Tutorials

Free Style Tapestry Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom

You know sometimes you do something with absolutely no notion of the possible future repercussions?

That is what happened when I made this freestyle tapestry series. I was really doing it for me, but I decided to turn the camera on and bring my Youtube audience along for the ride.

Since then, the 4 video series has gone viral on Youtube, with one of the videos winging it’s way towards 1 million views! Crazy!

These videos were recorded pre professional lighting and sound equipment. I was using my son’s camera.

This video series on Youtube began after a busy morning, a tired me and a desire to weave something that would be rewarding and yet didn’t take too much brain power.

I was too tired to sit down and calculate a project or go through my stash to see whether I had enough yarn to complete a project.

So instead, I found some bits and pieces of yarns left over from other projects, put a short warp of a fingering weight cotton, hand dyed and left over from a previous project, on my rigid heddle loom (which only took around 20 minutes to do), sat down with my bag of left overs, and just started weaving.

How often do we gift ourselves with this kind of luxury? To weave with no set plan, to invest in the process more so than in the expected outcome? I know that I definitely don’t do this enough!

This kind of weaving is so relaxing and free-ing. It is not a fast way to weave, but when you get in the groove it doesn’t seem to matter how long it takes.

With this kind of weaving we use the basic rules but we bend and stretch them. We say, “I want to do this!”, and we do it. We push the weaving around, we beat it up and down, we put in colour as we go, we use all kinds of yarns. And we love the process.

So, what do you need to get started?

*A rigid heddle loom

Well, a rigid heddle loom is really perfect. It will take care of our 2 sheds and our tension beautifully, so that once warped all we have to think about is the weaving. The heddle goes up, the heddle goes down. Repeat. Simple.

You could do this on a Sampleit or Cricket loom with no problems as you don’t need a wide width – you can make the piece whatever size you wish.

I used a 10 dent heddle for my piece.

You can also weave a piece like this on a simple frame loom or tapestry loom, but using a loom that has the ability to change sheds is really helpful. My Mirrix Big Sister is an example of a tapestry loom with a shedding device.

*A stick shuttle or two.

Using a lot of colours in one project doesn’t lend itself well to stick shuttles, as you would need a lot of them. Therefore, I usually use a couple of stick shuttles and for the rest of the colours I just pass them through with my hands and keep the weft yarn in either butterflies or little balls. Butterflies are neater though. I have a video tutorial on how to make them!

*A threading and reed hook

The reed hook is for pulling threads through the slots of the heddle/reed when you’re warping. The threading hook is to pull the threads through the holes in the heddle/reed when threading the loom after warping. I love and use these Ashford Double Ended Hooks, I have a bunch of them in case I lose any and use them constantly.

*A Tapestry Needle

This is really handy for if you intend to hemstitch your piece and also for needle weaving extra yarn into gappy sections if you want to. A tapestry needle with a bent tip is even better!

*Additional beater

You will need this because we are creating a weft faced weave here, meaning that we want the weft to totally cover the warp. The heddle/reed that we normally use for beating does not push the weft down enough as it is designed more for a balanced weave.

There are a number of options for an additional beater. A large fork works really well. I also have a little tapestry beater that I use. There are “proper” tapestry beaters available as well, but I would only purchase one if I was going to be doing this type of weaving a lot.

What about the warp calculations?

Well, as I pointed out, I didn’t calculate at all, but my warp was around 8 inches wide and 40 inches long.

And the yarns?

A variety of yarns were used, but I did use quite a lot of wool in light worsted/dk weight and also in an aran weight. Some were fingering weight. Some were hand dyed, some were commercial.

I also used some cottons in various weights.

Techniques used:

Mostly this type of weaving is just plain weave (1 pick in the up shed, 1 pick in the down shed, and so on) that is packed down tight.

In some areas I would build up mounds or shapes by taking the weft part of the way through in one shed, change the shed and then take the yarn back the same way I just came in.

For example, I brought the green in from my right in the down shed. Roughly half way across I stopped and took the yarn down through the warp at the back rather than continuing it to the left hand side for a full pick.

I changed into the up shed and took the green back to the left.

This is a classic tapestry technique that allows the weaver to begin building up areas of colour, usually to make shapes.

If you keep ceasing the weft yarn and turning back in the same place each time, you will build a block or straight edged shape. Or, by varying the place in the warp where you turn back the weft, you can taper the shape to make it rounded.

The first and second videos of the series show in detail how this technique is used.

