At Long Last! Bead Looming Warp Finishing Made Easy!

Hello all!!! I am super excited to announce that I have finally finished my newest diagrams to show you how to easily finish off those pesky loom warps. Illustrator is always a challenge for me, but I did it! *whew*

Since about March, I have been on a bead looming kick. Meaning I made about three full pieces between my other projects this year. It's been nice to return to my beading roots after so many years. 13 year old me would be very proud.

Here is my original post on the topic of looming in warp threads:

Revisiting My Old Loom and A Warp Finishing Tip

And now, to bust that myth that beaders around the world agree on: Looming is too hard because warp threads are such a pain. Not true! Observe:

Step 1: Cut your finished panel from the loom after tying in your working weft thread.

Step 1 pictured with my illusion blocks bracelet.

Step 2: Thread any warp thread on your needle. Skipping over the last weft, insert your needle BETWEEN the wefts on rows 2 through 9. Eight rows is adequate. Go through more if desired.

Step 2 pictured with blue warps and red wefts. The needle is BETWEEN nine rows of wefts.

Step 3: Pull the warp thread tight. Repeat for all warp threads and trim close to the beads.

Step 3 pictured. The warp thread becomes invisible and leaves a clean edge!

That's all folks! It's just that simple. Traditional methods have you weaving in each thread through a multitude of beads (and sometimes even breaking them with too many thread passes). Some have you weaving a selvage edge and covering it up in some manner. Others have you using the warps to string beads for various clasp closures. Some even have you pulling warp threads vertically one at a time, leaving little visible loops around every other edge bead. I've never liked any of those methods.

Here, you don't even have to pass through a single bead if you don't want to! Sometimes I will take the outermost threads and weave them towards the center so that the cut ends won't show, but that's it. No more broken beads! No more hours weaving in threads! No more hassle! No more cover ups! Just clean edges. The end.

Have questions? Please comment! This seems too good to be true, but I promise it's not. Happy beading!