Loom FAQs: Why Are There No Loom Knit Magazines? Or… The DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia

Over and over I keep seeing the same question.  Why are there not any magazines for loom knitting?  Well that is a rather simple question to answer.  Because there is not enough interest.  Then that answer leads to But loom knitting is so popular right now!  Yes.  But not popular enough.

Years ago, I worked in the craft publishing industry.  And learned quite a lot about what it takes to publish books, magazines, and pamphlets.  Publishing companies do not want to invest in crafts that are not booming.  And yes.  There is a difference between popular and booming.

Just take a look at the number of published books on loom knitting.  In the scheme of things, there are very few compared to needle knit and crochet.  I own almost all of the published book on loom knitting.  I have a love of books and a “need” to own them.  There is just something about the feel and smell of a book…

But even with all the books we do have, some have different information than others.  Most only contain what information and instruction are needed for the projects in that particular book.  None of them contain everything.  Which leads me to the actual topic for today…  DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia.  What??  Yes!  Let’s just make our own encyclopedia of loom knitting.

Years ago, I started collecting all info regarding loom knitting.  I printed off EVERYTHING.  But then I needed a way to store and organize it.  And everything that I have learned about this I will share with you today.

Where do I find information for my DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia?

Well for starters, the Knitting Board blog is a great place to start for techniques, stitch patterns, projects, and more.  This blog is like a virtual magazine.  Each month there are articles, patterns, stitch patterns, etc., and it’s all free!  Lots of information just waiting to be printed off.

There are also lots of other websites that contain loom knitting information.  And then there are those books I mentioned.

But what about copyright?  How does that affect my DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia?

Following copyright laws is very important.  You can learn more about copyright in  Loom FAQs:  What is Copyright? Trademark?  But the one thing that I will reiterate here is the following.

A person can make a copy off of the internet for their own personal use.  Like for their personal DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia.

Also a person can make a copy of any book that they OWN for their own personal use.  No, you cannot make a copy of a loom knitting book at the library.  It is not considered a reference book so it is not allowed under copyright law.  But if you already own the book, you can make copies of pages that you need to put into your diy encyclopedia.  This way you can get all the instructions from those books all in one place.

What do I need then?

First of all, you will need a home printer/copier with lots of ink and printer paper.  Without that, you cannot even get started.  Got those?  Great!  Let’s continue…

3 Ring Binder

You will also need a 3 ring binder.  One large one if you want to put everything in one binder.  Or you can get the thinner ones if you want to divide up the information in separate “volumes”.  This option is great for people who like to be fancy by having a multi-volume encyclopedia.  Or for those that  just do not want to lug out a huge, heavy binder every time they want to look something up because they are not weight lifters.  Like me…

Plastic Sleeves

You will also want to invest in some plastic sleeves.  While I say “invest”, they really are not that expensive.  You can buy a package of 25 for approximately $5.  Or if you are like me and want put all the info you can find into a multi-volume set, packages of 200 plastic sleeves are about $20.  You can find them at office supply stores and even in the office supply aisle at your local discount store where you buy your 3 ring binders.

While you can just use a 3 hole punch on the paper, the pages will not last as long and sometimes even gets the holes over the printed part causing you to lose information.

Dividers

While you can buy dividers that that have the tabs already on them, I know from experience if you are using the plastic sleeves that the tabs will not stick out far enough on most of the 3 ring binder tab dividers.

There are tab dividers now that are plastic sleeve dividers.  This are wide enough but do cost just a bit more.

If you can find the tabs themselves that are not on dividers, then you can make your own with the plastic sleeves.

How do I assemble it?

First you need to print off the pages you want off the internet and copy the pages you need from the books that you own.

You will need to have some sort of idea of how you want to divide things up.  Such as a small binder for techniques with dividers for cast ons, bind offs, knit and purl stitch instruction, etc.

Maybe another small binder (unless you are putting everything into a big binder) for stitch patterns because you have printed off every one of Bethany Dailey’s Stitchology columns and want to have it in book form.

Or Jenny Stark’s Whimsical Loom Knits to go into the pattern section of your DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia with the other patterns you have printed off the KB Blog.

Don’t forget Loom FAQs!  Although you might want to sort those out into the different categories.

Can I print front and back of the paper?

While you can print on both sides of the paper in order to use less paper, I find that the ink does bleed through unless you have purchased higher quality printer paper.  I usually just use the paper I have and print on 1 side.  But that is entirely up to you.

Now what?

Slide the printed pages into the plastic sleeves.  If printing only on one side of the page, put 2 consecutive pages back to back before sliding them into the sleeve.

Then put them in the binder.  Simple as that!

If you bought the binders that have the sleeves on the front and side, you can then print off a “cover” and “spine” as well.

But most importantly, make it your own.  Get creative with your DIY Loom Knit Encyclopedia!    Put everything in it or just the things that are important to you.

Don’t forget!

Just remember that you cannot sell it or give it away.  It is for your own personal use only.

But what if I want to make one as a gift?

You can buy the items needed and assemble it but leave it empty of printed material to give as a gift.  But the recipient will need to print off their own pages to put into it.  Along with avoiding copyright violations, this way they can make it their own and in a way that is most helpful for them.

I hope this helps you create something that is useful to you and can be added to as more information becomes available.  Keep on loom knitting!