Journal
Free Pattern to Weave these Silk Noil Neck Scarves
Flourish Silk Noil Neck Scarves
Soft, textured, and oh so simple. These elegant silk noil neck scarves by Emma Rhodes are designed to be woven on a floor loom OR a rigid heddle loom. Our 10/2 Undyed Silk Noil and Japanese Silk Noil yarns weave together beautifully and become even softer after washing and wearing. Whip up this silky duo over the weekend and wear them on your neck, wrist, hair, or purse. Below you will find all the instructions and materials needed to make a pair of neck ties to complement your wardrobe.
Materials
Warp: 1 skein of undyed 10/2 Silk Noil
Weft: 2 cones of Japanese Silk Noil
Kits: Each kit contains enough yarn to make 2 neck scarves (+there is plenty of extra yarn so you can make more). Emma wove one of these scarves with Japanese Silk Noil in Chili Pepper as the weft and the other with Japanese Silk Noil in Salvia Blue as the weft. See more color suggestions below or choose your own.
Project Notes
- Tools required: 4 shaft loom or rigid heddle loom, 12 dent reed, boat shuttle or stick shuttle
- Structure: Plain weave
- EPI: 12
- Width at reed: 4.5"
- Warp ends: 56
- Warp length: ~113" (3.1 yards)
- Length measured under tension at loom: Each scarf should measure about 40-43" under tension. Make sure to weave about 1/2" - 1" with scrap yarn at the beginning and end of each scarf for spacing.
- Finished dimensions: 2 neck scarves that measure approximately 4" wide by 36-40" long (depending on personal preference)
- Finishing details: Machine stitched frayed edge (or hand stitched if you prefer)
- Care instructions: Hand wash cold with a mild detergent and air dry, press and steam as needed
Pattern & Sewing Instructions
Emma writes: "I have an 8 shaft loom but I still find myself drawn to plain weave again and again. I love how the simple structure compliments the nubby texture of the silk noil.
Weave each scarf about 43" under tension (and make sure to weave with scrap yarn for 1/2"-1" at the beginning and the end of each). I chose to make each a solid color but you can also experiment with stripes and color blocks. Once you have finished weaving follow these finishing instructions and reference the photos below:
- Cut scarves apart in the center of the scrap yarn spacer.
- Fold one end over on the diagonal so that it creates a triangle. I lined up the edge of the scarf with the selvedge to make sure it was square.
- Cut along the crease to create a raw diagonal edge.
- Set up your sewing machine for a fairly small stitch. I set mine to about a 4 on the dial and adjusted the tension accordingly. Do some tests on the scraps of fabric cut from the ends of the scarf.
- Line up your raw edge on the 3/8" hem line on your sewing machine. Straight stitch down the diagonal edge. Use back stitch at the beginning and end to secure the stitches.
- Trim the raw edge a bit closer to the stitched line and fluff the fringe a bit to bring out the frayed edge. The stitches are hardly noticeable! Repeat on each edge for both scarves.
- Wash and air dry your scarves. Press with a warm iron and lots of steam. I found that washing and ironing made a huge difference in the softness of the fabric."
Free Pattern to Weave these Striped Linen Tea Towels
Coastal Linen Tea Towels
If you only have time to fit one last project in this summer, let it be linen! Linen sometimes gets a bad rep for being tricky or only for experienced weavers (not true!) but weaving with it in hot, humid temperatures can make the learning curve even easier. (See more tips below for weaving with linen).
I designed these tea towels with our gorgeous 100% linen yarn imported from a textile mill in Lithuania. I chose three subtle colors (Fog, Cream and Sea Glass) and two bright pops of color (Peacock and Goldenrod). I encourage you to experiment with your own color choices, mixing some bright colors with some neutrals. You can also see our kits below for some more suggested colorways!
Materials
- Warp: Five ½ lb. cones of 100% linen - Color A (Fog), Color B (Cream), Color C (Peacock), Color D (Goldenrod), Color E (Sea Glass) See other suggested color combinations below or choose your own!
- Weft: Use remaining warp yarn as weft
- Each kit contains enough yarn to make five 13" x 20" tea towels
Project Notes
- Tools Required: 4 shaft loom
- 10 dent reed
- EPI: 20
- Width at reed: 14"
- Warp ends: 280
- Warp length: 5 yards
- Finished dimensions should yield enough cloth to make five approximately 13" x 20" tea towels
- Finishing details: 1/2" rolled hem, hand-stitched
- Care Instructions: Linen gets softer and even more lovely with wash and use. You can machine wash and tumble dry, but if your towels get regular use, using the dryer can shorter their life span (all textiles last longer if they don't go in the dryer - the lint in your dryer is bits of the textile coming off). You can also handwash and hang on a line to dry. Either way...if you plan on ironing, you can iron while they are still slightly damp for the best results!
