amulet bags. Third, if you are planning to sew your work onto a backing of some sort, you can put some tape on the threads, cut them off the loom, and tuck the taped threads to the underside of your work before you tack it down. This takes the least amount of time, but you have to have something to hide them between. I have also heard of (but haven't tried yet) people stringing each warp thread as fringe, tying and gluing a knot securely around the last bead.

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