In a number of areas I have used outlining. This is basically putting in a darker weft that either outlines a shape you’ve made or just provides a good contrast between one colour and the outline colour. You can see here that I’ve used some black to outline a green section, and the contrast is very effective:

In some places I combined outlining with needle weaving. Needle weaving allows you get weft yarn into tricky spots. I had created a valley in the middle of my piece, but then I wanted to fill it with a small, highlighted section. I started by outlining a “jewel” shape with my black yarn and a tapestry needle:

Next, I brought in a brightly coloured and highly contrasting hand dyed wool with the needle, and wove that into the space that I had outlined with the black wool:

Needle weaving isn’t the only way to do this, but it’s easy to get exact smaller shapes and sizes within the piece.

If you’re interested to know how the piece actually starts out and how you achieve all those cool curves, the 3rd video restarts another piece in order to show just how it’s done.

And then finally the 4th video has an added bonus of demonstrating how to weave a circle within your piece using a simple template. You can also embellish with embroidery, which I did in some sections of my finished piece. This is easier to do while your weaving is still on the loom.

Due to the huge response from this video series, I decided to make a second freestyle tapestry series for Youtube. This one was inspired by the Van Gogh painting, Starry Night. The video series is filmed mostly in real time and is at a very relaxed, step by step pace.

And, of course you will want to check out the original 4 part video series beginning with part 1:

If you want to get a little more serious or delve into some more traditional techniques for weaving tapestry on your rigid heddle loom, I have an online course that will be just the thing for you.

Some of the topics covered in Tapestry on a rigid heddle Loom include soumak, interlocking, straight lines and how to use a tapestry cartoon. I’m sure you will love it!

Do you have any questions? Have you tried this type of freestyle tapestry weaving? Or do you intend to?

Let me know in the comments below, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave more stunning patterns on a rigid heddle loom!

by Kelly 9 Comments

Making patterns on your rigid heddle loom is a very popular topic, particularly among newer weavers who are experimenting to see just what they can achieve on a rigid heddle loom.

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for further information.

Last week I made a tutorial that demonstrated 3 ways to jazz up your plain weave.

This is part two of a tutorial on how to jazz up your plain weave. Part one showed you how to use stripes, dots and dashes, loop pile and butterflies to add some extra pizazz. If you missed part one, please start here and progress on to tutorial two afterwards.

You will need a rigid heddle loom to weave this sampler. In the video, you can see that I’ve used my Sampleit loom.

This downloadable PDF has all the information you need to follow this tutorial in conjunction with the video:

More-Ways-to-jazz-up-plain-weave-part-2-copy Download

For instructions to part one of the tutorial, don’t forget to check out the first article here.

There are so many simple ways to push past plain weave. As I was weaving the sampler I found it hard to limit the number of techniques so that I didn’t end up making this series a year long!

Part two of the tutorial covers and additional 3 techniques that you can use to make your plain weave more exciting or just for fun to explore.

All of these pattern techniques can be worked on a rigid heddle loom that is already set up for plain weave – that is, every hole and slot is threaded.

Doubled Weft (pictured above).

The first technique is straightforward and simple but gives a very cool effect that really pops against the background, contrast colour.

2. Pick Up Rows (the blue blocks below)

This is such a simple concept. I made a pick up pattern and repeated it over and over (with the blue yarn) and only one pick of plain weave (maroon) in between). What you end up with is towers and dots. I had a very small amount of hand dyed rainbow yarn left, so I threw in just one pick in the middle of all the blue, to break it up and create more interest.

3. Staggered Pick Up (the bright green that actually looks like yellow, pictured above).

This is a 2 pick up stick pattern. In the video, I used just one stick and took it out each time I wanted to pick up the other pattern. But, I wouldn’t recommend that unless you’re only weaving a couple of rows, it’s way too tedious. If you want to weave a larger amount of the staggered pickup, a heddle rod is definitely the way to go! Check out this video for how to do that:

And of course, don’t forget to watch video two so that you can see exactly how I worked these techniques:

If you enjoyed this two part series, you will love my Online Weaving School! With over 60 classes currently available, there really is something for everyone. I would love to see you there!

Until next time…

Happy weaving!

3 Ways to Jazz up Plain Weave

by Kelly 8 Comments

I love plain weave, I really do. But sometimes I just think that it is so fun to jazz it up with something special!

Today I’m going to show you three ways that you can jazz up your plain weave, and have some fun with it.

I’ve written several other articles on simple things you can do on the loom for major impact. Things like Colour and Weave , Rigid Heddle Patterns for Beginners and techniques for Making Pictures with your Loom.

*This post contains affiliate links.

I’ve structured this lesson as a sampler for those of you who want to follow along with me and weave a sampler of your own. I used my 10″ Sampleit loom, but any rigid heddle loom will do as we’re only weaving an 8″ width.

All of the yarns, calculations and warp details are contained within this printable PDF, so please download that to access all of that information:

3-Ways-to-jazz-up-plain-weave-part-1 Download

STRIPES

The first example for the sampler is a pretty easy one, but has many variations that really pack a punch visually – stripes!

