Community Corner

In The Archives: Wooden Loom A Link To The Past

One of the highlights from the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum.

The large wooden loom with wooden pegs used as nails - the same as the looms used by pioneer women to weave rugs, blankets and other cloth items - is one of the largest Grayslake Historical Society artifacts on display at the

The loom, located in the lower level of the Heritage Center, was purchased by Mrs. Anton DeGraff of Grayslake from Oliver Rich of Grayslake. The loom was used by his great-great-grandmother. It was donated to the society and the museum in 1978 by Mrs. DeGraff who used the loom in her rug-weaving business that she operated from her home on Lake Street in Grayslake.

A nearby business card on display tells it all: DeGraff's Rug Shop - Rug Weaving - Phone 5592 - Grayslake, Ill. Mrs. DeGraff began weaving rugs as a member of group from the United Protestant Church in Grayslake to make loomed rugs to sell to make money during the many bazaars in the area.

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The loom is handmade and was originally put together using wooden pegs. During the years, Mrs. DeGraff's husband, Anton, strengthened some of the parts using nails. When the society moved its artifacts from the former museum in the old village hall building to the new, modern museum on Hawley Street, Grayslake resident Carl Heiler painstakingly disassembled the loom piece by piece, moved the pieces into the new museum and painstakingly reassembled the loom.    

Displayed near the loom is a rug that was made on the loom by Mrs. DeGraff. She told the Grayslake Times in the early 1960s: "I can make 1 1/2 inches in an hour and 25 minutes if the rags are in good condition and are cut well."   

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The rugs were woven from rags. Many women from the church group and others would strip and sew the rags for her, she explained. The standard size rug was 27x54 inches, but they could be made on the loom as small as 24 inches and as large as seven or eight yards, she told the Times.  

What is needed for a rug-weaving hobbyist is time and patience, but most important, she said, is to have lots of room to house a large loom.   

The , is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and during downtown community events. 

- Contributed by the Grayslake Historical Society. 


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