Make Like a (Pin Loom) Turtle

 I have had a LOT of adventures since last posting to this website, and have feel pretty guilty about not sharing with everyone. This is a turtle designed by myself and my daughter, Taylor, as a present to a young lady in order to gift her with a pet turtle that didn't come with a lot of housekeeping duties or salmonella. 

You might notice that this turtle has felted hearts all over its shell-- another upside of a woven animal. 

My favorite aspect of this particular woven turtle is that it can actually pull its head and legs into the shell (with some help from pokey fingers).  

The top turtle shell was woven from two 4" x 6" rectangles that were overlapped to create a dome. The corners of the rectangles were turned under. The head was made with two 2" x 4" rectangles, stuffed. The feet and legs were each made with one 2" x 4" rectangle with the sides turned under to make an approximate 1" x 4" limb. The feet had a little bit of stuffing added to them. I added a darker color yarn on the edge of the feet to look like claws. 

I made room for the retractable head and legs by weaving a 4" x 4" and using it to capture all the stuffing for the shell. That left an open section below where the head and legs are fastened. They can either stick out or be pulled in. I was really surprised at how well it worked. 

Here is one more shot of our intrepid turtle... not actually in her natural environment... since her natural environment is really my yarn room. 

And like this turtle I am going to try to spend more time out of my shell, exploring the world and sharing with others. 

Talk to you soon. Meg Stump

Weave a ridiculously cute Pin Loom Owl Bag

Introducing an extremely cute companion for Spring. As you may have noticed I love making animals and owls are a particular favorite. I also love small bags and bags that have secret pockets in them, so the Pin Loom Owl Bag hits the trifecta. 

It is a great size to carry a phone and has extra little pockets in the wings. Each owl takes six squares for the body, two for the wings, and two for the eyes. This makes it a great project for those special leftover yarns-- too little to use on a regular weaving project, too precious to give away. The Owl Bag is made using only a 4" pin loom (except for your choice of purse strap) and features hand felted pin loom eyes.

Follow the illustrations below to make your own Pin Loom Owl Bag. 

A)  Lay out the six squares for the body and join together using a double overcast stitch. You can find further information about the double overcast stitch HERE. Fold the two bottom squares in half on the diagonal and tack them in place to the inside of the bag.

B) Fold the two sides of the bag in and finish joining the bag together. Whip stitch the bottom front and back of the bag together, first tucking in the corners to create a more rounded, owl-like bottom.

C) Weave two squares for wings. This is a great place to use your fancier yarns. Take each wing square and turn down the top corner and tack the corner to the inside. 

D) Line the wing up with the body so that the bottom tip of the wing is close to the bottom of the owl body. Tack the wing in place to keep it stable while you whip stitch it. Using the wing color, stitch around the two sides of the wing, leaving the folded-in top open to create a small pocket. Repeat this process with the second wing.

E) Make the owl eyes. The colored portion of each of the owl eyes was made by cutting a 1 1/2 inch circle from a felted pin loom square. See directions for felted squares below. I used yellow and pale blue for the owl's iris, but you can use whatever color you want. The owl's pupils were made by cutting a one inch circle from a black felted pin loom square or using a 1 inch button.  I stitched the iris on to the bag but found that glue worked much better for attaching the pupils. 

F)  Add the owl beak. Using a tapestry needle with your choice of color, use satin stitch to create a beak that is approximately half inch wide at the top, tapering to a point over its three-quarter inch length.

G) Attach your handle. These owl bags were made using small bamboo rings and lightweight faux leather straps.  

Since first making the Owl Bags I have found that the lightweight straps work beautifully and the bamboo rings really don't work at all. Using the bamboo rings was a fun experiment but the only place they are really handy is if you want to hang your owl bag on a doorknob, maybe as a catch-all for pens or scraps of paper. If you want to use it as a purse, I recommend a manufactured or handmade strap. 

Making felted squares. Squares used for felting need to be constructed from 85 to 100% wool or they will not felt satisfactorily. Since you will only be felting one or two squares, you can do it easily and quickly by hand. Submerge the squares in hot water, add a small amount of shampoo or mild dishwashing soap and rub and roll them vigorously between your hands. They will very quickly begin to shrink and thicken as the fibers pull together. They only need to shrink by about 25%. When the squares measure about 3ins, rinse them out and lay them out to dry. When they are dry you will be able to cut out the circles for eyes with minimal fraying. I think a little fraying looks good because it softens the eyes, so don't worry if they are not perfect.  

There is another great reason for making Owl Bags. As the world starts to get moving again and craft shows open up, Pin Loom Owl Bags make a really cute craft to sell. 

