Category Archives: Loom & looms & small loom weaving

Peg loom tapestry Dreaming the Well

I am working on a series of woven piece, called, ‘Woven Women’.

Here is my most recent Woven Woman,  ‘Dreaming the Well’.

I wove her on a peg loom.

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Here she is, with the weaving complete, still on the pegs of the loom.

And, then, I got out my felting needles and spent many, many, many hours, felting the details onto her:

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And here are some closer looks.

She’s 27 inches tall by 17 inches wide (69 cm by 43 cm).

Unfortunately, my camera messes with the colors and makes the edges harsher… the felting does soften things up very nicely.

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copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The images are based on meditations, dreams and just whatever wanted to be woven at that moment.

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copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I keep promising to show more of the Woven Women pieces, so I will post more pics of them throughout the next few days, so stay tuned!

Mustn’t leave without giving credit to my daughter in law, for many of the handspun yarns in ‘Dreaming the Well’: LINK

And, as always…. go gently and with joy! 😀

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Video tutorial-How to shape fabric by pulling the warp strands

Yesterday, I posted a blog entry about a shrug that I sewed from my handwoven fabric. (LINK)

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And, then, was asked- ‘Yes, but what does it mean when you say: Pull warp strands?’

So, I have made a video tutorial, showing how to pull warp strands to shape ruffles, like the lower edge of the shrug,

or the upper edge of the ‘Woven Woman: Butterfly Transformation” LINK (to see the full piece)

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Or, you can pull and ease the warp strands into a more graduated curve, like the yoke of this tunic:

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Here’s a closer look:

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And here’s the video:

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Filed under inkle, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

A tiny pair of woven pants for Rosie Recycle doll

Yesterday, a lady who had just bought my Rosie Recycle doll book (link)

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asked me a very good question. (I love good questions!) 🙂

She said that she always wears pants to work, and would like to be able to make pants for her Rosie Recycle doll, too, and how could she do that?

Using regular fabric to sew them would be a real pain, so how to do this?

Like I said: Great question!

Here’s one answer: Weave a tiny pair of pants on a 2 inch square loom.

I used a vintage Weave It loom to weave two 2 inch squares with embroidery floss:

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Stitch the 2 squares together for 1 inch to make the first body seam:

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Fold one of the squares over, and stitch the leg seam.

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Fold the other square over and stitch the second leg and the remaining body seam. Weave in the ends.

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Thread a strand of embroidery floss through the waistband, pull up to gather and tie a bow.

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And, there you have it! A pair of pants for Rosie Recycle.

Actually, they are a touch short, so for the next pair, I would either make her legs a little shorter, or crochet cuffs onto the pants.

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Vintage Weave It looms can be hard to come by (they are really pricey on eBay), but luckily, there are loom makers who are building lovely little 2 inch square looms (and other sizes, too). The one in this pic came from Dewberry Ridge looms

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I love it when people ask questions….. 😀   (Well, not ALL questions, but you know what I mean!) 😀

 

 

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Delightful dolls woven with 4 weaving sticks

Stick weaving looms are probably the easiest loom on earth to work with.

They are just little dowels with points on one end and holes in the other.
BUT this does NOT limit the incredible creative possibilities that they have!

See my Stick Weaving page on my website to order this pattern: LINK

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I have designed 13 enchanting little dolls (they are about 5 inches tall) to weave with only 4 of the weaving sticks. They are adorable!
In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to carve the neatest faces from avocado pits (really!) in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to make Cornstarch clay and carve simple but effective faces with it.

Avocado faces end up looking like carved wood, and both they, and the cornstarch clay faces are remarkably sturdy and durable.

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There are also how to photos for faces made in unusual ways: using buttons, paper, wood veneer, found objects, stones and twig slices.

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There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and as always, with Noreen’s patterns, the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

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These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to use fabric strips, handspun paper, jute, and even sewing machine thread to weave these dolls.
They are delightful!!!!
This pattern is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the dolls woven with the 6 stick technique.

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Wonderful woven dolls with 6 weaving sticks

I have fallen in love with weaving sticks (aka stick weaving looms), and am just releasing two new patterns for wonderful woven dolls that are made with weaving sticks. You can order them from my website: LINK

There are 2 NEW  patterns. They are each quite different from each other.

The pattern that I am featuring in this post  is for weaving dolls with 6 weaving sticks.

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I have designed 7 marvelous dolls to weave with all 6 of the weaving sticks.

They are about 8 or 9 inches tall.

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In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to weave the circular skirts worn by some of the dolls in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to use the weaving sticks as a flower loom!

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And there are photo instructions on how to make wire glasses.
There are also how to photos for faces that are woven and for dolls that have faces made from other things: paper, wood, walnut shells and twig slices.
There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and  the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to weave with yarn, fabric strips and roving to weave these dolls, and how to make each doll unique with nifty hair style techniques.