My example doesn’t look much like stripes because I was using one weft colour in blue and the other matched the maroon warp – so rather than traditional stripes you can end up with dots, dashes and squiggly lines. Pretty cool!

2. LOOPS

This is a super fun technique that requires a bit of patience but is not hard to do. You use a knitting needle to pull up loops of weft between warp threads. This gives a really interesting and textured look, but also has practical applications, like for wash cloths. I employed this technique as a feature in my Lux Hand Towels pattern.

3. BUTTERFLIES

Admittedly, my first attempt at butterflies looked rather spider like, but the second lot were much better. Whatever the case, this is a fun and unique technique where you use a pick up stick to make extra long floats and then CUT them while on the loom! Pretty wild, huh?

In conjunction with the PDF I have for you here, you will definitely want to check out the corresponding video for a full demonstration of all the techniques. You can view that here:

In the video, quite a few links were mentioned. I’m putting them here so that they are easy for you to find-

Online Weaving School

Sampleit loom

Woe to Go! Beginner Rigid Heddle Weaving class

Neat edges for colour changes video

I hope you really enjoy this little sampler project and that it gets your creative weaving juices flowing over! Which of the three techniques is your favourite? Will you weave a sampler of your own?

Stay tuned, as next week I will have part two of this series ready with even more techniques for jazzing up your plain weave!

Until then…

Happy Weaving!

3 Yarns Beginner Weavers should NEVER use!

by Kelly 61 Comments

Choosing the right yarn for the right project can be a huge conundrum for newer weavers. There are so many yarn choices for weaving that it can be very confusing to know where to start.

If you want to know more about the basics of choosing yarns when you’re just starting out, you will want to read this post which includes a couple of super helpful videos where I walk you through some of my stash and the ways I’ve used certain yarns in my weaving.

I usually recommend specific yarns for new weavers to try, based on my experience with which yarns are the most economical, easy going and likely to give consistent, more predictable results.

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But today, I’m going to do the opposite. I’m going to talk about the yarns that a new weaver should not use, and even go so far as to say that a newer weaver should NEVER use these yarns to begin with!

Pretty extreme, huh? Trust me, you will thank me for it!

So, how do I know about these three particular yarns that should be locked up and kept in a closet marked with NO GO – NEW WEAVERS NOT PERMITTED?

Because I hear about it all the time! The anguish of a new weaver who unwittingly picked a yarn that “looked pretty” and now is in a terrible anguish, caught in the balance between the idea of cutting the project off the loom prematurely or giving up on weaving altogether because it “doesn’t seem like my thing“.

Friends, it does not have to come to that and I am here to tell you how!

There are three yarns that you should avoid at all cost. Not forever, just to begin with. Later, you will have the experience, know how and possibly patience to deal with these yarns, but to begin with you want to keep it as simple and achievable as possible.

Think of your beginning weeks, months, or however long it takes (remember we all learn at a different pace and that is absolutely fine and normal. If you have any qualms on this note, please take the time to watch the video on Slow Learning down below).

The first few projects at least should be devoted to getting to know your loom. It’s like a honeymoon period, hopefully a happy one! But, if you think of your beginning stages in this way, as the learning phase, it won’t matter so much if you don’t always get amazing results as you will be learning what you need to know.

You’re probably itching to know what these three avoidable yarns are. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.

Mohair.

I’ve put this one at the top of the list for a reason. Don’t use it if you’re a beginner. I can’t be much more blatant than that. Just don’t do it. You will be sorry.

Meet Anna. Why do I have a random doll included in this post? I’ll explain. I made this doll for youngest daughter’s first birthday present, almost 10 years ago. She has stood the test of time pretty well, but is in need of a wig refurbishment. At the time, I was a dollmaker and sold my dolls on Etsy. I made the dolls from all natural materials, so their skin was a lovely soft cotton, they were stuffed with clean, carded wool and I would often use mohair to make wigs or hair. By the way, if you’re interested in a 10 year old tutorial on making a doll similar to this one, I have a two part tutorial here.

The point is, I used to have a huge stock of mohair but have used it all up in dollmaking. So instead of showing you a ball of mohair, I’m going to show you the back of the doll’s head to help illustrate why you should not use mohair as a beginner weaver.

Check out that fluff. Yes, mohair is uber fluffy! See that halo? (This is going to become a recurring theme!) Mohair sticks to itself. Very much. You carefully warp your loom and begin weaving, only to find that you don’t seem to be a able to get a clear shed. Sound familiar? Every. Single. Time. You change sheds, the warp threads stick to each other and you wonder how on earth you are supposed to get your stick shuttle through an either non existent or at the least, very messy shed. It doesn’t make for a fun weaving experience.

