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 would hang right next to my Choose painting I bought 🙂
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I just signed a new lease today and this would be SO perfect for the entry way into my living room. I love it’s size and how organic the weaving looks. such a lovely project. well done 🙂
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We are going to move to a new flat pretty soon, and this would be the perfect statement piece for our new livingroom. Would love to win!
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I love the colors! I love how it hangs! I love the shapes! I would hang this in my Pre-K classroom! My forty 4-5 year olds (I have a morning and an afternoon class) would love on this daily and it would be a perfect introduction to weaving for them! Thanks for the chance!
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Okay, now I really need to get to some weaving, but in the mean time I would LOVE to have your piece hanging in my room for inspiration.
= )
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My spare room would love this
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My office for constant inspiration!
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So great! I have a blank space to the left of my tv that would LOVE this piece!
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Love it! I would hang this in our guest room for all our friends and family to enjoy as well.
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I love the colors! I would hang this right above my bed.
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I would love to hang it in my kitchen – I am so keen to try weaving for myself, too.
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Me me me! Definitely hanging it up in my room, hopefully next to my future weaving projects. 🙂
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I’ve loved this weaving ever since you first posted the beginnings of it on Instagram. I would hang it above my office/craft/sewing desk!
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Looks awesome…especially if it was on the BIG empty space above our couch in the living room. 😉
Thanks.
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Lovely, lovely. If this baby were mine, I’d hang it in our bedroom. It would go perfectly. I’m also going to begin making one of my own thanks to you!
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I just read that I shouldn’t be afraid to hang BIG art in my tiny space. I think this would be the perfect piece to start with and there is only one spot in my whole place big enough to fit it!
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That weaving is so pretty! It would look great hanging on the wall right above my stairs! Thanks for the opportunity to win an Elise original.
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I would hang it up I n one of my two craft rooms, I have two rooms because my son and daughter both got married in the last ten months. While I am happy and excited to have my children both happily married and my family now a little bigger. I am still learning the day to day without my children around…it’s a new stage in my life ! I would ENJOY having your giant cheerful weaving up on one of my walls 🙂
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I dont have a ton of space in my RV but I would manage to find space for that. It’s gorgeous. you outdid yourself ❤
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Above my bed!
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Bravo! You’ve inspired me to try this. Love it and I would hang it in my addition! 🙂
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Stunning work! My long-term boyfriend is moving in TOMORROW, and this piece would be a really cool way to start the Us part of Us. On the well-lit hallway wall it goes!
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I’m moving to a new apartment in a few months and would love to have this to hang on the wall to make the place feel more homey! I’m 13 hours from my real home so any little bit helps 🙂 I also love the colors!
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I thought that too! Or maybe even a woodgrain…
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in my living room!
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SO good. I would hang it above my bed. for sure!
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your step-by-step tutorials are so soothing to read! i am soon moving to a new city to begin graduate school. i would hang this in the main living space of my student apartment to remind myself to take one step at a time to make something new and beautiful. 😉
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I have an open staircase to the basement family room. It would look awesome there. 🙂
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This is a total wow project – congrats! I would love to hang this in the entry-way of my apartment – it would be such a statement piece, hand-crafted and organic, to set off the rest of my place. Thanks for always sharing awesome content.
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I will hang it in my entryway. 😉
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I would love to get this for my best friend. She introduced me to this blog and I know she would love it so much!
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The end result is great! We have a loft so it could go just about anywhere!
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The one blank wall in our living room…and then stare at it all day. Also I’m hooked on weaving thanks to you! And knitting! Makers unite!
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Elise, This is amazing! You are incredibly inspirational – ever since I saw you speak at WDS, I’ve been finding my inner crafter. It’s been incredibly freeing. I would hang this in my den, since it’s where I spend most of my craft time!
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Our house used to be painted all white- white trim, white carpet,white doors. Now that we have paints colors I ready to bring the white back in. This weaving would be perfect.
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I’d hang this in my bathroom!
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Loving the organic natural vibe, the color scheme, etc. I am about to get a place of my own this spring and while I don’t know what the space will look like I would love to hang this up somewhere in it! Thanks for the chance to win! 🙂
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Beautiful! I’d hang it in our home office where it would definitely brighten the space!
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Hey Lady,
I’d hang it in my office- above my laptop, as a reminder that sometimes good enough is beautiful.
On the border in VT-
Erin
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definitely my bedroom!
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We live in this house that has one of those decorative niches right when you open the front door complete with a light to accent whatever you place there. It is empty 11 months of the year. It’s the perfect spot for it to hang.
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This is so awesome – I would hang it either in our family room which you see right when you come in or our rec room which is home to our hobby spaces, crafting, computers, movie watching, lego building, train playing multi purpose room we spend a lot of time in as well.
Thanks for the chance to win!
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Oh my goodness. It is wonderful! I can’t believe you’re giving it away 😉 It would definitely go in my so far artless bedroom. It would look so stunning. Thanks!
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Definitely in my sewing are in the living room! Nicely done, I’m totally inspired!
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We are in the process of buying a house! I would hang this in the new entry way! I need new home decor! Love this!
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I love this and would love to win this weaving! I think I would hang this above my bed!
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I would put this on our feature wall in our living room. It’s empty right now waiting for me to put something lovely on it! I absolutely love how organic this weaving is!
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I too am trying to “finish” our new house. I think this would look great on the living room wall and complement the dark red rug over cream carpet we already have.
Great giveaway.
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i would love to hang this in our family room – the colours would work brilliantly and it would really add to the warmth of the room 🙂
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This weaving would look fabulous hanging above my piano. It’s in a small sitting area that’s part of the passage from front door to living room. Perfect!
Thanks for the give away – that’s a lot of time invested!
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