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 love this! Definitely makes me want to make my own. I’d hang this one in my living room — it would fit in perfectly with the wall of masks my boyfriend and I have been collecting on our travels!
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Hi! Looooovvee this! It would go in my bedroom for sure!
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Oh ya gotta love Instagram and its comments. Lady parts… That’s funny! I like it! And I so love this weaving! I’d hang it right inside my front door… There’s the perfect niche for it. Looks great Elise!
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I’ve been looking forward to seeing this finished. Great Job!
If I was a lucky winner, I’d hang it in my hallway against the olive green paint 🙂
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I’d hang this above my bed in my new townhouse! It’s beautiful, Elise!!
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This is beautiful? I love your blog and your projects. If I won, I would actually send it to my sister who lives in AZ. This is something she would LOVE and she would hang it in her living room and enjoy it everyday.
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This is really gorgeous – love the colors, design, everything! I definitely want to try making one….uh, smaller though for my first attempt!
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I love everything about this piece – color, design, everything. Definitely going to try making one.
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This is GORGEOUS, and I love the way that it hangs. I would hang it in my bedroom where I have a lot of white space to fill.
Thanks for your always-inspiring content 🙂
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I would hang this in my apartment bedroom! So so beautiful.
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I would love to hang this above my Vivi’s bed. The pinks and oranges are dreamy. 🙂
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Oh wow! This is beautiful! And it’s too good to be true that your giving it away. Thank you for that! If I’d win I’d hang it in my living room right above my sofa. I’ve been meaning to find something new for this particular space and this would just be perfect.
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I would love to put this above our bed in the master bedroom. It’s a HUGE wall and I’ve never found anything big enough to put there (that isn’t so heavy I’m afraid it would maim me in my sleep). This would be perfect!
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Oh this is gorgeous!!! I’ve been seeing glimpses through your instagram and loved it from the start, but it looks so amazing all finished!!! I did not even see the lady parts until now…..
I would hang this in our guest bedroom / our brother-in-law’s room to help us give the room some warmth 🙂
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Love this! I would hang it right in our hallway. It would be the perfect addition 🙂
Thanks for the chance to win!
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Love this!! I would hang it in my living room which is all wood. Thanks so much for the chance to win!!
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This would perfectly fill and perfectly complement the tiny wall space to the right of the bedroom door from the living room. I love this project and just picked up a copper pipe to try something similar with t-shirt yarn!
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We are currently home shopping so Most of my tiny apartment is boxed up. In the future house I think this would be perfect in the guest bedroom over the bed, or in my home office. It is light and bright and I simply love the colors! This project is my favorite so far!
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Oohhh, so pretty. That would go in my bedroom – unless my daughter steals it from me for her room. Yeah, it would end up in my daughter’s room.
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This is gorgeous! I’d love to hang it on the blank wall in my bedroom that I haven’t figured out what to do with yet.
P.S. I didn’t see the “female parts” until you mentioned it! Haha
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WOW what an amazing piece! Whomever wins this is going to be the luckiest! (crossing my fingers that it’s me, of course. 🙂 I would immediately put this over our couch in our living room – that’s currently a blank wall and this would really pull the room together! Thanks for the opportunity, Elise!
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I’d love to have this in the living room! It perfectly compliments the colors in my couch. Fabulous work Elise!
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I’d probably hang this in my bedroom, over the bed or across from it.. it has a warmth to it that I think would be lovely to have around!
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I would hang this weaving on my enclosed porch during the warmer months 🙂
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Elise,
This is beyond beautiful. I would hang it in my bedroom (I have white and blues and one red chair; this piece would be a nice bold touch).
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I would hang this in my dorm room at the Royal Military College.
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Love it! I kind of want to make one, but I’d rather win this one! I think it would probably go in our bedroom or maybe our nursery/office. So pretty!
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Really cool! I have this electric box in our bedroom that I think this, would cover it beautifully.. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I love this and think I will attempt a smaller one. You inspire me to just start and do a project, I get hung up with all the logistics. I would hang it in our living room.
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Gorgeous! We moved into our needs-way-more-work-than-anticipated house around a year ago and I just hung art in the living room. There is an adjacent wall in the dining room that has a very lovely print but I think something with texture would be even more perfect. This could be it! 🙂
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Great design and colors! I would hang this in my bedroom between two brass sconces that have been there since the 1920s when the house was built!
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I really had no idea that weaving could be so simple. Something about creating a loom always through me for a loop. Your piece [lady parts an all :)] turned out great! I would hang it in the space by my home workspace as continuous inspiration for my work!
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Such a beautiful piece!! I love it. I would hang it in our living room–we have a wall opposite our front door in our teeny apartment that needs some livening up. This would be beautiful there.
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This is so beautiful! I would hang this in our family room/entryway. It’s a perfect subject to talk about when others first come over.
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This would definitely go behind my bed, I love it!!
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I’d hang it above my bed! it’s beautiful!
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Love the look of it! If I did win it, I would hang it in my craft room for more inspiration to make things 🙂 I might have to make one myself even if I’m more of a paper crafter…
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I’d hang it on the wall right beside my bed. It would make my room brighter.
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Beautiful! I’d hang it in the bedroom, which my husband and I call “Rabbit Hill” after a Vermont B&B we went to on our very first anniversary together. We’ve tried to recreate the peace and comfort of that place in our home and this would be a perfect addition I think:)
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I would hang it in my guest room, and give my company something pretty to look at when laying in bed so maybe they forget I didn’t clean my house.
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it’s absolutely beautiful. i’d hang it in my living room // dining room at the end of my dining room table. the focal point, of course.
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I am FINALLY getting to live in my whole house instead of renting out the downstairs duplex. This will mean room to spread out and breathe but also lots of empty space. I’m planning on savoring that after our crammed clutter, but I do need a few key prices and this would be so perfect for my main living room with my red rug and couch and white walls and throws. Also, it looks beautiful, Elise. I think the wave is just good texture. 😉
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I have THE perfect place for this wall hanging: my stairwell. It would be something I would see a zillion times a day as I run up and down the stairs. AND it would warm up that spot. I love the organic texture and form of this piece, Elise. Thanks for giving us a chance at winning it!!
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I would hang this in my master bedroom. It rely is SO beautiful 🙂 Id love to have this talent… I learn when Im carrying around babies 😉
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i would hang it on my inspiration wall because i inspire to make one myself!!! it’s beautiful!
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Love this! I think I’d hang it in the stairwell that goes up to our living room and kitchen. That spot has been empty since I moved in a year and a half ago and I haven’t found anything I’d like to hang there yet.
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So pretty! I would hang this in my sunroom, perfect colors in there and a blank wall. Bonus, you’d only have to ship within SD’
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Such beautiful work! I’d hang it next to my bed or in my living room. The colors would work in either:)
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I’d hang this in our kids play area
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I’d love to hang this in the hallway. It’s awesome! And it’s my birthday today, so that would make a great birthday surprise! 😉
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