2. Fine, rigid threads.

By this I mean a weaving thread like an 8/2 cotton. These types of yarns will usually be sold on a cone rather than in a ball or skein.

Why do I think they’re a bad idea for beginner weavers? Firstly, they will have little to no elasticity. This is a problem for newbies (ahem, and veterans!) because they are difficult to warp with the correct and consistent tension. Which can be really frustrating. Especially on a rigid heddle loom where you can’t achieve as firm a tension as you can on a floor loom. When you’re not familiar with these types of yarn or don’t have much general weaving experience, you don’t want a yarn that won’t stretch a little. Yarns with elasticity (like, say a dk or light worsted wool) are so much easier to warp and work with. They will stretch out and contract back nicely on the loom and for that reason I call them very “forgiving” yarns. They help rather than hinder your warping and weaving process. They will be your newbie friends. The inelastic, thinner yarns can be your friends later.

The second point about these yarns is that they are thin. Which means they take longer to warp. Then they take longer to weave. When you’re just starting out you really want to choose shorter, approachable projects that don’t feel like a year long commitment to finish one item. Thicker yarns will be a huge help in this respect. They weave up quickly and with less problems.

3. Luxury Yarns

There are plenty of yarns that come under this category so I will point out a few specifics.

Baby alpaca is a gorgeous, sumptuous yarn. No, it doesn’t come from actual baby alpacas, it is classed and graded as a very fine fibre, and is extremely soft, hence the name. It also has a halo. It’s not fluffy in the same way that mohair is, and it’s not as difficult to weave with. But yes, it will still be a pesky, sticky yarn to weave.

The exact same rule applies here to Angora, possum and some cashmere fibres. Once again, save their scrumptiousness for a little later on.

Ah, silk, beautiful, shiny, luscious silk. I love weaving with it. Now. I didn’t attempt weaving with it until I had a lot of experience under my belt. I mean, have you seen how expensive silk yarn is? 😲 I knew I didn’t want to make that investment unless it was for something really special that I was ready for. Also, the fineness of the 60/2 silk above (similar to sewing thread in thickness) makes it doubly unsuitable for newbies.

Luxury yarns are just that – a luxury. Which means they will have a price tag to match. I’ve heard some newbie weavers say that they couldn’t resist a luxury yarn for their first project. I understand that your first project is a special one, but you need to be a realist about it too. Weaving is a learning curve. Skills like weaving neat edges and achieving good tension take time and are not likely to be perfected in your first project. You are really feeling your way with your first project. If you add the stress of having to make something nice with your very expensive luxury yarn on to the experience of learning to actually use your new loom, it will often be a recipe for disaster.

Let me put it this way: I’ve never heard a new weaver regret that they used inexpensive yarn for their first project. But I’ve had many, many, many messages from people in distress that things are not going according to plan and they spent so much money on the yarn. Save yourself the stress and start out with an inexpensive, light worsted/dk/Aussie 8ply wool.

Now, if I could only find a way to get this message to every new weaver in the world, I think there might be a lot more happy weavers out there.

This post is also available in video format-

So, time to fess up. Have you had a less than positive beginner experiences with one of these three yarns? Let me (and everybody else, just in case someone needs more convincing!) know about it in the comments.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Hand woven fabric Yo- Yo tutorial

by Kelly 8 Comments

Many hand weavers these days are keen to sew finished pieces, particularly clothing from their hand woven fabric. This is a wonderful development for any weaving journey, as sewing opens up a vast amount of finished objects the weaver can make.

One side effect of all the sewing with hand woven fabric that is starting to happen is that there will be inevitable leftovers. Sewing, particularly clothing usually requires cutting shapes out of your hand woven, meaning that you will have smaller pieces of “waste” fabric leftover. I say “waste” but it’s only waste if you waste it!

*This post contains affiliate links

There are some fun and exciting projects that can be made even with very small pieces of hand woven fabric. One of these is the lovely Suffolk Puff or as it may be more commonly known these days, especially in America, as the Yo-Yo.

What is a fabric Yo-Yo? It’s a small, gathered circle of fabric, usually covered in the middle by a button or similar. They have been around for quite some time, seemingly dating back as far as the early 1600’s in Suffolk, England.

Suffolk Puffs were made from old clothing, quilts, bed sheets and so on, and given new life when joined together as quilts and cushion covers.

The idea is to gather a small circle of fabric at the outer edge with a running stitch. When gathered, the circle forms a sweet little “puff” that can then either be topped with another, smaller puff or a button can be sewn into the centre.

