Florencia Campos Correa pin loom weaving projects

We know Florencia Campos Correa as the author of 100 Pin Loom Squares: 100 Exciting Color Combinations to Try, Plus 15 Stylish Projects.  Florencia was kind enough to get in touch and share information on her newest project, bias woven pin loom clothing patterns to be made with her own modifiable pin loom boards. Check out her unique pin looms as well as the exciting patterns at her website: www.Ullvuna.cl.   Florencia noted, "I am dedicated to converting my Ullvuna designs, my seven year brand of knitwear, to DIY kits."

The Ullvuna Mely is a customizable weaving loom set that lets you weave a variety of sizes of squares and triangles using a continuous weave or bias weave process to make easy to wear styles. 

Check out Florencia's site for a new FREE 4" pin loom weaving pattern.

This pattern uses a traditional weaving pattern on the pin loom (laying down all the warp, weaving through all 32 lines to produce this "Heart Stitch" pattern.

Florencia noted that she is a native of Chile. Her website and this pattern are available in both Spanish and English.

Thank you, Florencia, for sharing your delightful pin loom patterns and fashions.

Pin Looms at Convergence

If you have read any of the posts in Pin Loom Weaving, you may have noted my conviction that pin looms are the NEXT BIG THING, a craft that has been overlooked and undervalued for far too long and is poised for a resurgence.  Pin looms were very much present at HGA's 2016 Convergence in the vendor's booths, in the workshops and in the fashion show.

Marcella Edmund of Marcellaedmund.com has forwarded the pin loom field particularly in the area of woven garments. Two of her pin loom woven jackets, each featuring crochet or knit joins and embellishments, were a highlight of the the "Moving Forward" Fashion Show.

This is Marcella's Ginger Cardigan

Handwoven on pin loom, sewing, crochet. This is an original pattern using variegated thick and thin cotton yarn and wool sport weight yarn.  I got to see this item up close and it looked gorgeous and very comfy.

This is the Mosaic Jacket

Handwoven on pin looms, with knitting and sewing. This is an original pattern using hand-dyed, handspun New Zealand wool. Notice that in this Mosaic Jacket, the body is made of woven squares while the sleeves are knitted. What a great combination!

Marcella has built a library of clothing patterns that use both pin looms and either crochet or knitting to complete her garment.

Interested in seeing more of Marcella's fabulous work? 

Check out Marcella Edmund's new publication, The Pin Loom Primer at  Marcellaedmund.com  She notes that this is a book about the different ways to weave and join squares. Familiar methods like crochet, sewing and knitting can all be used to join squares. Marcella offers a dozen projects, each a new learning opportunity with diagrams and tips to help you at every step.  Check it out!  

Zebra's a STAR!

The Sept.-Oct. issue of Handwoven is now out and features an article on the Pin Loom Zebra.
Check out the dazzling article at A Dazzle of Zebras.

Zebra recently returned home from the Handwoven magazine shoot and may have gotten a big head over the article.  I mean, sunglasses?  Check out the series of companion animal weaving patterns called Pin Loom Primitives now available through the Pin Loom Weaving Shop.

Weave a Sheep Pin

Looking for a simple woven gift or badge? This is a great little sheep pin that is made using two 2" x 2" squares sewn together with a little batting and a pin back.  I can't wait to make a bunch of them!

If I need a small gift its going to be perfect. If I have a big gift to decorate, this little pin will make a great embellishment. And if I need a pin loom related item for multiple goody bags, this little Lamb Pin hits all the marks.

Choose your favorite fleecy looking yarn, add head and feet in satin stitch.

What better way to introduce pin loom weaving--it's ease, it's usefulness, than by sharing an easy to make and unique gift.

This is a simple 2" pin for scarf or embellishment. Its made with two  2" x 2" squares, a couple of very small squares (about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2") of quilt batting or other soft cloth like fleece to add some body, plus a pin back.

The sample shown here uses a 1 1/2" pin back. The body of the pin back is buried between the two layers and sewn to the back layer. All that shows is the pin and clasp.

