Weaving some magic

There have been a few tutorials flying around the web recently about how to create a loom and weave on it. These are the two I followed most, here and here.

New crafts are fun I thought, so I headed over to our lovely next door neighbour who works wonders with wood and asked for an off cut.

I decided just to use a solid piece of wood rather than a frame and found this worked just fine. I then set about hammering nails into the top and trying not to hit my fingers. I placed my nails roughly half an inch apart along the top and the bottom. They aren't that straight but I'm afraid at this stage I was more concerned with getting the things in the wood!

I used string to weave around the nails and then used wool to weave in and out. The string was good in that it didn't give too much and pull the edges in but I didn't like the texture. I am creating another design at the moment where I used wool all over and I prefer this.

As said in so many of the tutorials, it is really easy to pull too hard at the end of each row which will create an hour glass shape. I found the easiest way to weave was to choose my length of wool and then thread it onto a large darning needle.

I didn't really follow any pattern or design when I was weaving. I chose my colours and worked with what felt right, trying different things along the way. I experimented with two colours and really liked how that turned out. It is very easy to experiment and equally easy to undo it when it all goes wrong!

This is such a tactile craft and totally mesmerising. It is also very addictive.

I don't quite know what I am going to do with these small pieces of material. There are ideas running around my head for some sort of blanket or maybe a patchwork? Who knows. For now it is fun and simple to sit and pull yarn over and under.

Have you tried weaving?

Tomorrow I am sitting down for a chat and a cup of tea again. Do pop on over tomorrow, say hello and tell me what is happening with you. See you then!