Small looms with “pins” on all four sides have been around for a long time, but the pin arrangement that Donald R. Simmons designed and patented in the 1930s is especially inventive and fun to use. This design arranges the pins in groups of three, which makes it easier to set up the layers of warp threads. His Bakelite version was marketed as a Weave-It, and the concept was re-introduced in the 1990s by Licia Conforti, who called her looms Weavettes (at right, below). More recently, the Schacht Spindle Company offered a newly designed version called the Zoom Loom (at left, below). The most common size creates a 4" square, and once you’ve woven a few, you may find yourself going down a rabbit hole of discovery as you invent new ways to use these squares.
To make a square on a pin loom, you wrap yarn around the pins sequentially, back and forth, to create a layer of parallel threads. You then turn the loom and wrap the yarn around a different set of pins, making a second layer of threads that are perpendicular to the first. Pivot the loom again and wrap the yarn to create a third layer of threads on top, parallel to but offset from the bottom layer of threads. The final step is to needle-weave the yarn through the three layers using the traditional over/under weaving motion and securing all the threads in place. Once you get the rhythm of the pattern, it’s satisfying to see the squares develop.
Color-Play Pillow
Making squares on a small square pin loom is great fun — and very addictive. Each one is relatively quick to make, and I find myself thinking that I will start just one more before I move on to other tasks. So when I start making squares on my small loom, I can keep going until there are piles of them waiting to be assembled. Then the real work begins: figuring out what to make with them and how to put them together in a pleasing pattern. —DJ
You Will Need
Warp and weft: light worsted weight yarn, about 325 yards total of six colors
4" square pin loom
5"-long needle for weaving
Bent-tip tapestry needle to sew squares together
Scissors
Pillow form to fit finished pillow cover
Instructions
1.Choose six colors of yarn, then designate them as A through F. My color scheme is monochromatic but by no means dull! These six varieties of purple represent a range of values, which is the art world’s way of describing the lightness and darkness of a color. There are many ways you can choose your combination of colors. See more information about the color wheel. If you are insecure about making color choices, your combination can be based on a painting you like or any colored design that appeals to you. This piece uses almost equal amounts of the six colors, so have fun selecting your own hues!
2.According to the instructions for your pin loom, weave the number of squares indicated below for each color, for a total of 40 squares. When weaving, do not trim the tails of the yarn. Leave them to be used for sewing the squares together.
Color
Number of Squares
A
7
B
6
C
7
D
7
E
6
F
7
3.Join each long strip starting with the square in the bottom row and moving up the column.
4.With the beginning tail in the lower left corner and the longer ending tail in the upper right corner, lay out two squares to be attached. Match the bumps and dips on the edges as if they were puzzle pieces. Note that each bump consists of four threads.
5.Thread the long ending tail of the bottom square onto a tapestry needle. Bring the needle through the two crossed threads in the lower right corner of the top square. Pull the working thread to snug up the two squares, but do not pull so tight that the fabric puckers.
Assembly Chart
Use this chart as your pattern for laying out the squares. You will join squares together to make four long strips of 10 squares each. Then you will join the four strips.
6.At the first bump in the bottom square, insert the needle over the rightmost thread, under the two center (crossed) threads, and over the leftmost thread.
7.Alternating bumps on the top and bottom squares, continue the stitching pattern described in step 6 to finish connecting the two squares. End by bringing the needle through the top square’s left corner bump. Pull the yarn tight enough so the seam is even.
8.Repeat steps 5–7 until you have four strips of 10 squares each. Leave all of the tails hanging out for now.
9.Using the existing tails and the alternating bumps process described in steps 6 and 7, sew together the strips following the Assembly Chart. Weave in the tails as you go.
10.Steam-iron the assembled fabric to even out any puckers. You may want to use a damp press cloth to protect your yarn. After seaming and steaming, my piece measured 15" wide × 39" long.
11.Lay out the fabric with the wrong side facing up and fold up the bottom front end just shy of three squares from the bottom. The seam between the 3rd and 4th rows will be positioned just on the front side of the pillow.
12.The top edge of the folded-up bottom front will end four and one-fourth squares from the top of the fabric. Stitch together the sides with the hanging tails using the method described in steps 6 and 7.
Insert a hard, flat surface inside the pillow cover so that you can stitch together the sides without catching fabric that shouldn’t be in the seam.
