We hope the new year has already brought you much weaving enjoyment! Maybe you’ve dusted off your trusty loom, completed a UFO, or enjoyed using one of your handwoven projects. Here at Little Looms, we’re already busy working on our 2024 content—and planning for 2025. Though we’re busily planning ahead, there’s always time to reminisce about the past year and revisit the content our readers loved the most from the articles we published in 2023.
So here are the most popular articles determined by you, our readers, based on the number of times they’ve been read. We hope you enjoy these articles, whether you’re reading them for the first time or happily rediscovering them.
10. What’s So Great about Fulling?
These Fireside Coasters are woven and then fulled to create sturdy cloth with an ombré effect. Photo credit: George Boe
Have you ever wondered why we full wool fabrics? If you’ve ever wet-finished a weaving made from wool, you’ve experienced the wonders of fulling. As it turns out, fulling is an important part of the finishing process. Read the full article.
9. Clever Bags from Stash Cotton
Colorful Shoulder Bags by Barbara Nielsen. Photo credit: Joe Coca
While searching through hidden gems of Handwoven, I saw this incredible rigid-heddle-woven shoulder bag by Barbara Nielsen. When designing her bag, Barbara picked out her lining fabric and then used that to determine her weft colors for the rest of the bag. I love this bag, so I had to share it with our current Little Looms magazine subscribers. Learn more about the pattern (free for current subscribers).
8. Video Tip! Choosing Warp Yarns
Sara Bixler’s tip for testing warp yarns would have saved young Christina a lot of wasted yarn. Photo from Beginning Weaving on the Rigid-Heddle Loom
Learn the easy way to figure out if a yarn will work for your warp on a rigid-heddle loom with this video tip from Sara Bixler. It’s brilliant, and I think even experienced weavers will appreciate how she explains choosing a warp. Read the full article.
7. Beach House Placemats and Napkins
A close-up of Jodi Ybarra’s Beach House Placemats. Photo credit: George Boe
Weave alongside Jodi Ybarra while dreaming of ocean waves and your toes in the sand. For Jodi, the ocean is a source of joy and a feeling of peace, and it inspires her creativity. She designed these cotton placemats and napkins as beginner projects, but they are pretty enough to satisfy any weaver. Read the full article.
6. Hack Your Rigid-Heddle Weaving Studio
Whether warping your loom, weaving, or finishing, these non-traditional weaving tools will help make things run a bit smoother. Photo credit: Susan E. Horton
Over the years, I have learned many tips from my fellow weavers that make my weaving more enjoyable and, in many cases, more successful. Here are some items you might not think of as weaving equipment that can help with rigid-heddle weaving. You may want to add these seven easy-to-find items to your weaving equipment stash. Read the full article.
5. Weave a Band Using a Rigid Heddle
Kate weaves with her rigid heddle in her greenhouse using a backstrap setup. Photo from Backstrap Rigid Heddle Basics
Rigid heddles are wonderful tools for bandweaving once you know how to use them. Lucky for all of us, the amazing Kate Larson, editor of our sister magazine Spin Off, created this video to show how to use a rigid heddle using a simple, easy-to-replicate backstrap loom. Of course, don’t take my word for it—watch the video! Read the full article.
4. Weave Some Grasscloth Journal Covers
These grasscloth covers use the stems of common flowers as the weft. Photo credit: Donald Scott
Are you curious about using harvested flower stems and leaves in your weaving? In this project, designer Patricia Morton gives you all the information you need to get started harvesting, curing, and weaving. Not only does the PDF include complete instructions on preparing the stems and leaves, but it also includes weaving and sewing instructions for a set of grasscloth book covers. Read the full article (free for All Access subscribers).
3. A Treasury of 10 Rigid-Heddle Designs
Check out Tammy Bast’s Sugar Plum Towels in this special pattern collection. Photo credit: Matt Graves
We combed the past decade or so of issues and curated a selection of incredible projects from three of our magazines—Spin Off, Handwoven, and Little Looms—and put them all into one eBook. It wasn’t easy to narrow down 10-ish years of magazines to just ten projects, but I think rigid-heddle loom weavers of all skill levels will find something to love. Learn more about the eBook (free for All Access subscribers).
2. How Big Should Your Napkin Be?
Subtle and classic, the Zakka Embroidered Napkins might be my favorite project of the year. Photo credit: Matt Graves
What size napkin is the best size to weave? That answer is (as with many weaving questions) “it depends.” Whether you’re weaving for a holiday, as a gift, or just because, having the right-sized napkin for the job makes all the difference. Read the full article.
1. Top 10 Uses for an Inkle-Woven Band
Editor Susan Horton’s first “real” inkle bands. Photo credit: Susan E. Horton
If you’re hooked on inkle weaving and wondering what to do with all your new bands, here are a few clever ideas—from tried-and-true to mind-blowingly creative. Read the full article.