With two crafty daughters, my house is always stocked with a bucket's worth of Perler (or Hama) beads, and I've always thought it would be fun to veer from the pegboards they come with and string them into something beautiful. Well now I've found just the project. Kate from Mini-Eco has been weaving them into candle holders, and offers us tips, a design, and a link to a peyote stitch weaving tutorial by Silverhill Design so that we can make our own.
I'm a yarn crafter, so when the folks at Lion Brand Yarn sent CRAFT the Martha Stewart Crafts™ and Lion Brand Yarn® Knit & Weave Loom Kit, I jumped at opportunity to put it through its paces. With loom pieces included for more than thirty configurations for making square, rectangle, circle, and oval looms in multiple sizes—plus tools for single knitting, double knitting, weaving, making rosettes, and weaving in ends—there are so many options for creative projects that it's almost overwhelming!
I tested all of the major configurations and techniques, and had a great time learning new skills and trying out yarn crafts that I'd never done before, like weaving and yarn rosette-making. The loom was easy to assemble and easy to configure into different shapes, but the pegs do require a firm hand to press them in and remove them.
When knitting, you can choose the standard single knitting (single layer) option or a warmer and thicker double knitting option for flat projects. The loom also comes with both larger and smaller pegs so you can choose the best stitch size to fit your project.
The cast on, knitting, and binding off instructions were clearly written and easy to follow. It took me longer to get the hang of purling than knitting, but, as long as I made sure that my yarn tension was consistent and not too tight, my stitches looked great and my projects had a nice shape. The notches in each peg made it easy to move the yarn using the knitting tool.
The weaving tool is very flexible, and can be a little bit awkward to maneuver through the pegs. But, once I got the hang of it, weaving was a fast way to make beautiful flat fabric. Plus, once they are finished, multiple woven squares can be sewn together to make larger projects in many shapes.
The rosettes were really fun to make using the loom. It took about 3 minutes total to finish each flower, and they're a great way add some decoration to your finished projects. They also look great as gift toppers!
Overall, I found the loom kit to be versatile and easy to use, and it produced the beautiful results that were promised on the package. And, at $45.00 US, I think that the loom delivers consistent and attractive projects for a very reasonable price. I would definitely recommend this kit to friends who are ready to give loom knitting and weaving a try, and who are looking for a tool that can be assembled quickly and can be easily adjusted to fit a wide variety of projects. I'm happy to have it in my yarn crafting arsenal!
Summer may be over, but don't put those hula hoops away just yet. Bring 'em on inside and weave a hula hoop rug with Disney Family Fun! All you'll need is a hula hoop, about a dozen old t-shirts, and an open afternoon to make your own unique upcycled rug. Click through the link to see complete step-by-step instructions.
[Via One Pretty Thing]
Summer may be over, but don't put those hula hoops away just yet. Bring 'em on inside and weave a hula hoop rug with Disney Family Fun! All you'll need is a hula hoop, about a dozen old t-shirts, and an open afternoon to make your own unique upcycled rug. Click through the link to see complete step-by-step instructions.
[Via One Pretty Thing]
Summer may be over, but don't put those hula hoops away just yet. Bring 'em on inside and weave a hula hoop rug with Disney Family Fun! All you'll need is a hula hoop, about a dozen old t-shirts, and an open afternoon to make your own unique upcycled rug. Click through the link to see complete step-by-step instructions.
[Via One Pretty Thing]
Summer may be over, but don't put those hula hoops away just yet. Bring 'em on inside and weave a hula hoop rug with Disney Family Fun! All you'll need is a hula hoop, about a dozen old t-shirts, and an open afternoon to make your own unique upcycled rug. Click through the link to see complete step-by-step instructions.
[Via One Pretty Thing]
Helena Hernmarck created this incredibly photorealistic woven tapestry, called Talking Trudeau-Nixon, back in 1969 and it's currently on display in The Museum of Art and Design's new exhibition: Crafting Modernism.
Here is a video of Hernmarck making one of her more recent tapestries on a massive loom.
Helena Hernmarck created this incredibly photorealistic woven tapestry, called Talking Trudeau-Nixon, back in 1969 and it's currently on display in The Museum of Art and Design's new exhibition: Crafting Modernism.
Here is a video of Hernmarck making one of her more recent tapestries on a massive loom.
Helena Hernmarck created this incredibly photorealistic woven tapestry, called Talking Trudeau-Nixon, back in 1969 and it's currently on display in The Museum of Art and Design's new exhibition: Crafting Modernism.
Here is a video of Hernmarck making one of her more recent tapestries on a massive loom.
I stumbled on Peggy Dembicer's amazing beaded portrait of the Johnny Depp Mad Hatter character over on Flickr this weekend. I love that she also included a video with details on the making of the piece.
It took about 35 hours of construction time, which includes the designing and will include the finishing, which means knotting all the threads. There are 12, 880 beads in this. Each row has 115 beads and there are 112 rows.
It's fascinating to watch the piece slowing coming together, row by meticulous row, on the loom.
I dug a little deeper in her Flickr stream, and found heaps of beautiful projects, and then realized she's none other than the mastermind behind the beaded Candy Land game board that made me swoon years ago. I'm so glad I stumbled on her work again, and will look forward to following her.
