Weaving Techniques

Weaving Technique || Shag Weave Stash Buster

Shag Weave Stash Buster | The Weaving LoomThis is probably my most favorite post yet, because it is a way to use up all those left over yarn tails and have fun too! If you’re like me, you save all those slightly long end tails you cut off when your finishing up your weaves (and if you don’t have yarn tail ends you can cut lengths of yarn to make this.  But, start saving those ends now so you can make this again in the future). I usually have a plastic sandwich bag that I stuff the long end tails into while I weave, and I’ve accumulated a lot of these bags over the years. So for today’s post I just dumped out one of the bags. It’s full of end tails from probably 4 or 5 different weaves and I really like how the colors are so different. I may not have picked all these colors to go together, so this is especially fun.

The best part of making a shag weave with end tails is:

  • I’m just using what is in this one bag I’ve collected so I’m not going to worry about colors
  • These are already cut, so I’m going to just add them short and long and later trim them as I feel necessary. Although, for the most part I didn’t trim too much
  • Since the two steps above make it so simple, I really enjoyed just focusing on the process of this weave with little pressure

So now that you’re excited too, grab your end tails and let’s begin!

Shag Weave Stash Buster | The Weaving Loomstep 1| weave a few rows of plain stitch to make your foundation. I wove 3 rows of two threads together, but if you want more of a hidden top, weave two rows of a thin thread.

step 2| add your first row of Rya Knots, I have more detailed instructions of how to make them here.

Shag Weave Stash Buster | The Weaving Loomstep 3| weave 2 rows of the plain weave again, this helps stabilize your rya knots

step 4| continue alternating between a row of rya knots and rows of plain weave. You can also play around with the look you like best. If you want a bulkier shag, then rya knot 2 rows and plain weave 2 rows with a thin yarn. If you want a longer thin shag then add more rows of plain weave between your rya knots. There really is no wrong way to do this!

Shag Weave Stash Buster | The Weaving Loomstep 5| once you have made the weave to your liking, make sure to weave at least 2 rows of plain weave at the bottom to lock in your warp threads. Then finish your weave as normal (steps on that here).  I also went through and trimmed a little of the fringe here and there to even the weave out.

Shag Weave Stash Buster | The Weaving LoomDo you also keep bags of yarn tails? I hope I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to throw out even the smaller bits of all this pretty yarn. If you do make one of these, let me know. I would love to see what everyone makes! You can comment below or tag me on Instagram!

Happy Weaving!

Kate

Weaving Wishlist

Weaving Wishlist || My Favorite Long Tapestry Needle

My favorite long tapestry needle|| The Weaving LoomI can’t help sharing today. I’m always on the look out for a good tapestry needle and today I have a really good one to share. Previously I talked about how I love a bent tapestry needle, and I still do, but when I’m weaving really large spaces these tapestry needles take longer to weave with. I love the look of a wooden needle, but they have too much friction with my warp strings, so I’ve found that metal works best for me. So when browsing for yarn and other weaving tools, I came across this long tapestry needle, I knew I had to give it a try. It’s metal and an awesome 5 inches long. It’s also straight, which I thought I probably wouldn’t like since the bent needles pick up the warp strings easier.

I’m super excited to be offering this long weaving needle in my shop too!

My favorite long tapestry needle|| The Weaving LoomWhat I found after using this needle on a few weaves was that I prefer the small bent tapestry needle when I’m working on small shapes and areas, but when I’m working on large areas this 5 inch needle works best. When I need to cover a large area, that straight needle actually works better for me when picking up the warp threads. I was really surprised. So I can’t say I have one needle that I use solely, but this combo of tapestry needles is definitely my ideal and now I switch between them when weaving and all my weaves. If you’re interested in getting this needle for yourself, I linked it below.

Do you have a weaving tool that you feel helps you weave quicker or you can’t weave without? I would love to hear about it.

Happy Weaving!

Kate

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Long Tapestry Needle

Bent Tapestry Needle

Weaving Techniques

Weaving Techniques || Soumak Weave Notes and Video!

Soumak Weave Notes and Video |The Weaving LoomI have had a few requests about making a video on the soumak weave and since I haven’t made a silly stop motion weave video in a while, I felt like this was the perfect time.

Soumak Weave Notes and Video |The Weaving Loom

Soumak Weave Notes and Video |The Weaving LoomI love the braid effect that the soumak weave creates and it can look different depending on what fibers you’re weaving with. When I use a worsted weight yarn, it makes a nice small braid, but I can also soumak with wool roving to create a large puffy braid. I’ve also combined a bunch of different threads to create a large textured braid. Play around with your soumak weaving and see what you can create!

If you want to see the technique in motion, here is the video for you. I hope you enjoy it!