In January, I released my first pattern in my new series of weaving stick patterns, the Mermaid: Link

It’s a treat to finally have finished these new patterns- Happy Weaving! 😀

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Can you weave tapestry on potholder loom? why, yes!

One of my Ravelry buddies just shared photos of a lovely little tapestry loom that he’s built.

He then commented that Noreen would probably say that you can weave tapestries on her beloved potholder looms.

And, of course, I chirrupped up: “Funny you should mention that, but Y E S you can! ”

Last year, after the devastation of the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, I was very upset, and sat down with my sketchbook.

I did a little drawing that made me sit up and say: “I could weave that!”

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So, I whipped out my Harrisville potholder loom (Link to Harrisville) and cut a square of cardboard to fit inside it.

I made a cartoon of the basic elements of the drawing: A circle inside a square, and taped it to the cardboard.

I decided to use all Harrisville yarns and fibers in this piece, so I warped up with warp yarn from Harrisville.

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I used a table fork to beat the weft strands:

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copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

When I was finished, I wove an inkle border on my Schacht Inkle loom

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I saw how the circle could become a face, so I warped up, again, and wove this:

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And, this face made me think of the sun, so of course, I had to weave a companion,

‘Song to the Moon’: woven with yarn from my stash

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Normally, I dislike fringes, but this piece demanded them, so I faithfully added them.

I was intrigued by weaving the expressive little faces (remember, the potholder loom yields a woven piece that is 6 inches square)

so…. with handspun yarn and stash yarn, I wove this little tapestry:

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I have been meaning to block these little tapestries, but have been busy with so many other things that I haven’t gotten around to it.

But, when Misha joked about me weaving tapestries on the potholder loom, I thought…

“Well, they’re not blocked, but so what! I’ll post a note about them anyhow!”

So, when my ‘to do’ list calms down a little, I will, um…. I might get them blocked!

Until then, keep on weaving! I am….  😀

Please remember that this post is copyright protected, so please don’t copy the images etc! Thanks so much~!

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, potholder loom, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

etsy love

I love etsy.

Oh the goodies you can find there! Oh my!

Look what just arrived in my mailbox:

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Isn’t this a gorgeous shawl pin? I bought it in  Kate Heck’s etsy shop. LINK

Kate and I found out about each other’s work when we were chatting about looms and weaving, courtesy of one of the online weaving groups we both belong to.

Ah, the wonders of the internet! We looked at each other’s links, and ahem, pretty quickly, some shopping ensued! LOL!

She made it from Cocobolo wood, which I love.

It’s beautifully made and the craftsmanship is just superb.

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Here it is on my pink stole that I made for my Lily Speed-O-Weave loom book: LINK  Poifeck!

By the way, I have an etsy shop, too….  Link

etsy is amazing and wonderful…. and sooooooooo much fun, especially when you find gorgeous handmade treasures that you just would not find anywhere else!

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Free pattern for a woven elephant

The pattern has gone live for the
Woven Elephant that I designed for Lion Brand on the Martha Stewart loom
 HERE’S THE LINK TO IT

She’s a cutie!

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copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I love elephants…..

happy weaving! 😀

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

More little looms from recycled stuff part 2

If you are teaching a child to weave, or just want an impromptu, no cost small loom for sampling yarns and colorways,  this little loom is very handy.

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The project on the foam food tray loom is a bookmark, but you can weave amulet bags,  rug mugs, small dolls and toys,  doll house rugs or squares that you stitch together to make larger projects.

It’s great for traveling, as it’s light, and if you use a plastic darning needle for weaving, it’s fine to take through airport security.

Yesterday, I posted part one of the recycled and upcycled looms: Here’s the link:  PART ONE

I think that one of the most accessible looms for beginning weavers is the  weaving stick loom.

I am doing a lot of designing for it – here’s my post about the mermaid to weave on the stick weaving loom: LINK

Happy Weaving!!!!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Little looms from recycled things for teaching weaving or sampling etc part 1

Yesterday, I posted about teaching children to weave Link

One of the pleasures of weaving is that it can be done with tremendously complex machines, but, can also be done with small bits of this and that from around the house.

Today and tomorrow, I am going to be posting little how to’s on making recycled and upcycled looms that are great for teaching kids how to weave,  or just for noodling about with sampling yarns and weaving little bags, or hacky sacks or bookmarks….

So, here’s today’s installment:

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If you make each grid square 1/4 inch, then the loom is  business card size, which is a charming size to work with, and to pop into a pocket or bag.

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If you weave 2 tiny rectangles on the loom, and stitch them together, then add a beaded fringe, it makes a very pleasing little amulet bag.

I think that one of the most accessible looms for beginning weavers is the  weaving stick loom.

I am doing a lot of designing for it – here’s my post about the mermaid to weave on the stick weaving loom: LINK

Happy weaving!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven