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! π e
See more MAKE&GIVE30 projects here and more yarn projects here!
enJOY it 
375 responses to “PROJECT 4/30 : GIANT WEAVING”
I’d hang it in my living room, right above my couch, which has been empty wall space ever since we moved in almost three years ago, and is just begging for a big cool statement piece like this!!
LikeLike
Dear Elise, You continue to amaze & inspire me ! I would hang this in my new big & bright studio space in my brand new house here in lovely Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
LikeLike
This is SO COOL, Elise! Woven art in general isn’t my thing but I really love your projects and the enthusiasm and pride that goes into them.
Also, I didn’t see female parts at all until it was mentioned…I was thinking your freehand ovals looked more like the inside of tropical-y fruit (like pomegranate)…or like slices of agate…and yes, I’m fully aware I’m probably alone in thinking that. HA!
LikeLike
I would hang this in my living room, right above my fireplace! That space needs something cozy-looking and this weaving would be perfect! It’s so beautiful! Thanks for the chance to win! π
LikeLike
So beautiful! I’m inspired yet again by you! I would love to hang this in my living room. It would be the perfect piece of art to complete the space.
LikeLike
what a wonderful project! I’d love to hang this up in our foyer.
LikeLike
Love this project! Would love to have it hanging in my big empty hallway! Thanks!
LikeLike
We are moving in 2 weeks and in the new house I get my own studio space! Yay! So, if I win (which I really, really hope I do!) I would hang it there. The weaving is really beautiful–well done!
LikeLike
What a cool project!!! I think I would hang this in my studio, I have been looking for something that isn’t framed to hang on the wall. Thank you for the chance to win. Keep up the good work.
LikeLike
I this would look fantastic behind the desk in my home office, especially during teleconference meetings!
LikeLike
Can’t believe you’re giving this away! It is amazing! I have an empty wall in my dining room that would display this perfectly! It even would compliment the decor already in there π Thanks so much!
LikeLike
Love this project! I would hang it in our living room above the couch.
Thanks for the giveaway!
LikeLike
This is amazing! I would hang it in our dining area. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to win an internet giveaway more π
LikeLike
It’s great!! I would hang it in my brand new studio!
LikeLike
I love this so much! I would be honored to give this hanging a lovely home
LikeLike
We just moved and I would hang it in our new nursery! I love that my soon to be born baby would be surrounded by organic handmade goodness.
LikeLike
Hi – wow wow wow I LOVE it ! I am so ready to try weaving in a real way like this !!!! I need to just jump into it right ?? Have done mini weaves on embroidery hoops….would hang this at the end of our hall for all to see ! jane
LikeLike
Beautiful and inspiring! I’d hang it above the couch in my tiny apartment π
LikeLike
I absolutely love this, and honestly, I really love that it ended up looking a bit like female parts.
I would hang it either in front of or at the head of my bed. π
LikeLike
This is totally the same sort of vibe I’m going for in my bedroom. I would love to hang it in there.
LikeLike
I’d hang it in my living room! I love it…
LikeLike
Beautiful! I’d hang it in my living room…..the colors are perfect!
LikeLike
That would absolutely go in my bedroom. It’s gorgeous!
LikeLike
Loving your make and give 30! I’d enjoy hanging this on the main wall in the living room!
LikeLike
This turned out so effin’ cool! Totally inspiring me to try my own…some day. In the meantime, I’d love to hang this right over our bed. We are renting, so we haven’t been driven enough to actually decorate the bedroom just yet. Great work!!
LikeLike
This is beautiful and I can “see” it hanging all around my house. It would probably get a try out in every room and maybe even a longer stay in some places–until–eventually, it settled into a perfectly permanent place where I would see it everyday. Your talent and generosity is going to make someone very happy.
LikeLike
This weaving is so gorgeous Elise!! I would love to hang it in my living room. I have the perfect wall space for it where I can see it every day.
LikeLike
I’m just crossing my fingers for you that you kept enough of the sock yarn to make your second sock!!
LikeLike
we just moved into our new house, and i’m looking for a giant piece above my mid-century modern couch. that’s where i’d put it! this is beautiful. and impressive.
LikeLike
Oh, I would love to hang this in my dining room!
LikeLike
Wow, this looks gorgeous. I would hang it in my office as that room is in serious need of something organic… We moved in a year ago and it is the only room that still feels kind of sterile.
LikeLike
I would love to hang this in my office. It needs something a little warmer!
LikeLike
I absolutely love this. I’d hang it in our living room on the empty side wall.
LikeLike
I love it!! I think it looks like Mars π I have a pillar in my living room that this would look amazing on!!
LikeLike
Honestly there are many options. My walls are so bare that Elise would get all twitchy in my house π
LikeLike
I have big empty wall in the living room where it’d look great – or our bedroom
LikeLike
This is so beautiful! I would hang this in my hallway so I could see it all the time!
LikeLike
Hi ! This is such an awesome project. I love how organic and soothing it looks. It’s so refreshing to see weaving pieces that go beyond the current trends and hype. I’d probably hang it above my bed; I live in a tiny studio apartment (I’m a student in Paris !) and it’s the biggest white wall of the space π
Cheers!
LikeLike
This weaving is GORGEOUS and I love the huge size of it! I love textured wall pieces, and I’d proudly display this in my main living space. π I’ve been following the process on instagram and the end result is beautiful.
Sarah M
LikeLike
Beautiful! I’d love to hang the weaving in my room where I’m trying to cultivate a bohemian/travel aesthetic (as complements to lots of white textiles and wood accents.) Might have to try to make this myself if I don’t win π
LikeLike
I’d hang it in my currently empty bed room — just moved in to a new place and gave it a brand new coat of white paint (which went over a ghastly off-salmon pink). Nothing’s on the walls yet, this weaving is gorgeous and would look amazing!
I’ve been drooling along, watching the progress on instagram. So cool, well done!
LikeLike
Love this so much! It would definitely go above my bed π
LikeLike
In our front hall. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the space and this would be perfect. Or maybe in our little boy’s nursery… Get him comfortable with your “topic” early? π
LikeLike
Beautiful work! We are about to move back to the States and start with a clean slate. At this point I think it would be great to hang over a console table or desk. That said, I am someone that changes my mind constantly and just know I would have to feel the space to know for sure where it would be. But I would use it as an anchor piece for sure (and it has my favorite colors as well!)
LikeLike
I’d hand it in my bedroom. I have an awkwardly shaped wall space that this would go perfectly over!
LikeLike
Hey Elise,
This has to be one of my favorite projects you’ve tackled so far. I love how it turned out, and the wavey-ness too! It looks great! With that said, I think given the size of the weaving it would look great over my husband and I’s bed. I have been looking for something big and bulky to go over our headboardless bed, and now I think a weaving is just the ticket!
Keep up the great and inspiring work! I love reading your blog over my morning cup of coffee.
Best,
Bridgi
LikeLike
Gorgeous! Always exciting to see you tackle big projects – this time in a very literal way! I have an empty wall above my bed where I’d love to hang this.
LikeLike
This looks so great! About how many hours did it take you from start to finish? I think I’m going to work on one with my daughter! (ps – I’d hang it in the front entry of the house – goes perfectly with our maroon/red concrete floors). π
LikeLike
I would love to hang this in on the wall above our bed. It is beautiful. Amazing work, Elise!
LikeLike
Oh my ! This is so beautiful ! Just LOVE it ! The female part made me laugh out loud ! If I’d win it, I would definitely hang it in our living room (just nearby a painted piece of art that is red, purple and gold => perfect color combo with your weaving).
Thanks you so much for the chance to win this “chef d’Εuvre” !
LikeLike