With the finished YoYo you can embellish clothing or bags, sew many of them together as in the days of old, hot glue them on to hair accessories (I’ve done this a lot for my 3 girls) or sew on a brooch backing and wear it as a one of a kind brooch.

Let’s begin with what you will need to sew a YoYo similar to mine.

*A 5 x 5″ square of handwoven (or commercial) fabric

*A 5 x 5″ square of light, fusible interfacing

*Strong sewing thread (I use Gutermann Sew All)

*A sewing needle

*A button to finish with

Begin by cutting the fusible interfacing to fit on the fabric piece. My original fabric piece was larger than 5 x 5″, so I place the interfacing on first. Make sure that you have the correct side of interfacing facing the fabric, otherwise you may destroy your iron! Place a pressing cloth over the top of the interfacing for extra protection. Iron it on and allow to cool once properly fused.

Use an object as a traceable template (I used masking tape) to draw a circle onto your interfacing. It’s fine to use pen, as it only marks the interfacing and will provide a cutting line.

Cut out your circle. Sharp scissors are very handy at this point.

Thread your sewing needle with around a 15″ length of thread and knot the end. Take the needle down through the interfacing side, about 1 centimetre in from the edge.

Stitch a running stitch, making the length of your stitch also around a centimetre in length and maintaining a fairly consistent distance between the stitches.

Continue all the way around the circle.

Pull gently on the end of your thread and the fabric will begin to gather up.

Continue gathering until the fabric forms a hole in the centre and can’t gather anymore.

Now you can decide what you will place in the middle. I’m using a Dorset button that I made previously. If you’re interested in learning more about Dorset buttons or making one yourself, I recommend GinaB Silkworks.

My button is flat backed, so I’m taking my still attached thread through the back of it to begin stitching it on.

Continue to stitch through the button to the back of your puff with small stitches until it’s fully attached and none of the raw edges of your circle hole are showing. Knot off the thread and sink it into the back of the puff where it won’t be seen.

Ta da! What an easy peasy use of scrap fabric! I think these ones should be made into brooches so they can be shown off well.

If you are interested in learning how to make buttons with your hand woven fabric, I have a members only class that shows you how to do that.

This tutorial is available in video format here-

What do you think? Do you have any scraps of hand woven that could be used to make a YoYo? And what about the Dorset buttons, are you interested in having a go at those too? Let me know in the comments, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to show off a multi coloured warp

by Kelly 8 Comments

A frequently asked question is “how do I best show off my warp?” and it’s usually asked in relation to having bright colours, lots of colours or a gradient in the warp.

If you have spent a lot of time on your warp to arrange the colours just the way you want to, you certainly don’t want to obscure all that beauty by weaving with an inappropriate weft.

In the planning stages of your warp, you will want to think a lot about how your warp colours will look side by side. There are several ways to visualise this. You can use colouring pencils to just draw and colour in bands of colour next to each other on a blank piece of paper to see if they look pleasing to you.

You can also grab some short lengths of the intended colours in the yarn you are using and twist them together a couple of times. They will twirl around each other and give you an idea of how they will behave side by side.

You can also do a wrapping as I have here, which gives a great visual representation of colours and thicknesses of stripes. I teach you how to do this in my members only Gaining Confidence with Colour class.

It is best that you also plan which weft you will use, but it can be hard to know how different colours and yarns will look on the loom. I highly recommend that you take the time and a little extra yarn to warp up a sampler, which will take all of the guess work out of the project.

In this article, I am sharing some of my samples from my new members only Options for Showing Warp Colours class. The class goes into plenty of detail with yarns used, weaving structures and demonstrations that will give you lots of ideas for your next colourful warp.

All my samples, excepting one, were woven with woollen yarn but not all in the same thickness. My first sample was a white wool. I particularly wanted to show you how a white weft has the effect of toning bright colours right down. That can be desirable in some circumstances, and not in others. It’s best to know these things before you begin your project to avoid disappointment!

I’ll readily admit that this sample makes me cringe, but perhaps for another weaver it might be just to their taste. Once again, sampling is invaluable in helping to reveal your own personal likes and dislikes. So, while this balanced plain weave sample doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest, that doesn’t mean that I’m against all white wefts!

For my second Wash Your Hands Towel I also used a white weft, but look at the difference! In this case, due to the arrangement of colours in the weft and a lovely pick up pattern, white really makes this towel pop in a way that I love.

The second sample is the opposite of the first in that it uses black as the weft. I didn’t have any black in the same weight as the warp, so I used a lighter weight. I had to be careful to beat gently to avoid obscuring the warp altogether. I don’t often use much black in my weaving, as it tends to be so dominant. It can be perfect when pairing with another solid, contrasting colour and an interesting pattern, but for plain weave, once again, I’m not a fan.