And because I also received a question on what do I do with the thread tails to finish the soumak weave, here are two examples:

Soumak Weave Notes and Video |The Weaving Loom1| if my soumak is on the smaller side, I will just tuck the end tails in the back of my soumak “stitches” and trim them. As you can see in this picture, I did the soumak stitch with three threads at once, so in the back I tucked the one set of thread tails in (the navy arrow shows the direction). I then tucked in the other set of thread tails (the purple arrow shows this direction).

Soumak Weave Notes and Video |The Weaving Loom2| if my soumak is large, like roving or numerous threads at once. I simply tuck the thread tails in the unused warps and trim. Then I was as normal next to the soumak and the end tails get locked into the warp threads.  More on weaving with roving here. 

Let me know if you enjoy these videos and find them helpful. They take more time to make, but if you like them then I will make some more. And if you really really like them, show your support and give them that thumbs-up on YouTube!

Happy Weaving!

Kate

Weave Experiments

Weaving Experiments || My Organic Shaped Roving Weave

A Look at Organic Weave Design||The Weaving LoomI’ve talked about weaving with a set design in mind or weaving with a more organic design before and each time I bring this up, at least a few people ask me what I mean by when I say an organic design. This weave I made is a good example of what I mean. To make it, I picked out the roving and the navy blue yarns and had 4 other “maybe” yarns on the side. I also had a basic idea in mind, the weave would have a base color of navy blue and a lot of roving, but otherwise I had no design plan.

I wove this piece starting out as I had described, with a general idea. As I went I would briefly pause here and there to take in the general look of the weave and then continued randomly add the yarns as it felt right. I like to think that this weave more or less wove itself and I was just along for the ride.

A Look at Organic Weave Design||The Weaving LoomI really like to weave in this way, because it allows me to have the most enjoyment. I don’t have pressure on myself to create something specific and I’m open to experiment with shapes and colors as I go. It doesn’t always go smoothly and I do end up stuck sometimes.  And like I mentioned before I occasionally break up this way of weaving with a very strictly designed weave as a mental break (it’s funny how that works).

This weave is a continuation of me playing around with texture and seeing what I could make with it. For the roving, I just did a plain weave (which I explain how to do that with roving here) and wove the roving back and forth along the warp strings. I also added some different purple colored threads with their own textures of loops and soumak.

A Look at Organic Weave Design||The Weaving LoomThis weave reminds me of a bunch of grapes, but it reminded my mom of a rolling thunder head.  I loved that this weave can be interpreted differently depending on who is viewing it, which I think happened because I didn’t have a specific design in mind when I made it.

Have you woven in a more organic way? Or do you prefer to have a set design when weaving? Or maybe you do a little of both? I love to hear what you’re working on.

Happy Weaving!

Kate

New Chroma Yarn Colors from Knit Picks

Weaving Techniques

Weaving Techniques || How to Weave a Side Fringe

How to Weave a Side Fringe | The Weaving LoomSometimes it’s fun to go fringe crazy, so I thought it would be fun to try making a weave with a side fringe. Have you made one of these yet? At first I thought the weave would become unstable due to the side fringe, but I have found that with packing my wefts in and weaving in some structural rows it is pretty sturdy off the loom.

There are a lot of different ways to add a side fringe, and maybe I’ll try out and share some other ways in the future. For today’s post I made my fringe by weaving precut pieces of yarn, each row used just one piece. Here are the steps:

How to Weave a Side Fringe | The Weaving Loomstep 1| I put in some support rows to start my weave off. This is always a good idea, it helps lock your warp threads into place. I would recommend putting in at least 2-3 rows.

step 2| I picked a length that I wanted my side fringe to go past my weave. The easiest way to do this is hold thread over your warped loom and cut to the length that you like the fringe to hang on both ends. If you’re not sure what length you want, it’s best to cut the thread a little longer and then trim it once finished. Using my first cut thread as a template I cut a bunch of other thread lengths, so that I had a lot to weave with.

step 3| weave the first thread row as a plain weave, pull the thread through until your ends are even on both sides of your warp.

step 4| weave your next thread in the plain weave in the opposite direction, again pulling your thread through until the ends are even on both sides. Continue doing this for about 11 rows or so, making sure to push your wefts tightly down your warps.

If you’re interested in the pattern I created, I posted how to make it in this post here.

How to Weave a Side Fringe | The Weaving Loomstep 5| after about 11 rows, take a thread that is about 2.5 times as long as the threads you’ve been using so far. Weave this thread across your warps, leaving a tail as long as the other side fringe tails. Once you reach the end of the warps, weave the thread back in the plain weave. So you have woven two rows of plain weave with this thread. When you reach the end of the warps this time. Double knot the two thread ends and trim them to the size of the other side fringe ends and let them hang (I love easy finishes like this!). The point of this row is to lock the warp threads into place again and give your weave the structure it will need off the loom.

step 6| continue the above steps until you have made the design you wanted. For my weave I started to taper off into a triangle at the bottom and I added rya knots to continue the fringe look. If you’re new to making triangle shapes, I go over a way to do it in my free beginner’s pattern that you can receive by signing up for my email list below.

