By Benjamin Krudwig
I love weaving on a little loom. The small scale and portability allows me to do experimental weaving on the go. One concept that I had worked on in the past but hadn’t yet perfected was warp-wrapping, and with Earth Day and Arbor Day occurring in the same week, I couldn’t resist using this technique to make a tree.
I pulled out my 8" Easel Weaver and warped for a 6" wide project. You could use the Lilli Loom or School Loom to make a similar weaving.
I then chose weft in a limited color palette: blue for the sky, a green for the grass and leaves, and a dark brown for the bark/branches.
Taking the weeping willow as my inspiration, because it is one of my favorite trees, I drew a basic cartoon to map out my piece. This cartoon was placed behind my warp threads. I then set to work on weaving. I wove a few rows of green grass, then placed a row of rya knots. I repeated this process to form the little “hill.”
For the tree, I gathered 10 warp threads together, tied a surgeon’s knot around them using the dark brown, and then cinched them tight. Then I started wrapping my yarn around that bundle. After an inch and a half, I split the bundle into 6 threads and 4, and wrapped each of those groups for a while, and continued splitting the threads.
Weaving was finished, so I removed the work from the loom. With a crochet hook and green yarn, I used chain stitch and slip stitch to create the leaves of the weeping willow. I positioned them in such a manner that the branches could be seen behind the leaves.
I then trimmed the “grass,” wove in all my ends, finished the piece with a wash in warm water, and hung it up to dry.
I am very happy with how this project turned out, and can’t wait to make more!
What kind of tree will you weave? Share it with us on Instagram with the hashtag #schachtspindle.