Pin Loom Angels

I was going to call this "Pin Loom Angels for the Holidays" but angels are good for any time of the year. 

Four inch pin loom squares make surprisingly good wings and my plan was to make some angels with sparkly wings by adding sparkly material woven into the squares. The two angels on the left have silver zigzag laid into the first layer finished off with soft, white yarn for a sparkly, fluffy look. 

However making angels is a little like eating chips for me, and I have found that there are lots of angel wings on the market that compliment a pin loom angel. So there is also an angel with rusty, tin wings and one with some sort of sparkly, plastic wings. 

Here is the short form for directions to make the angel, there are more extensive directions for making people in two of my books- Pin Loom Weaving and Adorable Beasts. 

Each angel is made with six 2" x 2" squares (or one 2" x 4" rectangle for the head and four 2" x 2" squares for the arms and legs) plus one 4" x 4" square for the gown and two 4" x 4" squares for the wings. Fold the square for the gown in half and stitch closed to make a long tube. 

The head is made by stitching a circle on two of the 2" squares, leaving a corner open and turning, and then stuffing. Stitch the head into one end of the gown. Stuff the body with a few layers of quilt batting or other cloth. I used several layers of fleece as stuffing for the body to make these angels. 

Make the arms and legs by rolling the two inch squares and stitching along one side. Attach the arms to the outside of the gown securing with the same color as the gown. Attach the legs by stitching to the bottom of the gown.  Weave two wings using any combination of sparkly and fluffy yarns that you want. Keep in mind that you can wind any difficult to weave yarn on the loom first and then weave through with a smaller, more supple yarn. Tuck in one corner and fold on the diagonal. I choose not to make a perfect triangle because I wanted the two corners to stick out from one another so that each angel is flying with double wings. Stitch the wings to the angel's back as shown in the illustration.

I used a variety of feathery yarns for angel's hair. The hair was added using a small crochet hook, looping a 4 to 6" length of yarn under the scalp and pulling a loop through and making a larks head knot. The final step is adding a little more glittery or colorful yarn for halos and other embellishment. 

One of the fun aspects of making pin loom people or pin loom angels is that yarn comes in lots of colors, just as people, and angels, do. I used wool and acrylic worsted weight yarn for all aspects of the angel body and gown except the hair, which was a lighter, feathery scarf yarn.

These particular angels are going to be visiting several different family Christmas trees, sending love and comfort in a year when I can not take the message in person. But then, that has always been the purpose of angels. 

Pin Loom Table Runner

In an effort to make a fresh start in 2020, I have been working to clear out some of the stuff in my dining room. I rediscovered this cool table runner that I made a number of years ago when we first got our black dining room table. I wanted something that I could throw in the middle of the table that reflected the Craftsman colors in our house and could be used as a gaming board. I hesitate to call it a table "runner" since it is not long and skinny, but don't know what else to call it. Maybe, table mat? Table quilt? I have no idea.

The table runner/mat measures 24" x 24". It makes a really nice checkers/chess board but it works just as well as a mat for any game. I wanted the red squares to stand out so I edged each 2" x 2" square with single crochet in its own color and then whip stitched the squares together in black. The green strips are made from three 2" x 6" pieces, single crocheted around the whole strip in its own color, with a second single crochet edge in warm brown. The end squares are 4" x 4"s, edged in brown. Then the whole piece got another edge of half double crochet in tan. If I were making it again, I would probably do that final outside edging also in single crochet, because I think it would balance the colors better.

This would be a super easy pattern to modify to work with other color schemes. And while I was wed to the idea of making a chessboard, you could make it thinner and longer and turn it into an actual table runner... with matching table mats! Enjoy and happy weaving!

Weave a Christmas Tree Pin

Here is a fun, tiny ornament that can be created in a snap and work as a Christmas brooch or wherever you need a bit of embellishment. The sweet secret is just how easy it is to make a gorgeous woven pin using a few beads, a yard or two of fancy yarn and a 2"x 2" pin loom.

The Christmas Tree Pin calls for two 2"x 2" squares, a light colored backing square and a green square for the body of the tree. Use some brown yarn to add a tree trunk to the backing square. Fold the green square under to create a tree shape and add your choice of beads for ornaments. I used a small, star shaped button for the treetop star. Lay the tree piece on top of the backing square and join with a whip stitch in green along the outside of the pin shape. 

After I finished embellishing the tree and joined the two pieces, I felt that the pin looked too wide and flat. So I bent the two edges around in order to make a slightly three dimensional tree shape. You can see the way the pin looks from the back in the picture below. The final step is to add a pin, either a big safety pin or a craft-type brooch pin, to the back of the Christmas Tree Pin. 

I have a few dinners still coming up this season and these pins will be going as part of the hostess gift, either attached to a card or a bottle of wine. I'm going to keep my favorite to wear on a winter jacket... so I have a gift, too!

A Beary Nice Gift Card Holder

As you may have guessed I am not happy with any gift I give unless it has been at least partially woven.  And while my adult kids regularly receive woven animals whether they want them or not, I decided that the best way to use pin loom weaving would be with a unique gift card holder. My original plan was to make a cat with long arms holding the gift card, but the face ended up much more bear like so I added the bear feet as an extra touch.

You will find directions to make the beary nice gift card holder below. I used an acrylic yarn, Impeccable "Earth" color. However, the colors turned out rather dark and I think that it might look better in a lighter, solid color, like tan or ecru.

It would be easy to change the features and crochet different ears to turn this bear into a dog or cat or rabbit.

I'm afraid my instructions below on the head aren't very clear. The head is made by stacking the 2 - 2x2" squares together, stitching them together by using a running stitch in a circle around the edge of the squares and then turning them inside out and stuffing. Attach the open end to the top of the body.

Pin Loom Travel Tags -or- how to keep a watch on your luggage.

Since about 93% of all luggage carried these days is the same style and color, many people decorate their suitcase with a pink ribbon or bright tag. This makes a great opportunity to add a pin loomed touch to your travel and upcycle a thrift shop find-- like an old watch or bracelet.

This project requires two 4x4" squares and a watch with a band or other jewelry with a strong clasp. Take the watchband off of one side of the watch and attach the two halves of the watch to two squares. Then sew the two squares together to form a pocket. Drop your name and address into the pocket, it will be safe in there in case its needed, and buckle the watchband around the suitcase handle. Now there will be no question about identifying your luggage with ease.

(Though it would be fun if we all did this and then ran into one another at the baggage claim... Finally, a way to identify other pin loom weavers!)

It goes without saying, although I'm saying it anyhow, that you need to choose a watch that is no longer working. If you use one that is still running I can pretty well guarantee that it won't be working by the time you claim your luggage. If anyone is wondering at this point, "why a watch?" I think it would be a fun, funky use for an old watch and it comes with its own strap.

Once your start making these little woven pockets you may decide that they are perfect for gift cards, tree decorations and backpack embellishments. I like the idea that you can make them with some ease and match the gift recipient's favorite colors. If your plan is to give some cash for Christmas, this makes a great way to give them a thoughtful, personal gift and still let people get what they want.