How to Weave a Side Fringe | The Weaving LoomHave you tried adding side fringe to your weaves? If so did you weave it in a different way then I did? As always please feel free to share what you’re working on in the comments below, I love to hear what others are creating!

Happy Weaving!
Kate

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Draft Patterns Weaving Techniques

Weaving Techniques || Oval Draft Pattern

Oval Draft Pattern | The Weaving LoomAren’t you glad I didn’t say circle?  I’m back to sharing vertical weaving (is that a thing?). I’ve been weaving with a lot of color lately, what else is new? And for today’s post I wanted to take a break from that and make a weave in black and white. A pattern with a simple color palette is a nice mental break.

I really love this cute little draft pattern, especially in a simple black and white. I’m not sure what to call it so I just refer to it as a repeating oval shape, although it’s not really oval. I really love the structure that draft patterns bring to weaves. If you missed it I shared some other draft patterns, which you can find in my Weaving Techniques list. Here are the steps to make this pattern:

Oval Draft Pattern | The Weaving Loomstep 1| weave a base of plain weave rows or whatever you want before starting your pattern

step 2| using the color you want your ‘ovals’ to be weave a row of plain weave, here I’m using black

step 3| using your color (black) again, weave a plain row on the opposite warp threads

step 4| take your other color (my white thread) and weave a plain row going the other way

step 5| go back to your first color (black) and weave a plain row on the opposite warp threads

Oval Draft Pattern | The Weaving Loomstep 6| weave a plain row of other (white) thread again

step 7| next weave back a plain row of first color (black)

step 8| weave in the opposite warp threads your first color (black), this closes off the ‘ovals’ and your pattern is done.  That is a total of 7 rows to create the ‘ovals’

step 9| continue weaving as you wish, I added a few more rows of white and then wove my oval pattern again. You could even extend your ‘ovals’ even long if you want, just don’t weave your ‘closing’ row until you have made them as long as you want.

It’s pretty simple, but really gives your weaves a bold structure and visual impact and I added a second feature to this weave, that I’m excited to share with you next week! Which of the draft patterns I’ve shared have you woven with, if any? Do you like to weave in a pattern, or would you prefer to be more organic when weaving?

Happy Weaving!

Kate

 

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Creative Links

Creative Documentaries to Boost Your Creativity

Documentaries to Help Boost Creativity | The Weaving LoomWhen I hit a creative rut, I find that the best thing is to get out of my own head.  I’ve already shared some books that have helped me boost my creativity and how I use my Pinterest boards to boost my creativity.  So today I wanted to share some documentaries that I have found help when I’m feeling stuck and they might help inspire you too. Lately there have been a lot of documentaries celebrating people who have had a long life of being creative and I just love these documentaries. It is so inspiring to see someone who’s whole life is the pursuit of creativity well into their advanced age. I feel that it’s helped me push my own artistic style, just by seeing others be confident in themselves and sharing with the world what they like, even if it isn’t to everyone’s taste.  It makes me realize if they can do all that, maybe I can do a little more.

Side Note: Most of these documentaries are on Netflix, but if you don’t have a Netflix account then I have also included a link to rent them.  The rental links are affiliate links, which means if you click a link and make a purchase, a small commission will go to The Weaving Loom at no additional cost to you.  So you get inspired and also support the website you’re using right now!

Currently on Netflix…

One of those documentaries is Iris, which is about the fashionable Iris Apfel. This documentary follows her at the age of 93, where she is still working and inspiring others! Isn’t that amazing? It tells about how she got started and how she goes about being creative. It’s not surprise that she just goes after what she likes and doesn’t worry about what others think and I find that to be such an ideal way to make art. This documentary is currently on Netflix or you can rent Iris here.

Another documentary about a life long creative is Bill Cunningham New York. This follows the street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, and it’s so good. He seems like the sweetest person as he rides his bike around New York taking pictures of anyone who catches his eye. This one is also currently on Netflix or you can rent it here.

Also currently on Netflix, but I haven’t seen them yet…

This won’t be a surprise, but I also want to watch the documentary Advanced Style. This follows a few different seniors with unique style and are comfortable in their creativity. If you don’t have Netflix, you can rent it here.


The documentary Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, looks interesting. It’s about a performance artist that has been living her art for over 40 years. It has a good rating so I am looking forward to watching this at my next opportunity. If you don’t have Netflix, you can rent it here.

