A while back I wrote about the recipe for a handwoven picnic, mostly with multishaft projects. Now that Easy Weaving with Little Looms is coming out 4 times a year with all back issues available digitally with the subscription, I figured it would be good to write a sequel of sorts to that original post—this time featuring projects that can all be woven using a rigid-heddle or pin loom.
Under the Boardwalk Bag by Emily Werner. Photo credit: George Boe
First, you’ll need a picnic tote of sorts. While I know baskets are the traditional carrier of picnics, I prefer a large tote bag, preferably with a pocket or two, just like Emily Werner’s gorgeous Under the Boardwalk Bag from the Summer 2019 Little Looms. This bag is big enough to carry not only lunch for a family, but also the picnic blanket and perhaps even a jar of bubbles or a frisbee. Want a pin-loom option? Deborah Bagley’s Which Way Market Bag (pictured at top) from Summer 2018 is fun and functional.
Clockwise from left to right: Heirloom Tomato Bento Bag by Rachel Simmons, Snappy Napkins by Elisabeth Hill, and Useful Bento by Hazel Spencer. Photo credits: George Boe (Simmons) and Matt Grave (Hill and Spencer)
If you want to be “extra” (as the kids say), you can also include a couple bento bags for the food. Throw a wedge of Brie in the Heirloom Tomato Bag by Rachel Simmons (Summer 2020) and a nice hunk of crusty bread in the Useful Bento Bag by Hazel Spencer (Summer 2021).
Gabi van Tassell’s Indian Blanket Flower Afghan. Photo credit: George Boe
For the picnic blanket, Sara Bixler’s Ticking Striped Picnic Blanket from Summer 2021 works perfectly as does Gabi van Tassell’s showstopping Indian Blanket Flower Afghan from Summer 2020.
Clockwise from left to right: Ticking Striped Picnic Blanket by Sara Bixler, Celebration Napkins by Susan E. Horton, and Market Vegetables by Deborah Bagley. Photo credits: Matt Graves (Bixler) and George Boe (Horton and Bagley)
Once you’re all set up, it is the perfect time to pull out a set of napkins, such as the Snappy Napkins by Elisabeth Hill (Summer 2021) or the Celebration Napkins by Susan E. Horton (Summer 2017). Of course, if you’ve got kids like mine, they’ll spend two minutes eating before proclaiming that they are done and now want to play. Enter in Deborah Bagley’s entirely too-fun, pin-loom Market Vegetables (Summer 2018). Who says you can’t play with your food?
Of course, the best part about a little-loom picnic is that you can take your weaving with you! What better way to end a picnic in a park than by playing on your pin, rigid-heddle, or mall tapestry loom surrounded by family, good friends, and nature.
Happy Weaving!
Christina