We have all seen the woven wall hangings that are in vogue on social media at the moment.
Most designs require the use of a loom, which is not a common household device for most of us.
We have listed the methods for making a wall hanging both with and without a loom, so there is no reason you can’t get stuck in.
These woven wall hangings add a colorful and fun vibe to any room in your house, and you will be able to say proudly that you made it.
We hope that this article helps you feel confident in your knowledge of weaving a wall hanging.
Loom
What will I need?
- A loom
- 3-inch, blunt needle
- Cotton yarn
- Scissors
- Stick to hang the woven design on
Method
The first step is to set up your loom. Use some yarn to create vertical strings on the loom known as the warp.
Make a loop with the yarn and attach it to one of the pegs at the bottom of the loom. Pull this strand of yarn up and around the corresponding peg at the top of the loom.
Pull down and around the next peg at the bottom. Continue weaving until you have achieved the correct width. Tie the yarn around the final peg.
We advise measuring the length of your hanging stick and adjusting the width of the warp threads accordingly. Your warp should be about 1½ inches smaller than the stick at either end.
To ensure your yarn tension is correct, press your hand gently across the warping. The yarn should spring back immediately once your hand is removed.
Get a new section of yarn and thread through the needle, tying to keep it securely on. Weave the yarn under the first warp string, and over the next. Repeat this process until you have made it all of the way across your loom. This is known as a tabby weave.
If your last stitch went under the last warp, weave over it to go back across the other way. Weave around 4-5 rows this way. Cut the end off the yarn and weave in the excess.
Now is the time to begin mixing up your yarn to make a more satisfying design. Take 2 pieces of thick yarn and fold in half. Lay the center of this yarn over your first 2 warp strings.
Push the right side down and up through the center. Repeat on the left side. Pull both ends up through the middle. Pull the edges of the knot towards the initial horizontal woven rows. This will anchor your yarn. Repeat all the way across your warp strings.
It should create a long row of knots with fringe hanging down. To see what this looks like, google Rya knot.
Add a few more layers of tabby weave before doing another line of Rya knots. You can alternate the color used to increase the contrast. Repeat as many times as you like to add fringe to the wall hanging.
Weave different textures, colors, and thicknesses of yarn above these fringe layers using the tabby weave technique. If you are using many different yarns, ensure you weave in the end before starting a new row.
Continue until you have got around 2-3 inches below the top of the loom. Gently slide the warp strings off of the top and bottom pegs. Tie off the strings with an overhand knot as close to the weaves as possible.
Snip off any loose strings from the bottom to ensure they don’t tangle in the fringe. Attach the stick to the top with some knotted yarn. Trim the fringe as desired and hang in your home!
No loom
What will I need?
- Yarn
- Dowel, for hanging
- Scissors
- Mesh canvas (similar to cross-stitch material but with larger squares)
Method
Trim your section of canvas to the right size for your dowel.
Loop some yarn several times around your fingers and cut this off. This should still be able to fit through one of the holes in the mesh canvas.
Pinch one end and thread it through one of the holes. Twist the end and place through the next hole.
Keep working in this way until the canvas is full. You can thread every row or every other row until the entire canvas has been covered.
Adapt the colors and yarn types as you work to create a fun design. Once complete, add some tassels to the bottom.
Cut 5 strings of yarn that are all the same length. Fold in half and press through one of the holes. Pull it back through the hole below and pull the ends through the loop to create a tassel.
Thread some yarn through the top of the mesh canvas. Tie this around the dowel to secure it. Attach a loop of string to the ends of the dowel to create a handle so that the yarn creation can be hung up.
Alternative
If you have an old canvas frame, you can use this to fashion a loom.
Loop the yarn over the bottom of your wooden frame and tie to secure. Pull the yarn up and over the top of the frame, then back down to create a figure of 8.
Continue this process until the entire canvas frame is full of warps.
Thread the dowel through your warp below the area the wool crosses. This should produce separate layers of top and bottom strings.
Tabby weave the yarn through your homemade loom as you would on a standard one. Use a fork to gently pull your rows of yarn down so that they fall tightly together.
To remove the wall hanging from the canvas frame, cut through 2 warp threads at a time. Knot these loose ends together. You can either weave these back into your wall hanging, or you can make use of them to attach your woven design to a dowel for hanging.