Minnesota Pin Loom Workshop

This is a quick shout out to weavers in the Minnesota area. I am going to be doing a day long workshop in Mankato, MN (my home town) moving through the whole pin loom process, from beginning pin loom weaving through making a woven, stuffed dog and weaving and joining a 4"x 4" Pooch Pouch.

I have several people signed up who are already experienced pin loom weavers. If you have some experience that will give you more time to experiment and complete projects. There is already a request in for making both dogs and cats, which we can do. This would be a great opportunity to share your pin loom passion with a friend or family member.

For more information about this workshop, see the Pooch and Pouch information at Mary Lou's Yarn and Ewe website.    If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at pinloomweaving at gmail.com.

There will be more news coming soon on regional workshops for pin loom weaving as well as information on workshops now scheduled at Convergence, Milwaukee, July 31 through August 6. 

Pin Loom Hooded Scarf

This idea came about because I had some interesting yarn sent to me from an ancient stash. The hooded scarf was woven on a 6" x 6" pin loom and a 4" x 6" pin loom. It could as easily be woven on a 4" x 4" pin loom, like the Zoom Loom. There are diagrams for both patterns below.

This hooded scarf was woven from Unger Driftwood-- a two-ply yarn; one thick ply and one very thin ply that seemed to be there only to give the yarn some texture. The yarn is a medium gray with bits of color spun in at random intervals.

Please note, this pattern shows one-half of the hooded scarf. You will need to weave this pattern two times, in other words, 4) 4" x 6" rectangles and 12) 6" x 6" squares for the complete scarf.  If you are weaving with a 4" pin loom you will need to weave 42) 4" x 4" squares.

I wanted this to be a simple pattern that could be whipped up over a weekend. In order that it could be woven and assembled quickly--

• the weaving is done with the Triple Rib Pattern (see below), which reduces the actual weaving by about 30% and
• the scarf is joined using a mattress stitch, which you will find directions for on the Pin Loom Essentials page.

Weave the squares with a Triple Rib Pattern

The ribs are formed when you slide the needle through the warp without weaving. This produces a lump of three weft threads clustered together. This pattern can shorten up the cloth a little but it makes a nice texture, particularly for an item where you want to have some weight of cloth to keep out the cold and damp.


 

 

Triple Rib Pattern for 4" and 6" pin loom.

 1. Weave Plain
 2. Weave Plain
 3. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
 4. Weave Plain
 5. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
 6. Weave Plain
 7. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
 8. Weave Plain
 9. Weave Plain
10. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
11. Weave Plain
12. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
13. Weave Plain
14. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
15. Weave Plain
16. Weave Plain - THIS IS THE END OF THE 4" LOOM,

CONTINUE FOR 6" LENGTH LOOM.

17. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
18. Weave Plain
19. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
20. Weave Plain
21. Slide needle through threads without weaving.
22. Weave Plain
23. Weave Plain
24. Weave Plain

Join the squares using a mattress stitch. 

If you have already checked on this joining approach, you know that this stitch allows you to very quickly join two squares. Because this is a relatively small, lightweight item, the mattress stitch, which is a lightweight stitch, seems to work very well.

Full the cloth by hand washing with a wool fiber approved product or shampoo.

I keep of bottle of sensitive style shampoo around just so that I can easily finish my pin loom items. Washing the scarf will bring about some shrinkage and will let the fibers bind together more securely. I wanted a hooded scarf that would stand up to sleet and snow and cold, wet weather and this one works beautifully.

I have come to see that the style is as old as time, people were probably wearing something a lot like this since the beginning of weaving. I am also a bit surprised that the woven squares don't particularly stand out. I realize that all of us who weave regularly on pin looms could easily pick out the joins and would know that this hooded scarf was woven on a pin loom, but I think that most people would not realize that it was pieced together. And most important to me was that it wove up very quickly, had a lovely texture that matched the yarn and was sewn up just as quick. I have now made a couple of these hooded scarves and have found them to make a usable, reasonable gift.  So as we enter the season of gift frenzy, if you are looking for a handmade gift with a twist-- not exactly a hat but more than a scarf-- perhaps this will be just perfect.

Never underestimate the power of a mug rug

The yarn is Vanna's Choice Lion Brand "Seaspray Mist".
The other yarns were worsted weight scraps from my collection.

Its summer. This is a great time to kick back with a simple pin loom project.  If you have kids to entertain, its nice to be able to introduce a project that they can accomplish in a day or two.

Plus, its too hot to have half an afghan on your lap while you're putting it together. This is the season for portable projects.
 
My favorite simple project is the mug rug. There are endless variations and we all need a coaster sooner or later.  The mug rugs shown here were made to match the mugs in order to turn a so-so gift into something personalized and special.

To make the coasters shown above, weave a 4" square and add a 2" x 2" poppy colored square, turn into a Loom Bloom by pulling on one horizontal and one vertical line of yarn. Secure the flower with a contrasting color. Make the flower stem by using a running stitch in the darker color. 
 

 Coasters come in such infinite variety. Angela Tong  made the incredible coaster on the right, taking advantage of one of the pin loom's best properties, that its a wonderful medium for cross stitch.  The complete directions can be found at her site, Angela Tong Designs.











Another design from the web - Purlbee offers a kit with Zoom Loom, yarn and instructions for a great set of coasters. 



 Happy summer... happy mug rug making!   Weave on!   Meg

Pin Loom Chickens

Chickens with wings posing with egg

The pin loom chicken pattern was developed a number of years ago and appeared in my first book, Weavies One.