13.Fold the top front down a little less than three squares. It will overlap the bottom panel by about one and a half squares. Stitch the side seams as described in steps 6 and 7, but do not sew the final overlapping square closed. Weave in any additional tails.
14.Carefully insert a pillow form into the pillow cover. It can be a bit difficult to get the form into the cover, but just be patient and wiggle it into place.
15.If desired, stitch the sides of the front flap to the side seams after inserting the pillow form.
Patchwork Pin-Loom Scarf
I often like to wear a scarf simply for decoration and not for warmth. A long, narrow piece like this can be a lovely adornment that offers a variety of looks: I can wear it draped around the back of my neck and hanging down loosely, or I can wrap it around my neck a couple of times. Whatever your preferred style is, piecing together pin-loom squares is a fun way to create a fanciful neckpiece. —DJ
You Will Need
4" square pin loom
5"-long needle for weaving
Warp and weft: sport weight rayon yarn, about 260 yards total of three colors
Scissors
Bent-tip tapestry needle to sew squares together
Instructions
1.Following the instructions for your pin loom, weave 10 squares in color A, 12 squares in color B, and 8 squares in color C, for a total of 30 squares. Do not weave in the tails, as you can use those to seam the squares together.
2.Assemble the squares following the diagram opposite. I found it easiest to sew the horizontal pairs together and then sew the pairs together to form the long scarf.
3.To attach the squares on this project, I chose a looser stitch than for the pillow in the previous project. I wanted the area between each square to be slightly open, giving a lacy look to the scarf, so I used a simple whipstitch seam.
4.Line up the two squares next to each other with the bumps and indentations interlocking. Thread the long tail onto your tapestry needle.
5.With your needle, go into the bump on the square to the right and then into the indentation on the square on the left. Do not pull the thread too tight as you want a loose join for these seams.
6.Continue up the seam with your needle going from right to left, catching the bump on one side and the indentation on the other side.
7.After the squares are sewn together in pairs, begin at one end and whipstitch the pairs together. Offset each square 1" from the square above.
8.Weave in all tails and steam-press using a press cloth.
Assembly Diagram
Spotlight
Deb Essen
Deb Essen was nine years old when she saw a handweaver at work for the first time. She decided that weaving was magic, and she has been studying that magic combination of color and structure for more than 25 years.
Now Deb lives, works, and weaves in western Montana. She runs a business selling kits for a wide range of weavers: some kits introduce new weavers to simple pin looms; others encourage weavers to stretch themselves with new techniques and looms. When Schacht Spindle Company first asked Deb to create a kit, she agreed, but decided a scarf, runner, or shawl — while easy — also felt uninspired. As she was weaving a green square on her pin loom, she thought, “Can I make a turtle?” The first one looked like an armadillo, but after a little trial and error, her Swatch Critters were born.
After a couple of years of working with small critters like the unicorn (bottom right)and fiber fairy, she started playing with making bigger animals. The macaw (left) and bison (top right) both take between 50 and 70 squares and have become Deb’s booth mascots at events, showing off what’s possible using just 4" squares. She now offers kits for a teddy bear, dog, and cat big enough to hug and snuggle.
Deb travels and teaches all over the country, helping others to develop the creativity and skill to create handwoven heirlooms. In 2004, the Handweavers Guild of America awarded her the Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving, Level I. She has been recognized by the Montana Arts Council and writes feature articles for national weaving magazines.
Scoby the Scarlet Macaw, 2016
Hand-painted wool yarns, metal hoop, and polyester stuffing; 27" × 5" × 4"
Deb Essen’s kit designs range from whimsical critters to scarves, table runners, and napkins. These imaginative and fun kits spark ideas about what weavers can make with the squares woven on small pin looms.
After weaving with my purchased pin looms, I wondered how I could make different shapes by constructing my own loom out of . . . pins! Having a small piece of weaving peeking out from under the collar of my shirt makes me happy, and crafting my own loom lets me decide what shape I want my pendant to be. —DJ
You Will Need
Pencil or pen
Graph paper
Two 8"× 10" pieces of mat board 1⁄8" thick
Painter’s tape
9 straight pins
Warp: size 8 or 10 pearl cotton or mercerized crochet cotton, 2 yards
Weft: yarn, about 12 yards (The length will vary depending on how thick your weft yarn is.)
5"-long tapestry needle for weaving
Embroidery needle
Three 6/0 Czech glass beads or similar
Sewing needle and thread to match the weft yarn
Choker necklace
Instructions
1.Draw your full-scale design on graph paper.