I don’t mind the way the black has little pops of the warp colour, but I do feel that it just wants to take over all those colours I spent time carefully warping!

The third sample was a plain weave in dark grey. Dark grey is my preferred option for when I want my warp colours to shine. It seems to harmonise and compliment rather than dominate.

Now on to my favourite option – grey with pick up. This is a total win win situation in my opinion. You have the non obtrusive grey and the openness of the pick up to allow that warp to shine. I find this the most complimentary combination of weft and warp.

Before I go, I want to show you some of my favourite projects woven with colourful, gradient warps and grey weft in pick up patterns, just to inspire you!

This one is my favourite. It took me a long time to dye that rainbow gradient warp!

Note the reversibility of the design – one side shows weft floats while the other shows warp floats. Pretty cool huh?

I hope this post has helped you to think about ways that you might use wefts to make your warp a stand out. If topics like this are interesting and useful to you, I’m sure you will love my Online Weaving School. There are single classes or memberships available for purchase.

If you are interested to know more about pick up sticks, you will find this article very useful.

As always, if you have any questions or if you enjoyed reading this, please leave me a comment, I love to read them!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave Reindeer on your rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 4 Comments

Weaving Reindeer on your rigid heddle loom is a fun Christmas project! This follows on from my recent post on weaving Snowmen on a rigid heddle loom.

*This post contains affiliate links

To weave reindeer, we use the same technique of a type of overshot. I was originally inspired to utilise this type of weaving on my rigid heddle loom when I was researching Russian Branoe weaving. I was completely taken by the types and varieties of designs I saw in the examples of Russian work. My mind began working overtime as I thought about how to chart designs and which designs might actually work. If you check out my Pinterest Weaving Board, you will see many wonderful examples of this patterning work.

Just like the snowmen, the pattern is all woven by picking up in front of the heddle, with the heddle in neutral. We weave tabby (plain weave) in between the pattern wefts in order to stabilise the fabric.

If this topic interests you, check out this playlist on Youtube to see all the videos I’ve made employing this same technique.

If you’re wondering how I came up with these designs, firstly I would have an idea for a design. Then I would try to map it out using graph paper by colouring individual blocks (1 block would represent one warp or weft thread) in and leaving others empty until I had a good representation of the image I wanted. Using graph paper also ensures that you can plan for the desired amount of space between each image. This is important because the empty spaces are just as important as the filled spaces to make the design. Some images do not translate well to the loom, as I’ve discovered, but it sure is fun to try!

If you want to weave some reindeer of your own here is what you will need

A rigid heddle loom (I used my 24″ but a Sampleit size is fine if you just want a small sample)

10 dent reed

A pick up stick (it needs to be longer than the width of your project)

A knitting needle is handy but not essential

A tapestry needle

Yarns-

There are no set yarns for this project, but I will share what worked well for me and give suggestions for possible alternatives.

For the warp I used a light worsted/dk weight (Australian 8 ply) wool in white.

My tabby weft (background weft) was a lighter but strong coloured light worsted/dk weight (Australian 8 ply) in wool.

For the pattern weft, I used a lovely brown alpaca in a light worsted/dk weight. Animal fibres work really well when you’re trying to depict animals in your weaving!

The red and green borders were made with some green and red light worsted/dk wool.

For the embroidered antlers, eyes and noses I used black and red wool in a fingering weight. You don’t need to be a great embroiderer as the details are all just worked in simple straight stitches. You could also use embroidery floss to work the features, if you prefer. Here are some suggestions:

DMC Embroidery floss (my favourite brand)

Anchor Embroidery floss

If you decide to use embroidery floss, don’t separate the strands, use all 6 of them for just the right thickness. Oh, and don’t forget a red nose for our friend Rudolph!

I’ve made the weaving sequence into a printable PDF to make your weaving life just that little bit easier 😉

Reindeer-weaving-sequence Printable PDF Download

And here is the link to the video that you can use together with this post and the PDF to weave your own lovely little reindeer.

If you’re interested in exploring this technique even further, I recommend my Exploring Branoe Online Weaving class.

I hope this post was helpful to you! I would love to hear your thoughts on this tutorial and answer your questions in the comments section below.

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to make a reed stand from wood

by Kelly 8 Comments

If you’re working in a small weaving space like I am, a reed stand is really invaluable for keeping tools organised and tidy.

Until recently, my “reed stand” in my studio space was an old, round laundry basket with medium height sides. All of my rigid heddle reeds were thrown in there together, along with my pick up sticks, stick shuttles and cardboard separators. Oh boy, it was a mess and very difficult to find what I wanted in a hurry.

A purchased reed stand will set you back from anywhere between $250 – 400 USD! I would rather spend that kind of cash on yarn and additional weaving supplies. When I told my frugal minded husband of my dilemma, he was all in.