Not currently on Netflix, but so good…


I really loved the documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. She is also someone very secure in her creative style and had a very unique eye. It was really fun to hear about her past and how she found inspiration and built her career. This was on Netflix, but sadly they don’t have it available, at least not at the moment (boo).

Ok so this one will be a little out there for some, but I really loved watching the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. It’s about a director that really wanted to make the film version of the scifi book Dune. He never did get to make his film, but the documentary shows you all the visual story boards they created to set up their movie and all the talent they got together. Even if you don’t enjoy scifi, I thought this documentary was so good, because of all the creatively passionate people that came together to make something extraordinary (or at least try to). It’s not currently on Netflix, but hopefully it will be soon. You could rent it here if interested.

So those are the documentaries, but I also wanted to mention another creative bit.  Have you heard of Blank on Blank on YouTube by PBS? They are short interviews that are animated and they are so interesting. My husband and I watched the David Bowie one recently and he had some really interesting thoughts on being creative. And there are a lot of other interviews with creative people that they have done that are really fun to watch.

Do you like to watch something in the background while you weave? Have you seen any of these documentaries and did you like them? Have any other creative documentaries that you love? I would love to hear about them, I’m always on the look out.

Happy Weaving!

Kate

Weaving Lessons Weaving Techniques

Weaving Techniques || Changing Thread in a Circle Weave

Changing Thread in a Circle Weave | The Weaving LoomI received a lot of questions on how to weave different threads next to each other when circle weaving. I think that figuring out how to work with the different warp spacing of the circle weave was definitely new for me. I found that as I got towards the outer part of the circle, the large gaps in the warp threads made me have to change my design a bit. But actually, to add two different weft threads I did use some of the same techniques that I use when weaving on regular warp threads. As always there are a lot of was to weave and get the same outcome. Today I’m going to show you two ways that I wove the different colored threads.

Changing Thread in a Circle Weave | The Weaving LoomSo here is the issue when putting a new thread in a row of weaving. A gap is created. Some times with normal weaving I leave a gap or two because the warp threads are so close together that the yarn will sit in the gap and almost cover it up. But when circle weaving, the closer you get to the outer part the larger your gap will be.

Changing Thread in a Circle Weave | The Weaving LoomOne way to cover this gap is to do the interlocking weft technique. To do this, I have one thread woven on the one side. When I bring in my second thread, I pull it through the loop of the 1st thread so that they are now looped together, hence the interlocking name. I then continue to weave the first side, then the second and interlock them again and again until I have the shapes I wanted.

Changing Thread in a Circle Weave | The Weaving LoomA second way to cover this gap is to weave a dove tail with the two threads. To do this, you weave thread one over and around a warp, then weave thread two over and around that same warp. Continue weaving thread one then thread two, until you make the shape you wanted. This is called a dove tail. Because my thread one is thick and my thread two is thin, I added a row between my dove tails where I wove just next to thread one (creating a gap). When I pushed the wefts down the warp thread they fit together nicely and that one gap became somewhat hidden. If I didn’t add this extra row, then I would have ended up with a gap where my thread two bends to dovetail with thread one. If you are weaving with two equally weighted yarns, then this shouldn’t be and issue.

I ended up using both techniques in my weaving, but I favored the interlocking weft. It was just easier for me to weave my whole shape with one thread and then come in with a second thread later and interlock the colors. And like I said before, both of these techniques work with regular weaving also.

Have you used either of these techniques in your weavings? Which method do you prefer?

Happy Weaving!

Kate

 

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Weaving Wishlist

Weaving Wishlist || Hand-dyed & Hand-spun yarn from Wallflower Weavings

Weaving Wishlist - Wallflower Weaving Yarn | The Weaving Loom

I’ve talked about this before, but I really love to purchase hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns to use in my weaves. Just like the weaves we are creating by hand, these yarns are made with lots of love and bring a lot of creativity of their own. When I use these yarns they put a lot of additional interest and texture into my weaves.Weaving Wishlist - Wallflower Weaving Yarn | The Weaving Loom

I recently purchased a weaver’s yarn pack from Sophie of Wallflower Weavings and that yarn is really full of color and texture. It’s really lovely in a way that photos can’t even show. With yarns that have so much texture like these you could easily just weave using the plain weave technique and get a big impact, so I think these are perfect for everyone from beginners to experienced weavers.

Oh and if you didn’t already guess from her store name, Sophie is also a weaver. She makes really sweet and magical weaves, just like her personality!  You can check out her whole shop at Wallflower Weavings.

I have also shared other hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns in previous wishlists, if you want to check them out:

What is your favorite type of yarn to weave with? Wool, cotton, something else? Have you added hand-dyed and/or hand-spun yarns to your weaves?

Happy Weaving!

Kate