2.Tape two thicknesses of mat board together, then tape the graph paper with your design onto the board.
3.With straight pins, mark where the eight warp threads will begin and end. Angle the pins away from where the warp threads will go.
4.Start creating the warp by tying the cotton thread onto the pin in the lower right corner, leaving a 4" tail (a). Bring the cotton upward and loop it over the pin in the upper right corner, then take the cotton down to the lower pin that is second from the right (b). Loop the thread around the bottom of that pin, then bring the thread upward, repeating this pattern until you reach the lower left pin. Tie off the warp thread on the lower left pin (c), leaving a 4" tail.
To help keep the thread taut while winding on and when tying off, use painter’s tape to secure the tails.
5.Cut a piece of the weft yarn that is 11⁄2–2 yards long, and thread it onto the 5"-long tapestry needle.
6.Starting at the top pins, weave the weft as follows: with the tapestry needle, go under the first warp thread, over the next warp thread, under the next, and so forth across all eight warp threads.
7.When working the next row of weft, insert the tapestry needle under and over the appropriate warp threads, then push the needle up to pack the previous row firmly into place. The weft in this row will go under the threads that it traveled over in the first row, and over the threads it went under. You will always work opposite of the pattern in the previous row. Snug up the edge loops of the weft so they are even with the side of the piece. After finishing each row of weft, use your fingers or the weaving needle to push the weft in place more densely.
Since you have an even number of warp threads, you will start each weft row weaving under the outside warp thread no matter which side the needle enters from.
8.When you run out of weft yarn, leave a 4"–5" tail hanging from the side of the piece to weave in later. Then begin weaving from the opposite side, working the opposite over/under pattern that you established with your first weft yarn. Leave the tail hanging from that side to be woven in later. Now each weft row will start by weaving over the outside warp thread no matter which side the needle enters from.
Leaving the tails on opposite sides allows you to more evenly distribute the excess thickness of the weft threads that you weave in when finishing.
9.As you get toward the bottom of the piece, it will become difficult to get the needle through the warp threads. Push the weft up toward the already woven area as tightly as it will go. Adjust the pins holding the bottom of the warp threads so they are angled toward the top of the mat board; this allows a little more room to get the tapestry needle through.
10.To create the shaped edge along the bottom of the pendant, stop working the weft through all eight warp threads when the piece measures 3⁄8" less than you want the total length of the pendant. Instead, work the weft through the central six warp threads for several rows. For the final 2 or 3 rows, work the weft through only the two center warp threads. Leave the weft tail hanging from the center when you have finished weaving.
11.Remove the pins and take the piece off the mat board.
12.Using an embroidery needle, weave the loose weft tails into the back of the piece. Follow the path of the warp thread as you weave in tails to make them less noticeable.
13.Thread a bead onto the weft tail that is hanging from the center bottom. Slide the bead up to the bottom edge of the weaving, and bury the tail in the fabric along the warp threads. Repeat, adding beads on each of the two warp tails at the outside edges.
14.Fold down the top 3⁄4" to make a casing for the choker ring. Using the sewing thread and tiny stitches, hand-stitch across the edge.
15.Slide the pendant onto the choker necklace or chain.
Touch of Glass Pendant
This version of the pendant uses the same yarn for both warp and weft — plus beads worked into the warp throughout the project. (See photo above of a finished version.) The length will vary depending on how thick your weft yarn is.
You will need the same materials list except for about 15 yards of lace weight yarn for the warp and weft and 18 small beads. Depending on the look you want, you can use anything from seed beads to 6/0 Czech glass beads. In addition, a dental floss threader will be helpful as you thread the beads onto the yarn.
Follow the instructions with the following additions:
1.On the graph paper design, mark where to place the beads in the pendant.
This version has five beads on the warp threads adjacent to the selvage warp threads and four beads on each of the two center warp threads.
2.Slip four or five beads onto the straight end of the dental floss threader. Place the end of the warp thread through the loop of the dental floss threader, leaving a 5"–6" tail. Slip the beads over the dental floss loop and onto the working thread, then pull the tail out of the loop. Repeat this whole process until all 18 beads are threaded onto the warp. As you stretch the warp thread around the straight pins, place the beads in the appropriate section of the warp as marked on the graph paper.
3.Move the beads down to the bottom of the warp until you are weaving the row where they will be inserted.
4.As each bead is required, slide it into place and continue weaving.
