The Gathered Home

A Blog about Finding and Making

DIY Miniature Woven Wall Hangings

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Who doesn’t like presents? Especially adorable handmade gifts? Making, receiving – I’m all about pretty little packages tied up with string!

Today I’ve joined forces with a group of 14 other bloggers to bring you an inspiring roundup of DIY gift ideas and tutorials – perfect timing for getting a jump start on handmade holiday gifts!

A Handmade Christmas Gift Series

(You know, if you aren’t a black belt procrastinator like I am… Personally, I feel like half of the so-called “holiday spirit” is generated by running around like a maniac four days before Christmas stitching and gluing and waiting for things to finish baking/drying/etc., but that might just be me.)

So here’s my contribution – a trio of adorable miniature woven wall hangings!

DIY Miniature Woven Wall Hangings

*Today’s post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission. You can read my full disclosure here. I hope you all know by now that I do only share things I really truly love!

I picked up three laser cut wooden frames (with a 4.5×6.5” opening) at Michael’s. I bought mine in a clearance sale, but you can find similar styles for $3.99 each. You will also need a package of 18-gauge 5/8” wire brads.

We’re going to turn this little wooden frame into a loom by using the nails as pegs! Use a ruler and a pen to mark the placement for your nails – I placed a dot every quarter of an inch along the top and bottom of the frame.

Next, lightly tap in your nails. Do your best to keep them perfectly vertical, and hammer gently to avoid bending the nails.

Once all your nails are in place, you are ready to string the warp (the vertical threads that form the foundation of the weaving)! I used thin cotton crochet thread.

Tie a knot on the first nail on top and then string the thread down around the corresponding nail on the bottom, then back up to the top, then back down, until you reach the end. Do your best to keep the thread taut as you are stringing the warp and then tie it off tightly on the last nail.

Now, you are ready to go crazy with some basic weaving techniques! Gather up your favorite colors of yarn and jump right in!

I’m guessing you probably understand the very first element of weaving – over one warp string, under the next, over, under, over under; when you reach the end, turn back around the other direction going over the thread you went under before, etc., etc. I used a large plastic needle threaded with my yarn.

Quite honestly, if I attempted to give you a detailed tutorial on basic hand weaving techniques, it wouldn’t be very helpful. I borrowed a book from my mom, who has had a love of weaving for many many years #beforeitwascool, and I basically just played around.

Some things worked, some things didn’t work. If I didn’t like the way something was looking, I pulled my yarn out and started that section over. In the spirit of a “sampler” – those lovely stitched pieces young women would work on to practice different stitches and show off their handiwork – I just tried different things and had fun.

I realize those are about the least helpful instructions ever, so I do want to point you to this very helpful tutorial by Honestly WTF full of close up action shots, tips and tricks, and some simple weaving techniques.

And you can actually pick up a whole lot by just studying a weaving, so here are some close-up shots of mine:

DIY Miniature Woven Wall Hangings

I went with three different color schemes – shades of blue/green, shades of red, and shades of cream, with some sparkly gold thrown in for good measure.

Use thick chunky yarn. Use thin silky yarn. Use fringy yarn. Skip over two warp strings. Use several strands at a time for a thick section. Pass the yarn through without pulling it taut and then use the needle to pull loops up for the fluffy looped effect you see above. Use rya knots for long shaggy sections.

DIY Miniature Woven Wall Hangings | www.thegatheredhome.com #weaving #wallhanging #tutorial

I was able to complete each wall hanging in an afternoon/evening. I love having something like this to keep my hands busy while watching Netflix – I have a bit of a hard time sitting still, even when I’m “relaxing”!

 What do you think? Would you try your own miniature weaving? It’s a nice starter-sized project, I promise!

Brynne

Here are the other AWESOME gift ideas you can find as part of this blog hop! I encourage you to visit, become inspired, and pin away!

A Handmade Christmas Gift Series

DIY Miniature Wall Hangings – The Gathered Home {you are here!}

Comments

  12. Julia Nyanyo says

    Now I've never got on well with those fancy eyelash type yarns for knitting or crochet but here that gold looks amazing! What a fun idea, and you could add ribbon, pom poms, lace, pretty much anything. What a great stash buster for all those bits of yarn that are not long enough for anything else too!

    • brynne@thegatheredhome.com says

      Fair warning – that gold stuff is like glitter: it gets EVERYWHERE! That being said, it does add such a fun bit of sparkle to the project I was willing to deal with it 🙂

      Yes – genius to add other elements like pom poms and lace! I hope this post sparks some awesome ideas for everyone!

  19. Trisha D says

    I can't believe my comment didn't go through (I blame it on my spotty internet connection)! Any who, these are absolutely adorable and those frames make such an elegant addition to any wall. Oh and pure genius adding the nails and making a loom!