The first chickens had no wings, like the example on the shelf. The wings are an option that offers great little pockets for storing things away that you don't want to lose... unless you forget that you put them in the chicken wing. I find the chickens to have an interesting, if beady-eyed, personality. 

Materials:
Yarn - All of the examples are made with worsted weight yarn and worsted weight chenille yarn plus polyester stuffing and some plastic pellets at the bottom for extra weight and stability.

The original chicken pattern called for all of the pieces to have a single crochet edge and be joined using a whip stitch.

These examples of the chicken pattern also show some of the variations made available by choosing a mix of yarns. For example, the green, wingless chicken was wound with one layer of beige chenille yarn, then finished with a green worsted weight yarn. This worked particularly well because weaving with something very fuzzy, like the chenille yarn, can be difficult. The yarn can break or knot up. By winding the difficult to weave with yarns onto the loom first you can integrate them into the weaving without having to manipulate them so much.

I made one new generation chicken-- shown below with the horizontally striped wing. Instead of using a single crochet edge on each piece and whipstitching together, this chicken is joined using a single crochet to join the two pieces, then the join is turned to the inside. You can see a close up of the two approaches on the Pin Loom Essentials page.

Because the new chicken is a bit smaller due to the difference in joining, the original beak was too big for it. For a smaller beak, I used some yellow fingering yarn to make a lighter weave and folded the 2" x 2" weavie 3 times, to create a small cone.  I also used two 2" x 4" weavies for its wings instead of the 4" x 4" weavies used for wings on the more vintage style chickens.

One of the chickens has apparently laid an egg. The egg was woven with one layer of chenille and an off-white worsted weight yarn. I wove two 2" x 2" weavies that were stitched together with a running stitch, leaving a hole at one corner, then turned inside out and stuffed.

Gift idea - Pin Loom Wash Cloths

A number of my family members will be getting herbal soap accompanied by hand woven wash clothes for Christmas. I have never really gotten over the belief, ingrained as a child, that the most heart felt gift was one that was made by hand.  I'm not making the soap, I figure you have to pick your battles, but I am making the wash clothes, which are turning out far better than I expected.

I lucked upon a cone of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn, 706 yards (646 m), for ridiculously low price. That is a lot of hand made wash clothes. Actually, I just stopped and figured out the number. There are four woven squares in each wash cloth.  Each woven square takes 7.5 yards (6.9 m) plus a yard (.9 m) for joining. So each wash cloth is 31 yards (28 m) which means that I could make about 23 wash clothes from that one cone. I realize that a handmade item can't be all about the savings but sale items often encourage creativity for me.

I used a weaving pattern that was popular for both the Weave-It and the Loomette.

DIAGONAL HALF SQUARE 

Row 1: Weave plain.
Row 2: U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 3: W2, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, W2.
Row 4: W4, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 5: W2, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, W6. [5]
Row 6: W8, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 7: W2, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, W10. [4]
Row 8: W12, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 9: W2, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, W10. [3]
Row 10: W16, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 11: W2, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3, W18. [2]
Row 12: W20, U3, O1, U3, O1, U3.
Row 13: W2, U3, O1, U3, W22. [1]
Row 14: W24, U3, O1, U3.
Row 15: W2, U3, W26.
Row 16: Weave plain.
"WEAVE 22" from "Original Loomette Weaves." Los Angeles, California: Cartercraft Studios, 1937, and "Weave-It Weaves." Book No. 1. Medford, Massachusetts: Donar Products, Corp., 1939.

One further choice. 

When I started making the wash clothes, I finished off the first two with a line of single crochet. Then it hit me, there was no real need to add a crochet edging. One of the interesting aspects of the weave-it is its finished edge and I have found that I rather like the scalloped, lacy edge. However,when I make dish clothes (which is what I am going to do with the two on the right) having that extra single crochet edging makes sense. Perhaps next time I make dish clothes I will use a half-double crochet for a thicker, more structured edging.

Please keep in mind that you are seeing the washcloths straight off the loom. They will shrink and soften with washing.

Wash cloth squares on and off the loom.

.  

Pin Loom Advent Calendar, part I

I didn't fill in all the numbers
but you get the idea.

Christmas brings forth my best intentions and designs, such as plans for a Pin Loom Advent Calendar that has been in the works for a number of years. I am getting closer. The green 4" x 4"squares for the banner and the 2" x 2" multicolored squares for little pockets for treats are all woven and waiting to be assembled. My original plan called for a simple grid, which is a perfectly acceptable way to put together the calendar, but seemed boooring.

Here is the newer plan, still in the formative stage. Proof that I'm basically a "nothing succeeds like excess" kind of gal.

This Advent Calendar calls for 25 green squares as well as 24 background squares in a variety of neutral colors. It measures approximately 20" wide by 30" high. In the real hanging the green squares will be a little more random. My plan for the numbers is to use short lengths of brightly colored nylon cord, attaching them with hot glue and then binding them in place with micro-filament thread.  The skinny yellow stars will be yarn embellishments. I am not sure how I am going to make the top star on the tree, I might change it out for a pin loom angel. 

Although it will be too late to use the Advent Calendar this year, I will continue to work on it. I hope to share pics of the actual weaving in  Pin Loom Advent Calendar, Part II.

From the little bit of experimenting that I have done so far on the real squares, it looks like I will need to make a number of changes to this plan including adding more ornaments to the tree and throughout the hanging. One idea that I hope to initiate with this project is making small ornaments out of felted weavies. After all, what better medium for felting than small woven squares? 

Wish me luck. Meg