Weave a summer camera bag

Cameras have always been an important part of summer activities and this camera bag captures that sense of summer adventures while being an easy to weave accessory. Phones have taken over all the duties of picture taking, but this bag reclaims the spirit of the camera.

This pin loom woven camera bag is constructed from 4" x 4" squares. The brown side and bottom panels have been turned in to make a slimmer side profile. On the inside there is plastic needlework screen stitched to the side and bottom squares to give it a more rigid frame. I wanted a very easy and carefree finish for the inside, so the interior is finished with bright pink duct tape. Its waterproof, makes it easy to see into the bag and adds some stiffening to the sides.

The turquoise body of the camera bag was joined by using a single crochet around each square, then whip stitching them together. The brown sides were joined using a double overcast stitch (you can find more information on the joins in Pin Loom Essentials) turned in around the plastic screen and stitched to the turquoise front and back with a whip stitch. You can see that there is a crocheted tab in the back. The black button on the tab covers the top section of a purse magnet. The little red button on the top of the purse is just a little red button that appears to have been created specifically to look like an old camera shutter button.

I wanted the purse strap to look like an old-fashioned leather camera strap. It is a 32" crochet chain with one line of half double crochet. The ends have a long chained loop to allow them to loop easily over the brass buttons on each side.

This is the camera before final assembly. I was in the process of sewing on the purse magnet closure when I took the picture. The yellow stitching was to help me determine where the top should fold down the back.

I am hoping to someday put together a whole collection of funky, pin loom woven faux camera bags. These are other cameras that I would like to recreate as woven bags.  After all, can the world have too many fun handbags?  I think not.

New Pin Loom Weaving book is on the way

When I finished writing Pin Loom Weaving; 40 Projects for Tiny Hand Looms, I turned to my husband and friends and said, "That's it, never again." After all, I had just written down pretty much everything I knew about pin looms and I found out that writing a book is more difficult and way less fun than weaving.

Two things happened shortly after I made that statement,
1) I had a bunch of ideas about how to make pin loom animals and
2) I began to think about a cool new ways to weave. So for the past year I have been working on two plans. Regarding the animal patterns, you should soon be seeing more pin loom animal patterns online- starting with the free rabbit pattern.  And I have been writing a book with lots of new pin loom patterns using a variety of approaches to pin loom weaving. FYI, it turns out that writing a book the second time is just as difficult and frustrating as the first time.

You can be sure that I will proudly let everyone know when the new pin loom weaving book date gets closer. Right now it looks like it will be available in March, 2017. In the meantime I wanted to give you a look at some of the ideas that have gone into the book.

Pin Loom Weaving on a Potholder Loom

I have always wondered if it wouldn't be possible to pin loom weave on a potholder loom, considering that the potholder loom also has pins all the way around. But I was never happy with having to use loops and finish it off with a crochet type edge. So there are a series of patterns in the new book that are woven, with a finished selvage, on a potholder loom.

The effect is more open and loose than using a 4" loom like the Zoom Loom. The potholder loom works very nicely for scarves and shawls. It also makes it possible to weave large pin loom squares with much heavier yarns. The scarf below is woven from Isaac Mizrahi super bulky yarn, which makes it a colorful choice for Minnesota winter wear.

So keep an eye out for more animal patterns, its taking a while but they will be available soon, and I will be posting more information on the new pin loom weaving book as the publication date gets closer.

New pin loom patterns and publications

If you're interested in lively conversation with other people who are passionate about pin looms, consider checking out the Facebook Pin Loom Weaving Support Group.  This is a closed group, which means that you have to ask to get in, but if you care about pin looms you will be welcomed.

Right now there is a weave-along exploring an incredible variety of designs specifically intended for our little 4" looms as well as a helpful, supportive environment for pin loom weavers new and old. Of course, if you are signed up with the group, you already know this is true.

There are new people signing up every day. It is so much fun to see everyone's excitement and the unique skills and perspectives that each weaver brings to pin loom weaving.

More exciting news! 

There's a brand new offering by Interweave coming out very soon. It covers weaving projects on a number of small looms including the Zoom Loom.

This is a link to the information on Easy Weaving with Little Looms.

Its getting intense, there are a crazy number of people flocking to Zoom Looms and other small looms.