Pattern
Draft: Point Draft taken from page 71 of Ann Dixon's Handweaver's Pattern Directory (see diagram below)
Warp color order: I tend to design color stripes at the warping board. Feel free to experiment with your own blocks of color as you’re warping. If you’d like to follow mine exactly, here is the order:
- Color A: 42 ends
- Color B: 6 ends
- Color C: 12 ends
- Color B: 4 ends
- Color A: 46 ends
- Color B: 4 ends
- Color D: 14 ends
- Color E: 10 ends
- Color D: 2 ends
- Color B: 4 ends
- Color A: 28 ends
- Color B: 4 ends
- Color C: 12 ends
- Color E: 2 ends
- Color B: 8 ends
- Color A: 66 ends
- Color D: 14 ends
- Color E: 2 ends
Weft color order: Get comfortable with the random! For these towels, I warped a few bobbins or pirns at a time with different colors, not entirely filling each of them so they had varying amounts of yarn on them. The great thing about these colors is that they all play so well together. So I just wove the piece with alternating blocks of color, not worrying about where one towel starts and the next stops. Each towel ends of being unique, but as a set they look lovely and coordinated together.
Tips for Weaving with Linen
Linen is one of those gorgeous, texture-y beautiful yarns that I get a lot of nervous questions about. Can I use it as a warp? Do I need to dampen it when I weave? Is it going to be hard?
I'm probably a broken record because I have pretty much the same response about everything, but for this it certainly is true: Just try it!
Linen doesn't have the elasticity of other yarn so it can be a tad more challenging as a warp, but it's nothing you can't handle. Take care to wind on with even tension, and as you are weaving, you should advance the warp frequently. Linen is very strong and won't break when you try to snap it, but it does weaken with side to side abrasion, so advancing your warp minimizes the time that any one part of the yarn is in the heddles.
(As for whether you should wet the warp while you're weaving...I have never needed to, but I live on the East Coast with a lot of humidity. If you are somewhere very dry, you could try spritzing it with a bit of water as you are weaving.)
Free Pattern to Weave and Sew these Gorgeous Pillows
Gradient Throw Pillows
Weave and sew pair of these gorgeous throw pillows by Alexandra Forby of Daughter Handwovens! Using our Italian Cotton/Linen Weaving Yarn, Alex created a beautiful gradient by alternating warp and weft colors. You can purchase a kit to get started on this project here!
Materials
- This project requires two contrasting skeins of our
Italian Cotton/Linen Weaving Yarn. Choose from one of the kits below or pick your own colors! Each kit includes enough yarn to weave two 27" x 27" pillows.
- Our kits do not include pillow inserts but they can be purchased here or at your local craft store. We recommend an insert that is 28" x 28".
Project Notes
- Tools required: 4-shaft loom, 18 dent reed, or a 12 dent reed threaded 1,2,1,2
- EPI: 18
- Width at reed: 30"
- Warp ends: 540
- Warp length: 4.5 yards
- Warping order: The gradient is created by gradually mixing the two colors in the warp and weft. Read Alex's advice on creating this effect below.
- Length measured under tension at loom: ~130"
- Finished woven fabric off loom should measure approximately 28" x 124" to be cut into two 28" x 62" pieces. If it's a little bigger or a little smaller, that's fine - the great thing about making pillows is that they are so forgiving!
- Finished size of each pillow: 27" x 27"
Pattern
Alex writes, "For the warping order, I started with about 60 strands of the yellow linen (or color A) and then intermittently started blending in the grey threads (or color B) until at the opposite end I had about 60 strands of the grey thread. Once on the loom I tweaked this a bit further and moved some strands around until I felt it looked like a fluid gradient between the two colors. Then, my weft picks essentially mirrored the warp. I started with about 20" of yellow (color A) so the backside of the pillow would be two solid panels of grey and yellow. Then I began to pick until I matched the warp threads, making perfect squares as I worked up and across the warp threads. Finally, I finished with another 20" of grey to complete the other backside panel."
- This pattern uses a twill structure that is mirrored at the center of the warp (15"), and then again when you reach the middle of your weaving length (about 65" under tension)
- Threading: (<<1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 4,3,2,1, 4,3,2,1>>)
- Tie up: 1,2 / 2,3 / 3,4 / 4,1
-
Treadle: (1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, (at center, reverse) 4,3,2,1, 4,3,2,1)
Sewing Instructions
- Hand wash, air dry and iron fabric
- Cut fabric in half length wise so that you have two pieces that measure approximately 28" x 62"
- Hem the left and right edges: fold in 1/4″, iron flat, fold in 1/4″ again (a total of 1/2" on each side), iron flat, pin and sew using a simple straight stitch on your sewing machine or by hand.
- After you hem the left and right sides, lay your fabric down flat and INSIDE OUT (you should be looking at the wrong side). Fold the left and right sides over to create a square and overlap them slightly in the center (see diagram). This will create the envelope opening for your pillow insert. Double check the measurements of the square to make sure that your pillow insert will fit.
- Pin the folded fabric together and sew the top and bottom seams across about 1/2″ from the selvedges using straight stitch on your sewing machine or by hand.
- Turn your pillow cover right side out (push corners out with a pencil if necessary) and you should have a 27″ square with an overlapping slit in the back.
- Insert your pillow form and repeat steps 1-6 for the second pillow!
Weave this Cotton Summer Scarf
This week's free weaving pattern by Deborah Held is the perfect summer scarf or cowl - a simple tabby weave that can be woven on a rigid heddle loom or a floor loom. Grab up to 7 colors of 8/2 un-mercerized cotton from your stash (or buy some!) and start playing. Don't stress about picking colors - go with your gut, or choose from a few color combos I recommend below. Find all the geeky weaver details after the photos!
Project Details
- Warp: Up to 7 colors of 8/2 Un-Mercerized cotton weaving yarn. You'll have lots of yarn left over after this project - use it to make more scarves, or placemats and towels.
- Weft: 1 cone of 8/2 Un-Mercerized cotton weaving yarn (Choose your favorite color from the warp threads, or choose the lightest color so the warp colors are more dominant)
- Warp length: 2.25 yards (you can weave 65" for a full length scarf with fringe, or you can weave 36" for a cowl and use the rest for sampling)
- Width in Reed: 7" (This shrinks to about 6.25 wide after wet finishing. If you'd like a wider scarf, you can also do 8"-9" in the reed)
- 84 ends
- 12-Dent Reed, as 12 epi
- Tabby Weave
- 2-Shaft or 4-Shaft Loom or Rigid Heddle Loom. This was woven on a Cricket Loom.
- If you’re using a Rigid Heddle loom, you’re going to want to use an indirect warp-on to make it easier to change the warp colors. If you don’t have a warping board and can’t maneuver some kind of warping board cheat as an alternative, you can absolutely direct warp; it’s just going to take a while to do so many color changes, so be ready. Consider working in 30-minute stints to break up the work of knotting on so many individual ends.
- Don’t forget the finish: a good wash and dry. The beauty of cotton (in addition to its lightweight wearability) is its ease of care. A light machine wash will remove factory and natural oils; a trip through the dryer softens your piece ever so delightfully. If you'd like to sew it into a cowl, you can use these instructions. If you'd like it to be a scarf, simply hem stitch and twist the fringe!
Debbie writes: "The scarf is woven in a balanced plain weave, centered at 7 inches in width, and with a total of 84 (single) ends. In this instance, more is more. I used seven different colors in a relatively narrow piece. (I started with five, but wasn’t getting the look I was after and added in two more.)
Weave this Weekend Rug on your Rigid Heddle or Floor Loom
This quick handwoven rug designed by Emma Rhodes is a perfect summer project! Get it warped and woven in a weekend, and have a beautiful new rug for for your own home or to give as a gift. Weave it on your floor loom or your rigid heddle loom, with an 8-dent reed.
- Warp: 1 Cone 8/8 Un-Mercerized Cotton - Navy Blue
- Weft: 4 Skeins Mountain Meadow Wool Tapestry Rug Wool Weaving Yarn - Jeans (for other color combos try Raspberry cotton with Black Raspberry wool, Light Gray cotton with Dove wool, or Chocolate cotton with Maple Syrup wool - or mix and match cotton and wool to choose your own colors - multi-colored stripes would also look lovely in this rug!)
- Use double strands of the weft (see description below for instructions)
- Equipment: 4-shaft floor loom or Rigid Heddle loom, 8 dent reed, ~12" stick shuttle (Note that the rug will look a bit different (still beautiful) if woven on the Rigid Heddle loom - see notes below!)
- EPI: 8
- Width in reed: 24"
- Warp length: 2 yards
- Length measured under tension on loom: 36"
- Finished Size: 21 x 40" (including 2.5" fringe on both sides)
- Finishing details: Hem stitch & twisted fringe
Four-Shaft Loom Info
Rigid Heddle Loom Info
- Threading: One warp thread per slot/hole
- On a rigid heddle loom, you can only do Tabby Weave (you cannot lift two adjacent warp threads together). So in the adaptation for Rigid Heddle looms, the weft thread goes over and under each warp thread. This means that in your final rug, some of the warp thread will also remain visible, resulting in a beautiful interplay between the 8/8 cotton and the wool weft.