While the copyright says that you are not allowed to make copies and sell my patterns, you are always welcome to make and sell your own hand woven goods. 

I do hope that if you decide to make some Owl Bags that you will share some pictures with me.  Margaret Stump

Pin Loom Monster Softies for Halloween

 It may be a strange Halloween this year, less trick or treating and LOTS MORE MONSTERS! 

These Monster Softies represent so many of pin loom weaving's best features. They are made of bits of whatever yarns and embellishments you choose, they weave up and zip together in no time, and each one is a unique creation. 

Right now my favorite is the Vampire Bat. He has a pocket in front to carry his flashlight...which he has apparently lost.  I am also rather partial to the Ghost Monster. 

The diagrams below show the basic dimensions for these Monster Softies but keep in mind that there is no limit to what you can create. 

A few notes about construction: With the exception of the vampire bat, all of the seams on the softies are turned to the inside and then the bodies are stuffed. Also, I used two 2"x 2" squares for each of the feet/legs but it is important to make each foot/let narrower than 2" or there will be no space between them, the two legs will take up the entire width of the body, which looks weird. I also found that the hands/arms looked better if, after stuffing and attaching to the body, I put a couple stitches in the "palm" of the hands to flatten them out a bit. 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! LET'S MAKE OCTOBER PIN LOOM MONSTER MONTH!

Update on Felted Pin Loom Purses

I am not always good at going back and repairing problems but this is an actual follow-through regarding my somewhat over-felted but fun pin loom purse. You can see the whole Felted Purse post HERE with this new picture of the Felted Bucket Bag added. 

I originally added large hoop handles which made it look like it had time warped from 1969 -- as well as making it extremely difficult to get in to. 

I removed the hoop handles, I think they might be fun to weave with, and I found a manufactured strap that picks up the orange highlight on the bag and works beautifully. Now I have a bucket bag that is super easy to use, great for quick trips where you want to just throw a few things in a bag and go. 

The felted material feels very strong and I like that it is roomy enough to keep everything secure. 

Making felted purses has a certain addictive quality to it, there is such alchemy in the felting process. I already have plans for a new series and can't wait to show you!  

Weave a Pin Loom Keyboard Case

I recently got a really neat little bluetooth keyboard and pencil to go with my IPad. There are a bunch of these little bluetooth keyboards available now (and I am not commercially connected with any of them).  I love the idea that I can turn my Ipad into a productive station any place I like but I’m not at all comfortable carrying around an unprotected keyboard and now I had multiple pieces of equipment that I had to keep track of.

What a perfect opportunity for a made-to-order pin loom keyboard case.

This was a small, fun project that gave me the perfect container for both keyboard and pencil. The keyboard is 6” x 12” by about 1”. I used my 4” x 6” pin loom to weave seven 4” x 6” rectangles in Paton’s worsted weight brown marl. Marl is light and dark yarns twisted together, in this case, brown and cream. It can (almost) give the look of a solid piece of cloth. The seven 4” x 6” rectangles were joined using double overcast stitch. Check out information on the stitch here and watch a video about using it here. I turned down the corners of one end and stitched in place. This end will be the flap. I edged the fabric strip in single crochet using a medium brown worsted weight yarn.

I then doubled the fabric over to form the keyboard case with about 3.5” of flap left over. I wove an extra 2” x 4” rectangle in the brown marl and stitched it to the inside of the flap for reinforcement. I used the same brown yarn to whip stitch the sides together. You can see information about joining crocheted edges here. The bag was then wet finished — washed very gently in cool water and steam blocked it lightly after it was dry. I sewed a button on the outside of the flap with another, smaller button as reinforcement on the inside.

I wanted a pocket for the pencil that I could keep closed but that was simple and easy to use. 

The pencil pocket was woven using one 2” x 6” and one 2” x 4” worsted weight tan and cream marl. The 2” x 4” was folded over the end of the 2” x 6” rectangle with the ends stitched together to make a loop of fabric. The pocket was appliqued to the outside of the bag, using the brown yarn to whip stitch it in place.

The final piece was a 10” crochet chain that I ran through the fabric loop and joined the ends together. This chain can be looped a couple times around the button to keep the flap closed and the pencil in place.

Making the keyboard case was a fun, relatively quick project and it has worked really well. I love that I can throw it in my bag--the keyboard is not going to get scratched, and the pencil is aways right with it. You may not be looking for a keyboard bag but the style works very well for tablets, phones or any other electronic bits that you may want to protect.  Plus it gives you a place to stow away all that stuff so that you can weave more-- which is always a good move.  Happy weaving!