My First Weaving Project

Hi everyone! Happy belated new year! Ever since the craziness of the holidays, I've really been taking it easy. Nothing much creative happening and sales in the shop are down after Christmas so it's actually been a good time to think, relax and spend time with friends and family. I'm starting a new part-time office job on Wednesday, and it's got my mind buzzing about all the different DIY projects I can make to make my desk feel like home, which has gotten me looking at other projects like this one to start getting creative again.

This weaving project was the first project I've seen in a while that's piqued my creative interest since being in my lull. Now I say that this is my first project, but really it's my second ... I tried making a rug but it ended up being a scrunched up bowl-type thing so I stopped short. For this project, I followed this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess on basic weaving steps. The only supplies I used were a piece of cardboard from a box, scissors, miscellaneous yarn, a large yarn needle and a ruler. You can follow her instructions on the blog but here are a few tips from me.

1. Make sure you use cotton yarn for your warp (the foundation strings for your weaving). Acrylic or other types will be too stretchy and make your whole piece scrunch up when you cut and tie the strings at the end.

2. Be sure to not pull too tight when starting a new row. I'm sure you can see on mine that it tapers a bit and that's because the yarn started less taut then it ended. Loose is good, in my opinion.

3. Use a ruler for your shed stick to cut your weaving time in half. How it cuts time in half is explained in the tutorial. Just know you don't need anything fancy. A ruler or paint stirrer will do.
3. Use different textures of yarn. I love how this turned out with the colors and textures from acrylic, wool, cotton, hemp and chunky yarns.
4. Be creative with the finished product! I'm thinking I'll make my weaving into a zippered bag, but you can use it as a mug rug, under a table centerpiece, as a wall hanging, etc.

See the tutorial here and have fun!