Category Archives: Loom & looms & small loom weaving

March 21, 2012 · 8:36 pm

How to weave tiny fish on the Martha Stewart loom

I needed to make a long narrow piece to fill a gap in a woven piece that I am working on.

I thought…. why weave a rectangle, when I could weave a whole string of little fishies!

A few years ago, I figured out how to weave Cluny knots or Clunies, which are little woven circles or ovals, on the potholder loom.

While I was doing that, I thought that I could probably figure out a way of weaving fishies instead of circles. This thought has been lingering on hold in the back of my mind for years, and so, today, I decided to go for it.

I also decided that the Martha Stewart loom would work even better than the potholder loom, because you can just put in whatever pegs you want, wherever you want them. Brilliant!

So, I wove and un-wove and wove and un-wove and wove wove wove wove and came up with some pretty darned cute little Swishy Fishies!

They are about the size of a penny. You can weave one little Swishy Fish, or a whole line of them.

The fish can either be used individually (earrings, perhaps?) or can be woven as a continuous strand to make trim for wall hangings, towels, pillows, bags, hats, vests, coats, mitts, totebags, cards, journals, scrapbook pages or whatever your heart desires!

Here’s how to set up your Martha Stewart loom:

Here’s the video:

What do you need to weave Swishy Fish?

1] A Martha Stewart loom

2] Craft needle and a finer darning needle

3] Warp: A ball of smooth yarn that is medium weight

4] Weft: Each Swishy Fish takes at least a yard of yarn

5] Beads for eyes, and needle and thread to sew them on.

Here are some diagrams to hopefully explain things even more….

Here’s the warping path:

On a sad note: 😦 This video is dedicated to a very sweet little fish who lived in my daughter and son-in-law’s fish tank for 5 years, ‘Won Ton’ was a friendly little goldfish who was always interested in what was going on outside the tank! (I wove the little white fish in memory of Won Ton for my daughter.)

Sadly, Won Ton went to swim over the rainbow bridge while I was making this video, which struck me as a sad bit of synchronicity.

Swim on, little Won Ton!!!!

And, may weaving these little fish bring delight to weavers where ever they may be!

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Tagged as embellishment, how to weave fish shape trim, Martha Stewart loom, small loom weaving, textiles, video tutorial; how to weave a Swishy Fish, woven fish, woven trim

March 13, 2012 · 5:06 pm

Woven Bunny free pattern

I designed a bunny for Lion Brand, using the Martha Stewart loom (which I love) 😀

and, the bunny pattern is now available, freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee on the Lion Brand website.

Here’s the link: Bunny pattern

Happy weaving! and happy bunny fun! 😀

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Tagged as bunny pattern, crone, findlay, free pattern, hand woven bunny toy, happy bunny, how to weave a bunny, Lion Brand, loom, martha stewart, Martha Stewart Looms, woven toy

March 9, 2012 · 11:51 am

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.

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:

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.

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

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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Tagged as 'Woven Women' by Noreen Crone-Findlay, crone, dreaming, dreams, etsy, felting needles, fiber art, fibre art, findlay, one of a kind wall hanging, peg loom, tapestries, tapestry, textiles, the feminine divine, woven images of women

February 28, 2012 · 12:58 pm

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)

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)

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

Here’s a closer look:

And here’s the video:

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Tagged as Accessories, band weaving, dress, dressmaking, fabric link, fiber art, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven fabric, how to shape handwoven fabric by pulling warp strands, inkle weaving, narrow bands, prayer link, sewing, video tutorial, warp, warp strands, weaves, weaving technique, youtube

February 21, 2012 · 11:38 am

A tiny pair of woven pants for Rosie Recycle doll

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

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:

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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Tagged as 2 inch loom, Dewberrry Ridge looms, making doll clothes, miniature dolls, pants for dolls, Rosie Recycle dolls, Weave it loom, weaving doll clothes

February 7, 2012 · 5:41 pm

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

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.

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

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.

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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Tagged as doll pattern, doll pdf, hand woven dolls, handmade dolls, stick weaving, weaving sticks, woven dolls

February 7, 2012 · 4:45 pm

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.

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

They are about 8 or 9 inches tall.

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!

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.

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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January 26, 2012 · 4:32 pm

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!”

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.

I used a table fork to beat the weft strands:

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

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

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

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:

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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Tagged as how to weave a tapestry on the potholder loom, how to weave small tapestries, how to weave tapestry, Noreen Crone-Findlay, potholder loom weaving, small loom, tapestry

January 19, 2012 · 3:34 pm

etsy love

I love etsy.

Oh the goodies you can find there! Oh my!

Look what just arrived in my mailbox:

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.

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!