Emma writes: "I have been weaving for 7 years and this is my first rug! For this project I wanted to weave a simple, weft faced rug that would accentuate the color variations in this Tapestry Rug Wool from Mountain Meadow Wool Mill.
I wound the skeins into center pull balls and wrapped two strands around the stick shuttle. By weaving with double strands, the variations in the color really begin to pop! The gradation from dark to light reminds me of some of the beautiful denim rag rugs I have seen recently.
There was more draw-in then I anticipated so you can also go slightly wider at the reed, maybe 26". I love the polished look of hem stitch (tutorial here) and twisted fringe. I am looking forward to working with more colors, patterns and rug sizes in the future!"
Untitled (public parts) ~ Woven by Luiza Porto
Weaving with Sparkling Yarn with Lena Kolb
Today I am sharing a stunning piece Lena Kolb wove with sparkly yarn.
Lena writes: "I wanted to create a piece that was three-dimensional as most of my woven work to this point has been flat. I figured that the piece could be fairly simple since there would be a lot going on with the hanging threads. I really enjoyed dreaming this piece up and figuring out how to bring it to life. I definitely learned a lot and plan on experimenting further with 3D work. I loved using the ITO sparkly yarn and am excited to continue to use it in my weaving."
See more details about the piece below the photos.
Project Details
Lena writes: "I love experimenting with simple striping techniques to create different shades and color representations... so I stuck with a simple stripe pattern. I wove the piece at 15 EPI using a black 8/2 un-mercerized cotton for the warp and some of the weft. I used the ITO Sparkly Weaving Yarn for the stripes and hanging golden threads.
The piece is 22 x 72 x 15 inches. Placing the hanging gold threads was insanely time consuming....I really hadn't thought about that when planning the project. I placed each gold thread around one warp thread in three different rows. That part took me longer then weaving the whole piece. I also really hadn't considered the challenge of hanging and photographing the piece when I was dreaming it up. I realized I don't have very many large white spaces in my life to photograph work and that defiantly is necessary. It was also pretty challenging to balance the dark color against the light sparkly gold in photographs.I love glitter and sparkles!"
Are you afraid of weaving with linen?
Are you one of those weavers who is afraid of trying linen yarn? Don't be!
Linen is one of those gorgeous, texture-y beautiful yarns that I get a lot of nervous questions about. Can I use it as a warp? Do I need to dampen it when I weave? Is it going to be hard?
I'm probably a broken record because I have pretty much the same response about everything, but for this it certainly is true: Just try it!
Linen doesn't have the elasticity of other yarn so it can be a tad more challenging as a warp, but it's nothing you can't handle. Take care to wind on with even tension, and as you are weaving, you should advance the warp frequently. Linen is very strong and won't break when you try to snap it, but it does weaken with side to side abrasion, so advancing your warp minimizes the time that any one part of the yarn is in the heddles.
(As for whether you should wet the warp while you're weaving...I have never needed to, but I live on the East Coast with a lot of humidity. If you are somewhere very dry, you could try spritzing it with a bit of water.)
At $15 per 1/2 lb. cone, linen is an affordable and beautiful option for your next set of towels, table runners, or placemats. I have also seen my customers weave fabric to make gorgeous dresses, make huck lace, and even knit with it.
My linen yarn comes straight from a mill in Lithuania, and comes in a gorgeous array of subtle and unusual colors. See for yourself and shop now!
Weave a Tapestry Pillow and Tote Bag
- Warp: Wool warp yarn suitable for 8 epi
- Weft: Mountain Meadow Wool Tapestry/Rug Yarn in Turquoise, Cider, Marigold, and Nectarine. This was paired with other wool Shiri naturally dyed with black walnut.
- Loom: 2 Harness Rio Grande floor loom
- EPI: 8
- Finished dimensions: 14" x 22" pillow set, 17" x 49" body pillow, and 14" x 12.5" tote bag
Shiri writes: "I weave at 8 epi and am enjoying this new yarn! It's a little bit thinner than my regular yarns but it mixes very well with them. It is also surprisingly soft, which is a bonus :)
When weaving pillows and tote bags I tend to focus my design on one or two Rio Grande motifs and then play with colors. For the pillows I chose an earth tone color scheme with a touch of Turquoise.The rich gradient colors of the Cider and Marigold tapestry yarns worked out beautifully with my natural dyed (black walnut) and commercially dyed yarns. For the tote bag, I used Nectarine yarn for a bold and bright contrast to the white crosses."
Three Projects to Weave on Your Rigid Heddle Loom
By popular demand, I'm excited to share some project ideas for weaving on your rigid heddle loom.
Don't feel like doubling up your warp? You can also use this 8/4 un-mercerized cotton at 10 epi.
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