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He drew up some basic plans based on what I told him I needed. The purchase of the wood for the project cost around $30AUD and he used tools he already had, like his hand saw and electric drill to put it together.

He readily admits that the hand saw is not perfect, and measurements will not always be spot on, but it all came together beautifully regardless. So, if you only have the most simple woodworking tools, you can certainly complete this project.

Our reed stand is made from untreated pine but you can certainly source your own appropriate lumber. We bought a couple of lengths and then cut them to size. All measurements are given in the printable PDF, which should be used in conjunction with the video.

The basic tools you will need for this project are:

*Wood and wooden dowel

*Handsaw (if you have a more sophisticated woodworking set up with electric tools, obviously you will want to use what you have).

*Electric drill and various drill bits (a hand powered drill would also work but the electric one just makes things quick and easy)

*Screws

*Candle wax (not essential but makes the positioning of screws much easier)

*Ruler or tape measure

*Pencil for marking measurements

*PVA or wood glue

You can download the printable PDF here-

Reed-stand-pieces-and-measurements PDF Download

If you wish to stain or paint your reed holder, this would be much more easily done before assembly.

The finished dimensions of the reed stand are as follows:

66cm length x 23.5cm width x 61cm height

Don’t forget to watch the video, as well as refer to the PDF, as you will find some information in each that is very important for the completion of the project.

Have you visited my Online Weaving School? You can choose from a huge variety of single classes or if you want to dive right in, there are memberships available.

The giveaway is still running until the end of the month, so if you haven’t entered yet, you can do that here.

Hey, seeing as we saved $220- $370, does that mean that I get to buy yarn with the savings? I haven’t broached that topic with my husband yet… 😆

I hope you enjoy the project. Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave Snowmen on your rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 9 Comments

Snowmen are not something you might naturally think of when wondering what to weave next on your rigid heddle loom, but I love any excuse to make pictures on my loom, especially if they are as cute as these little snowmen guys are!

Weaving snowmen on your rigid heddle loom may not be as difficult as you think. We employ a type of overshot technique to create floats. Depending on the length of each float, we can then arrange them to make pictures. We warp the loom as we normally do for plain weave.

Overshot usually uses a thicker weft for the patterning (or floats) and a thinner, contrasting weft for the background (plain weave, commonly known as “tabby” when used in this way).

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The weft floats do not become incorporated into the fabric, they literally float on top, which is why we use tabby in between pattern rows to tie the whole thing down and create a stable fabric. It also gives that lovely, slightly 3D effect of the pattern or picture being slightly raised.

Because of the varying length in floats, there is something you need to keep in mind when doing this kind of weaving. Quite often, and particularly with a thicker yarn like I’ve used for this sample, the floats at the back of the work will be long. This might make the piece unsuitable for some uses. For example, a kitchen towel with long floats on the back is not ideal. The floats will catch on things and likely become a bit ratty and not neat looking over time. That is the other consideration – the back does not always look attractive and you may not want it on show. In my sample below, you can see the added untidiness of my having embroidered on details like the scarves.

A way around this issue is to plan to use this technique in a pattern where the back of the work will not show. Some ideas are notebook or journal covers, a table centrepiece or runner where you intend to sew a backing to the piece, a cute Christmas wall hanging and so on.

Here is what you will need to weave a sample like this one:

A rigid heddle loom (I used my 24″ but a Sampleit size is fine if you just want a small sample)

10 dent reed

A pick up stick

A knitting needle is handy but not essential

Yarns-

There are no set yarns for this project, but I will share what worked well for me and give suggestions for possible alternatives.

For the warp I used a fingering weight (Australian 4 ply) cotton in a hand dyed medium to dark blue. Rug warping cotton would work fine.

My tabby weft (background weft) was a lighter but strong coloured light worsted/dk weight (Australian 8 ply) in wool.

For the pattern weft, I used a cream coloured aran weight (Australian 10ply) in wool.

For the little hats, I used some black fingering weight wool – you don’t need very much of that.

I love to use wool, particularly for the patterning in this type of weaving because it works so well. Because it has that lovely fluff and bounciness, it fills in any gaps between pattern wefts and makes the design look full. You will notice that my pattern weft is only slightly thicker than my tabby weft, but the pattern weft still stands out due to it’s loftiness.

The embroidered details are what really bring these little snowmen to life. Stick arms, scarves, eyes, carrot noses, buttons down the front – the amount of detail is up to you. You don’t need to be a great embroiderer as the details are all just worked in simple straight stitches. For the scarves, to give them that really nice shiny look, I used Bambu 7. This yarn can be quite difficult to obtain, so here are some alternatives:

5/2 bamboo weaving yarn

Pure Bamboo yarn

DMC Embroidery floss (my favourite brand)

Anchor Embroidery floss

If you decide to use embroidery floss, don’t separate the strands, use all 6 of them for just the right snowman thickness.

