What do you do when you want to weave your child (or any child in your life, really) a baby blanket, but you don’t have the time or mental energy to warp up a big loom? You weave it on a pin loom, one piece at a time—or at least that’s what I’m doing.
After having my second child, I found my free time all but disappeared. Babies and 4 year olds both require a lot of attention but in very different ways, so if I’m with the baby, my husband is with the older child and vice versa. Weekends then are spent playing with the children and doing that which must be done around the house. At most I have an hour or two every evening that I can devote to weaving—on a good day. Instead of fretting about not being able to warp up my big loom, I’ve been enjoying weaving on my pin loom.
Pin looms are perfect for folks who only have a little time (and I mean a real little), here and there. They’re quick to weave on and can be put down and picked up as many times as needed. Some days, I might have an hour or more to sit down and weave; other days, I might have to get my weaving in the brief moments of respite amid the chaos. I discovered I can weave one square in the time it takes to brew a cup of pour-over coffee.
For my first big pin-loom project post-baby, I decided to weave Baby E a blanket. My pin loom weaves a square about 4" by 4" before wet-finishing. I plan to crochet the pieces together and then use a crochet trim around the blanket as a whole, which should make up for any shrinkage of the squares. (The fact that I do not now, nor have ever crocheted, is not important.) With all that in mind I think 81 squares should be enough to create a blanket that’s 36" x 36" and just the right size for a baby blanket.
For the yarn I decided to pick up a cake of yarn in blues and grays, so I wouldn’t have to worry about multiple put-ups. (In my house, unattended yarn often gets “repurposed” by my older son as “Spiderman webs,” which is less than ideal.) Weaving from a cake also means I get to enjoy watching the colors slowly change as I weave away. It‘s so relaxing!
Christina‘s pin loom next to her computer, ready to weave during her next meeting.
My goal at the moment is to weave 3 squares a day, which takes about 45 minutes. Some days I weave more, but most days I meet my 3-square quota, and I’m happy with that. At this rate I’ll be able to finish my blanket within a month, provided the crochet aspect doesn’t throw me off, which is not bad at all.
So far I’ve woven 24 squares and enjoyed every moment. I can weave during work meetings, and I can weave in the evening as my husband and I re-watch Deep Space 9. As an added bonus, I’ve also found that when I weave, I can pay better attention to what’s going on around me. My hands stay busy, which lets my brain focus—something that now makes extra-long meetings about templates and spreadsheets downright enjoyable. Even though I’ve woven just about 30 percent of my squares, I’m already planning my next project. Whatever I end up weaving, I’ll make sure to share it here.
Happy Weaving!
Christina
Update! I finished my pin-loom blanket and gave it to baby E. You can see the finished project here.