Tried and True: Sheepskin Loom Bench Cover

A fluffy sheepskin stays between me and the hard wooden bench at my Glimåkra Standard loom. Softening your loom bench makes weaving that much more pleasant. Last week Jane asked a great question: How do you secure the sheepskin on the bench? To answer that, I invite you to follow along as I secure the sheepskin on my drawloom bench.

Fluffy sheepskin on my Glimåkra Standard bench.
Bench for the drawloom has sheepskin tied on with some twisted cords. Securing this sheepskin is long overdue. Thank you to Jane for prompting this project.

Make a Sheepskin Loom-Bench Cover

Supplies

  • Sheepskin
  • 6 3/8” grommets
  • Pencil
  • Grommet kit (hole punch, base, and flaring tool)
  • Small block of wood
  • Hammer
  • Tape measure
  • Texsolv cord (scissors, and small flame to sear ends)
  • 6 Arrow pegs

1 Mark placement for 6 grommets on the underside of the sheepskin.

2 With block of wood underneath, hold grommet hole punch over one of the marked positions. Tap tool with the hammer to cut a small hole.

3 Insert the protruding ring of the top grommet piece (grommet) into the fur side of the hole.

4 With fur side down on the block of wood, fit bottom grommet piece (washer) on top. Align grommet and washer between the base and flaring tool. Firmly tap with hammer until the two grommet pieces are tightly fastened together.

5 Repeat steps 2 – 4 for each of the 5 remaining grommets.

6 Lay the sheepskin fur-side down on a table or floor. Center the seat of the bench upside down on the sheepskin. Bring the sides of the sheepskin over the bench. Measure the distance between opposing grommets.

7 Double the grommet-to-grommet measurement, and cut three Texsolv cords that length. Sear the cut ends in a flame.

8 Secure the sheepskin to the seat of the bench by lacing one of the cut Texsolv cords through two opposite grommets. Tighten the cord and lock it in place with an arrow peg. Repeat for the remaining two cords.

Sit in immovable comfort.

While we’re at it, let’s fix up one more bench cover…

Scrap of rosepath rag rug is held in place with bungee cords. (Bench for my Glimåkra Ideal loom)
Cord threader pulls Texsolv through. The end knots on the rug should keep the cord from pulling the weft out (I hope).
No more bungee cords!
Sitting in style.

May you see where you can soften things up.

Happy Sitting,
Karen

11 thoughts on “Tried and True: Sheepskin Loom Bench Cover

    1. do you have the therapeutic pillow with the neck side higher than the head side? If so which are you putting to the front? Or do you have the “regular” shaped pillow with the head hollow space in the middle?

  1. I didn’t really think the removal of the bungee cord would make much difference but it really does make the bench look complete and the pattern more prominent without the distraction to the eyes. That rug piece is so pretty.
    And I have just put a sheepskin on my Christmas list now that I know how to make it stay on the bench!

    1. Hi Annie, I like that little rug piece, too. It fits the bench top by accident. The bungee cords were ok, but the rug still shifted more than I liked.
      I think you will like the sheepskin. Great idea to put it on your Christmas list!

      Karen

  2. Hi Karen,
    Welcome back from your annual tour, Maybe you can put north of 45.23 degrees on your bucket list. The permafrost is gone and the tomatoes are fruiting. 🙂 You are always welcome.

    The bench covers look so comfy. With the exception of classes, I’ve always woven standing up. The Kessinick table loom, sat on a porch table. The home made rug loom is too high, or I am too short to reach the treadles from a bench.

    Did I say, the benches look so comfy?

    The next two week have me working on textiles for the Marinette county fair. My second year. Very different from the Wisconsin state fair (very competitive) that took place a few miles from where we lived before retiring.

    There is very little competition and a lot of areas to enter at the county fair that go wanting. Sad…. I do like to see what others are doing.

    So, to promote weaving I am entering the rag rugs I had time to weave last year. There are 4. The theme is 4 seasons. Autumn is rusts and olives. Winter is red and green. Spring is Easter egg colors. Summer is being donated to the Veteran’s raffle in red, white and blue.

    You give back to the weaving community with your blog. Thank you.

    I am giving back via the entries.

    Kind regards,

    Nannette

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