Moving right along with MAKE&GIVE30 project number 4!
I knew if I wanted to get through my yarn a giant weaving was in order. Weavings are perfect for scrap yarn because even if you have just a few yards of something you can make it work as a small accent. I'll warn you though, something this huge (about 2.5×4 feet) takes a lot of yarn.
My (very simple) method for making a loom is to use the back of a canvas. I have a few 3×4 feet canvases and I just staple gun my warp (the yarn that runs top to bottom) into place. This works, for sure, but it's not an ideal method because it's a big hassle to remove the staples and save your loops. (which is a process I skipped this time…I'll explain what I mean at the end.)
I used thin yarn (some white worsted weight and then some very thin Madeline Tosh sock yarn) to create my warp. This is done by just going back and forth and stapling each loop as you go. You're basically creating columns here.
My next step was to loosely create my pattern. I knew I wanted something organic looking – NOT straight lines or triangle shapes – and so I sort of just freehand wove ovals.
Which later, as Instagram pointed out, ended up looking very much like female parts. I sort of love that.
I wove all five of my shapes first and then filled them in. Weaving is just back and forth, over and under, back and forth. That's it. I like working with organic shapes because you can't mess it up. It's not like you're shooting for a perfect circle or a perfect diamond…you're just filling the space. That's the only goal. It's so therapeutic.
I don't use any special tools, just scissors and a plastic tapestry needle (like this). I find that the whole process is really flexible. If you hate what you're doing, you pull it out. If you think a shape needs to be moved, you move it. Adjust and step-back. Adjust and step-back.
After my shapes were made, I filled in the extra space with white yarn. This part is totally mindless since the only goal is to finish.
Once the bulk of the weaving was completed, I tucked in all the extra tails of yarn that were hanging off the sides (this was done just by weaving them back into the main piece).
I also added "tassles" to the bottom which was simple enough. I cut lengths of white yarn, folded them in half and tucked them behind two strings of warp.
Then I pulled the yarn through on itself…
…and pulled it tight. Because I didn't make it to the very bottom of my loom, I ended up weaving the warp back on itself – sort of difficult to explain, but hopefully this photo below helps…
see those little "tails" of thin yarn near my fingers? That's where I wove the warp (which I cut right off the staples) back up onto itself. This is NOT the ideal way to do this, but it holds and looks good enough. So much of my projects are about "good enough."
For the top I did the same thing. I wanted the main hanging yarn to be thicker than my warp and so I cut the warp and wove it back through the piece. Then I took thick yarn and looped it through the weaving to create loops to hang it on. Again…not ideal, but functional.
You can see that the whole thing is a little wavy. I am not positive, but my guess would be that this is because my warp was pulled a little too tightly. It looked great on the loom but when it came off it "relaxed" and bunched up a bit. Not a big deal, sort of adds to the "organic" look, but this would be something to consider if a perfectly straight hang was important to you.
WHEW. That's a lot of words about a yarn project. What do you think? Want to make one? Or…do you want to just WIN this one?!
Leave a comment below telling me where you'd hang this in your home and you'll be entered to win. I'll ship to anyone, anywhere, but please note: you will have to supply your own wooden dowel to hang. I will be sending the random winner ONLY the weaving. Winner will be announced Monday around noon PST.
Winner is #150, HEATHER who said : I'd love to hang this in my entryway so that EVERYONE would see it! i've been following this project and just love, love, love the way it's come together. job well done and thanks for the opportunity to make it mine! xx
Please email me Heather! 🙂 e
See more MAKE&GIVE30 projects here and more yarn projects here!
enJOY it 
375 responses to “PROJECT 4/30 : GIANT WEAVING”
I am moving in a couple of months so it would definitely be the centerpiece of whatever place I move to!
LikeLike
Hi hi,
Lots of love from sunny Singapore. Love the weaving. I started weaving too after looking at your giant white weaving.
I would love to hang it in my living room.
LikeLike
This is so lovely! I didn’t even see female parts in it. It looks so fluid and organic… so pleasing to the eye. I would hang this stunner in my bedroom to add to the coziness ❤ Beautiful work Elise!!
LikeLike
Oh wow! It looks fantastic!!! If I won this I would hang it in our lounge room…perhaps the inspirational start to a new gallery wall? Thanks for opening this world wide 🙂 Lauren x
LikeLike
I really loooove it! I has a special empty wall, and it’s perfect for your weaving! With views at the Mediterranean sea and a lot of light!
LikeLike
I’d hang it in my bedroom. Love the “lady parts” comparison (which makes the bedroom particularly appropriate)!
LikeLike
Elise, what a wonderful piece of art! Love your creativity! Would love to win and hang it up over our dining table on a brown painted wall! All the best from Germany!
LikeLike
Absolutely love this! I’d hang this in my dorm room – I have lots of framed art prints, but it would be awesome to have something more organic to add texture. Plus, I love that it was hand-made 🙂
LikeLike
This must have taken a lot of time! It looks wonderful. I would love to hang it in my living room as it is desperately in need of decorations!
LikeLike
I love this so much! I’d love to hang it on the wall behind my couch… It would work perfectly with the color scheme and red accents in my living room.
LikeLike
I would hang this in the hallway to brighten it up a bit. Love what you did with this piece! I’ve only done small weavings using a 8×10 frame. Next time I should go big!
LikeLike
I love this. I used to weave in grade school for art class, but we were taught how to make our looms on cardboard. I would hang this in our entryway so that it would be one of the first things people see when they come into our home.
LikeLike
I’d hang it in our den, right amongst my yet to be hung photos and art 🙂
LikeLike
I am so inspired by how creative you are with a toddler! You must tell me your secrets one day as I have a toddler as well and can barely find time to make things. Anyway, your weave is lovely! I’d hang it on the large blank canvas that is the wall in our bedroom. The colors are perfect, and I know it’d look great!
LikeLike
This is beautiful! I am currently redoing my little ones room from a nursery to a little girls room and I would hang this in there. I so want to try and make one of these now!
LikeLike
Undeniably awesome. I would hang it at the end of the hallway…great spot for an impact piece like this…plus the hall leads to the bedrooms. Yes, I saw the ladybits and loved it right away!
LikeLike
I would hang it in our sun room where we eat all of our meals and get the most sun in our dark house!
LikeLike
This piece is so beautiful. I’d hang it in my bedroom because it’s a room full of my favourite objects.
Greetings 🙂
LikeLike
I love it! If I won I’d hang it on the wall heading upstairs.
LikeLike
This is so wonderful-my favorite project you’ve done yet! It would go perfectly in an awkward nook above a non-functioning floor heater in the hallway.
LikeLike
I was so excited to see the end result, and this is so cool! I would love to hang this in my living room, above my desk, to inspire me while I’m working. Thanks for actually giving this away to one of your readers (that’s unbelievable!)!
xx
Camilla
LikeLike
I love this and have been meaning to make one of this size for quite some time now. The red in this would go perfectly with accents that I have in my couch and I would love to hang it on this lonely white wall that is about 4 feet wide (if that) and is located next to my breakfast bar. Great work Elise. I love your projects and also love that you keep it “real”. I do a lot of DIY and they are never perfect or done correctly, I just make it work. Keep up the great work.
LikeLike
ohh my, so lovely! It would look great in my bedroom. Thank you!
LikeLike
Is it too late to enter??? My living room is being redone as we speak, and so this would be PERFECT on my newly painted white walls. Well done!!
LikeLike
On my wall where my cat can look at it!!
LikeLike