Friday, November 27, 2020

The 2020 Pin Loom Commemorative "Dumpster Fire" Christmas Ornament



2020 has been a pretty challenging year. What with a pandemic and politics and quarantines, unemployment and some super-weird theories about what has been going on (yep, I'm looking at you, Q-Anon) this is not a year that many would ever want to experience again. 

But even a terrible year needs to be remembered, and what better image to commemorate the year 2020 than a dumpster fire? 

Here is my take on a special pin loom Christmas ornament made especially for this strange, terrible year. It is easy to make and, considering that you are only going to weave one-third of the flame squares, pretty quick to finish. 

The Dumpster Fire ornament is made with three 4" squares and one 2" x 4" rectangle. If you do not have a 2" x 4" loom, weave another 4" square and fold it in half.  I used two shades of green for my dumpster, you can choose whatever color you want, perhaps a deep blue, to match the local dumpster color. After weaving, I made a single crochet edge on both of the dumpster squares. 

Weave the flames for the dumpster fire. The easiest way to do this is to wind the yarn for a two layer weave rather than the usual three layer weave. Choose some flame colored yarn. I used variegated red yarn alternating with yellow yarn. You are going to make two layers of flame, I used darker reds for the back layer and more yellow in the top layer. 

Warp the first layer as in the normal pin loom instructions. Then turn the loom 180 degrees. Go around the first pin and warp this layer as in the pin loom instructions for the third layer.  This will give you a solid warp, you will be weaving each line (not every other line as with the normal pin loom weaving pattern) one third the way up the square, then stop and tie off your yarn. 

Once these squares are off the loom clip the yarn to better represent flames. Stack the flame squares on top of the 4" back of dumpster and stitch in place. I added a 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of cardboard on top of the flame squares to stiffen the ornament and stitched the cardboard to the woven portion of the flame squares.  

Before adding the front of the dumpster, use a white or light grey yarn to stitch "2020" to this rectangle.  The stitching should not look too perfect, which worked out really well considering my embroidery skills. Use a whip stitch to stitch the top of the dumpster to the back of the dumpster.  Add an 8" crocheted chain to the back as a hanger for the ornament. 


These Dumpster Fire ornaments were so easy and fun to make that I wove a couple more so that several relatives will get their own special remembrance of this very special year. 


1 comment:

Your feedback and comments are a vital part of Pinloomweaving. Thank you.