Category Archives: weaving & handwoven

February 28, 2012 · 12:30 pm

Woven Women-Butterfly Transformation

I am weaving a series that I am calling: ” Woven Women”. They are mixed media fiber art pieces that are a celebration of the Feminine Divine.

I showed the Butterfly Transformation Woven Woman piece in a how to video today, so I figured that I should show a few more photos of her.

So, here she is:

The Woven Women are all woven on many different small looms.

I wove Butterfly Transformation Woven Woman on inkle looms, tablets, a 4 harness Structo loom (8 inches wide), and a tapestry loom.

In the photo above, you can see how I gathered the upper curved section by pulling up warp strands to ruffle the weaving.

The lower curved sections were drawn up in more graduated curves to make a flatter arc and not a ruffle.

And, here’s the Butterfly at her heart and in her prayer…

Butterfly Transformation (Prayer) Woven Woman is my prayer for wellness for all the creatures of this beautiful planet, no matter how small or large.

All images are copyright protected and are owned by Noreen Crone-Findlay.

(I posted about one of the other Woven Women, and will post more photos of other Woven Women soon. LINK: Green Empress)

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Filed under weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as art doll, art pieces, fiber art, inkle weaving, one of a kind art doll, tablet weaving, tapestry weaving, weaving techniques, Woven Women multimedia tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

February 27, 2012 · 3:56 pm

Saori freeform woven shrug shaped by pulling warp strands

About a year or so ago, I wove up quite a few yards of very playful fabric.

I love the gentle Saori philosophy of creative freeform weaving that is an expression of creativity and an exploration of imagination.

My plan was to use this fuzzy Saori inspired fabric to make a soft, cozy wrappie jacketie sort of a thing to keep me warm in the studio when winter wails away outside.

BUT- I just couldn’t settle on how to use the fabric.

After much teeth gnashing, I thought: ‘Aha! I am going to make it into one of my most favorite things: A shrug!’

So, I laid out the fabric on my cutting table, cut it in half (it was about 3 yards long and only about 14 inches wide).

I sewed the 2 halves together lengthwise to make a wider, shorter piece of fabric.

Then, I cut a slight curve at the top for the neck, and curves under the arms.

And then, I folded the shrug in half, and pinned the living daylights out of it.

Looked at it and groaned…. I had pinned it together the wrong way.

Sigh….this is why I pin pin pin pin pin…. pins have saved my bacon more times than I care to remember!

Okay, unpinned, flipped, re-folded, and pin pin pin pin pin pin pin pin….. and stitched the under arm seams.

Then, I pulled up the selvedge strands of a long narrow piece (about 6 inches wide by about 3 yards long) to gather it into a gentle ruffle. This length of fabric was one that I had woven on my Cricket rigid heddle loom – originally for another vest (but I saw how perfect it would be for the ruffle, so I ‘re-purposed’ it for the shrug 😀 )

I stitched the ruffle around the outside edges of the shrug, forming a collar, front facing and lower back edging.

I sewed the short edges together at the lower back edge.

Here’s the back view:

The cuffs are 6 inch by approximately 18 inch lengths that I gathered by pulling up a couple of warp strands at the selvedge.

I stitched the short ends together, and stitched them onto the sleeves. Voila! Bell shape cuffs.

By pulling the warp strands up to gather the trim piece and the cuffs, I was able to avoid cutting the hand woven fabric any more than was necessary.

I stitched the shrug together on my machine, with a stretch straight stitch and zig zagged the edges of the seams to add a little more security.

And, there you have it- a VERY playful and cozy one of a kind, hand woven freeform shrug!

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Tagged as freeform weaving, hand woven shrug, Saori weaving, sewing with hand woven fabrics, weaving tips and techniques

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

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

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

Tagged as how to weave dolls, small loom weaving, stick weaving, weaving sticks, woven dolls

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

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 16, 2012 · 7:56 pm

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!

I love elephants…..

happy weaving! 😀

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

Tagged as free pattern, hand woven toy elephant, how to weave an elephant, Lion Brand, Martha Stewart loom, woven toy

January 14, 2012 · 12:24 pm

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.

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

Tagged as children weaving, easy weaving, free patterns, how to make a loom from recycled materials, how to teach a child to weave, how to teach weaving, kids crafts, kids weaving, no cost weaving, recycling, small looms, teaching kids to weave, weaving with children

January 13, 2012 · 10:13 pm

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:

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.

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!

3 Comments

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

Tagged as how to make a penny pouch, how to make an amulet bag, how to weave, loom pattern, recycled project, recycling, teaching children how to weave, upcycling

January 12, 2012 · 5:21 pm

When should a child start learning how to weave?

It’s never too early, (or too late!) for a child to start learning how to weave.

I bought my daughter her first loom when she was 6 weeks old. It was a little Spears loom #2 from England.

And, when my daughter and son were little, I had several looms set up for them to weave on, whenever they felt inspired to weave.

And, now, my grandson weaves with me:

He’s been sitting in my lap at the loom since he was born, and he really gets what weaving is all about.

He’s helping me weave his Grampa’s Saori shirt:

He’s two now, and he KNOWS about the shuttle!

He demanded the shuttle, and put it into the shed, and helped it across with his beautiful little chubby hands….

He LOVES the bobbin winder:

His grampa will certainly feel the love that has been woven into this shirt!

What do I recommend about teaching children to weave?

You don’t need a loom to start teaching a child to weave- cardboard looms and foam meat trays are great.

(I’ll post some patterns and instructions for them)

Child friendly looms are great- the Cricket is wonderful, as are a whole slew of small looms- ESPECIALLY,

the wonderful potholder loom!

BUT- I DO NOT recommend trying to teach a child to weave with loopers on the potholder loom.

Loops are actually rather challenging to work with.

Yarn is much more user friendly, and I have all kinds of YouTube videos to help you get children weaving.

When you click on my Potholder loom weaving page on my webiste: LINKIE

and scan down to the bottom of the page, you will find all kinds of YouTube links for my video tutorials.

I recommend the book: 1,2,3 Easy as Can Be Critters to weave on the potholder loom

and Weavagarumi for beginning weavers.

So, go ahead, and get those kidlets weaving!

It’ll be the gift that keeps on giving, as they will be embarking on a magnificent voyage of discovery that will last their lifetime!

Happy Weaving! 😀

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

Tagged as beginning weaver, children and weaving, children weaving, hand weaving, hand woven, how to teach a child to weave, how to teach kids weaving, how to weave, kids weaving

Category Archives: weaving & handwoven

Woven Women-Butterfly Transformation

Saori freeform woven shrug shaped by pulling warp strands

A tiny pair of woven pants for Rosie Recycle doll

Delightful dolls woven with 4 weaving sticks

Wonderful woven dolls with 6 weaving sticks

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

Free pattern for a woven elephant

More little looms from recycled stuff part 2

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

When should a child start learning how to weave?

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