Summer – and summer travel! – are coming up on us fast. And floor looms, even table looms, can be big and awkward to bring along. How do you stay engaged with weaving, or with fiber arts generally, while you’re on the road?

What makes weaving fun for you?

People weave for lots of reasons, and knowing your reasons makes it much easier to figure out what to bring.

I find working with my hands calming, and like to do productive things to fill in “lost time,” time spent traveling or in waiting rooms (bus stations, airports, etc.). And I find creating something new more satisfying than sitting there staring at my phone for hours on end.

I also like getting to do something creative. Craftwork feeds my soul, so working with my hands isn’t just fun – it’s something I need to be relaxed, happy, and fulfilled.

What kind of travel are you doing?

There are many different types and styles of travel. A weekend camping trip with the kids, a week-long trip to Paris, or even a year-long sojourn around the world all count as travel. But what you can realistically bring, do, or complete will be very different depending on the details of your trip.

Common challenges

Packing

Travel means packing things up and carting them around. Bulky things can fill up luggage fast. Heavy things can be awkward to carry. Fragile tools or materials might get mashed with repeated packing, or with not-so-delicate treatment from baggage handlers. And expensive tools in checked bags can be, well, expensive if the airline loses your luggage.

How important each of those is depends on how you’re traveling and how much space you have. Traveling in an RV? You’ve got plenty of space, maybe even enough to bring a small floor loom. Flying with two suitcases? That rigid heddle loom will fit. Backpacking? Maybe just a pin loom and a small ball of yarn.

Working conditions

Working conditions while traveling could be anything from a bumpy bus seat to the passenger seat of a car (please don’t weave while driving! 🙂 ) to a comfy chair and table in a hotel room. How cramped or spacious your workspace makes a huge difference in what you bring along. 

Time

How much time do you have to fill? Will you have hours in train or bus stations to sip tea and weave, or will you be on your feet all day and stealing stray minutes to get your weaving “fix”?

And how long is your trip? Travel projects are often best when matched to your trip length. For a two-day trip, I might just bring a magazine or a book, or twist the fringe on a few scarves. For a longer trip, you might try a more ambitious project, such as a small tapestry on a frame loom. For really long trips? Consider something epic – when I spent six months backpacking through Southeast Asia, I made a handspun, handknit ring shawl in beautiful blue and purple silk.

Focus

Another thing to consider is how much attention you can pay to your work. If you expect to have long stretches of uninterrupted time, complex or tricky designs can be delightfully challenging. If you’re snatching a few minutes here and there – or might be interrupted by exciting sights (“Look! A whale!”) – then something simpler might be called for.

Things you might bring

Tools

Here are some weaving tools that are relatively easy to carry and use while traveling.

Super light and easy to carry in a purse or tote bag:

• Pin looms
• Potholder looms
• Tiny frame looms, such as the Mirrix 5” Mini

Slightly larger, good for a suitcase:

• Inkle looms
• Tablets for card weaving
• Small rigid heddle looms, such as the Cricket
• Bigger frame or tapestry looms
• Backstrap looms

Bulkier but still portable, good for driving (or really big suitcases!)

• Larger rigid heddle looms
• Table looms

Don’t forget other tools such as tapestry needles, fringe twisters, and scissors!

Materials

With materials, the main concern is bulk, but you’ll also want to think about delicacy. When I made my Southeast Asia trip, I knew my materials and tools would have to bang around in a backpack in hot and humid areas. That meant that I couldn’t take wool! And I couldn’t take huge balls of yarn with me, either, because they would take up too much precious space. That’s why I brought silk – because it wouldn’t felt.

If you’ve got a lot of time, you can also bring materials to “assemble” while you’re on the move. For example, if you’ve got thrums, you can use the trip to tie the strands together so you can use them for weft in zanshi weaving. Or you can bring a spindle or small e-spinner, some roving, and spin your own weaving yarn while traveling.

One more option

You don’t need to bring everything! Consider exploring weaving shops and visiting weavers along the way. You never know what you’ll discover – or who you might become!