If you would like to weave some snowmen of your own, here is a printable PDF that gives you the weaving sequences and details:

Snowmen-on-a-rhl Download

You will also want to watch and follow along with the instructional video to see the weaving in action:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Let me know if you weave some little snowmen of your own, and as always, leave any comments or questions underneath, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!

How to weave Krokbragd on a rigid heddle loom

by Kelly 8 Comments

Krokbragd weaving has captivated my weaving heart and mind ever since I first laid eyes on it. So, what is it krokbragd? And how is it pronounced?!

Krokbragd is a twill weave structure that has Scandinavian origins. It is woven on 3 shafts and is weft faced (meaning the weft is dominant, covering most of the warp). It is pronounced “croak-brod”, or sometimes “croak- brog” or “croak bra-rg”, “crok -brog” or “crok – brag”. Clear as mud? 😂

I was thrilled when I discovered years ago that krokbragd could be easily woven on my rigid heddle loom. The idea of weaving this colourful, detailed cloth without having to use a bunch of shafts and without having to purchase extra tools was very appealing to me.

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This weave structure produces bold and colourful patterns. These patterns can be built into little pictures as well. The weaving sequence has three simple steps and does not change, so the patterns are formed by changing colours. It’s quite magical!

The more you experiment with krokbragd, the more you feel that the possibilities are really endless. Choosing contrasting colours is one of the keys to success, as this keeps the patterns distinct. Another important consideration is to ensure your warp yarn is thinner than your weft yarn to ensure good coverage. The aim is to not have any warp yarn showing at all.

Because the weft is packed in, krokbragd produces a dense, heavy fabric. Historically, in Scandinavia, items with this structure were mainly heavy duty pieces such as chair and travel cushions as well as for warmth in the form of bed coverings. It was also used artistically, mainly for wallhangings. It is likely that some wallhangings served a double purpose of keeping the home more cosy, as hangings were sometimes used as door coverings to keep out cold draughts.

I wove this beautiful krokbragd sampler on my Sampleit loom.

Once your rigid heddle loom is set up and threaded for krokbragd (which can be done either with a single heddle, pick up stick and heddle rod OR with two heddles), the same three step sequence is woven over and over, the only thing that changes is your weft colours. This is how you build patterns, by altering the colours. Three rows of weft passes equals one completed krokbragd sequence.

Let me give an example:

If I weave my 3 pick sequence in just one colour (lets say blue), I will have a solid row of blue once I’ve packed the weft down with my tapestry beater. The instructions would look like this: (“B” stands for blue)

B,B,B x 1

If in my next sequence I introduce another colour, I will start building a pattern: (“Y” stands for yellow)

B,B,Y x 1

Even better than trying to explain how it works is to show you how it works. This free beginner video will show you how to get started, give you the information you need to set up your loom and then give a basic krokbragd pattern for you to try-

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can move on to some more adventurous, but still fairly simple patterning, like these little birds-

And one of my favourites, tulips!-

Once you have been through these videos you can start to design some of your own krokbragd pieces. There are a couple of ways to do this – either on the loom, as you are weaving or as a separate design, either on graph paper or using weaving software. I like both methods for different reasons!

Designing on the loom is very intuitive and relaxing, You can write down the colour changes as you go, that way if you find a design you love you can revisit it later because you have the instructions ready to go.

Designing off loom is also very beneficial. It allows you to plan out very specific designs to try on the loom. If this concept interests you, I recommend Debby Greenlaw’s book Krokbragd – How to Design and Weave, which I reviewed in this post.

Over at my Online Weaving School, there are three krokbragd classes available. The first one, is the Krokbragd Mug Rug Weave along, which is available to members only. This is a great class that provides instructions for different threading methods, so you can choose to use pick up sticks and a heddle rod or instead use two heddles.

Then there is the Krokbragd Bag, which is a gorgeously fun and functional project. This class uses two heddles to achieve the three shafts, which is not as difficult as it sounds! You can see a roundup of some of student’s beautiful pieces from this class in this post.

And thirdly, my newest offering is Krokbragd 101, which is an “all you need” comprehensive course to get you weaving beautiful krokbragd.

Krokbragd can even be woven on an inkle loom by turning the warp faced draft into a weft faced draft. I wrote about a Krokbragd inkle band I wove in this post.

Krokbragd is such a captivating and addictive weave structure, I hope you will love it as much as I do. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below, I love to hear from you!

Until next time…

Happy Weaving!