Never done tapestry weaving before but really wanted to give it a try. Not having a weaving loom, I decided to use the cardboard technique, but sadly, I messed up after trying to remove the woven piece from the cardboard loom. I also wanted to participate in the Weaving contest but had only 6 days on hand; not enough time to make my own weaving loom.

So, I decided to make a square twig frame and use it as the loom. I love the rustic look of this woven piece and it's a great project for beginners.

Check out the ible and find out how I made it :)

Step 1: List of Supplies

To make this Woven Wall Haning you will need the following supplies:

Dry twigs
X-acto knife to cut the twigs
Yarn - the more colors the better!
Scissors
Fabric marker pen
Tapestry needle
Fork
Cardstock paper
Wooden beads (optional)

Step 2: Preparing the Frame

Determine the size of the wall hanging. Cut 4 pieces of dry twigs according to the determined size.

Place 2 prepared twigs parallelwise (vertically) on a flat surface by keeping enough space between them, so that after placing the other 2 twigs parallelwise (horizontally) on them, all 4 twigs will overlap each other about an inch on 4 corners.

Apply a drop of super glue on each overlapped corners of the twigs.

Also, cut out small pieces of yarns and tie them around the corners just to secure them a little more.

There! The frame is ready!

Step 3: Warping the Frame

Warp is the vertical strings on a weaving loom.

Usually, the warping is done by keeping even distance between every string but since I'm using a twig frame, I didn't really want to worry about that. You can add pins to the frame if you to keep even distance or you can also go freehand warping, up to you.

Take a bundle of white yarn (or you can select any colored yarn you want for the warp).

Tie a knot around any one of the twigs (frame bars), near the corner.

Draw the string all the way to the opposite twig and wrap the string around that twig twice; and then bringing it back to its initial twig.

Once again, wrap the string around the current twig twice and then drawing it all the way to the opposite twig again.

While warping the frame, make sure to keep even distance between each string as much as possible. Also, make sure that the strings aren't too tight nor too loose.

Continue this process until the frame is filled with warp strings.

Step 4: Starting the Weft

Prepare a tapestry needle with any colored yarn you want. This part of the weft won't be visible, it's to keep the warp sturdy.

Now, simply draw the needle over and under the warp from any one side but make sure to start from near the bottom twig.

Go ahead and do 3 or 4 layers of over and under weaving.

Once the weaving is complete, draw the needle to the back side of the frame, weave over and under a few strings on the back side of the frame and then cut off extra string.

Step 5: Adding Tassels

Determine the length of the tassels and cut yarns double the required size. I'm using the rainbow color sequence for my weaving and tassels as well.

For each tassel, I'm using 4 strings of yarn. After folding them into half there will be 8 strings for each tassel.

How to create tassel:

Take any one of the yarn string groups. Hold the group of strings and draw them under the first warp from the left.
Now hold the other end of the string group and draw it under 2nd warp from the right. This will form a loop on the top side of the warped string group.
Hold the 2 open ends together and pull them downwards.
Pull and tighten the strings to create the tassel.
Similarly, add the rest of the tassel until all strings of the warp is covered.

Done!

Oh, and I did a few rows of plain weaving adjacent to the tassels to adjust the warp strings.

Step 6: Weaving Soumak

The first row was a plain weaving, now prepare needle with 2 strings for soumak weaving.

Soumak Technique:

Draw the needle from the back side to the front side of the warp, keeping about 2 inches of thread at the back side. Pass the first 3 warp strings on the left side of the frame.

Do not cross the 3rd warp. Draw the weft string under the 3rd wrap from the right and then drawing it back up to the left side of the 3rd warp.

Draw the weft string passing the next 3 warp strings and repeating the previous steps until reaching the last warp string.

For the next row, continue with the same process to complete the soumak weave. This will create a braided texture on the weaving.

Step 7: Weaving Wavy Patterns

I did a few more rows of plain weaving after the soumak weaving.

For each row of textures, I'm using a different colored string.

After the plain weaving, I weaved a wavy pattern.

Simply use a fabric marker pen to trace a pattern on the warp strings and get started with the plain weaving.

To create wavy patterns, you'll need to notice the marked points on the warp strings for the wavy pattern.

After reaching each border point of the pattern on the warp, draw the needle to the opposite direction.

each time you'll reach the marked border points draw the needle to the opposite direction and by doing this, the wavy pattern will be filled with plain weaving.

Step 8: Drawing Patterns

After doing the wavy pattern, I did soumak weaving along the wavy pattern and then filled warp with plain weaving to form a straight weft line again.

Continue with the plain weaving until reaching one-third of the warp length.

Adding a pattern or shape on the middle:

This part looks a bit messed up because I couldn't make up my mind for a pattern :p However, I ended up deciding to keep a triangle on the middle of the weaving.

Use a fabric marker pen to draw the pattern on the warp strings.

Step 9: Weaving Loops

This was fun but time-consuming!

I'm using white yarn for the triangle traced on the middle of the warp.

Creating the loop is as same as creating the tassel. The only difference is that you'll need to use the entire bundle without cutting it.

Watch the video clip to see how to create loops on the warp.

Filling the triangle with the loops is pretty easy. After completing a row of loops start the next row of loops by skipping 1 warp string from the open side. Continue the process until reaching the top of the triangle, where you'll weave only 1 loop.

Ahhhh! Loop weaving is done!

Step 10: Weaving Beads

I did both plain weaving and soumak to fill the sides of the looped triangle.

At this point, I used the straight side of the fork to separate the front layers of warp strings.

After crossing the triangle, I wanted to weave a few rows with scattered beads, which is very simple.

Start the plain weaving. Insert a bead through the needle and draw the bead all the way to the closed end of the weft string.

Continue the weaving and add beads where ever you want.

Step 11: Completing the Weaving

Keep weaving with different colored yarns and creating different patterns with each color.

Once the weaving is complete, draw the needle to the back side of the frame and draw the needle over and under a few strings on the back side. Cut off extra thread.

Attach a hanging mechanism and done!

*While weaving and recreating this wall hanging, if you get confused with the warp strings (as they may get mixed between the front and the back layer of strings), don't worry. I've never done tapestry weaving before and I wasn't attempting to make a pitch-perfect one. The warp strings may not be evenly distanced or warp strings of front and back layers may get mixed. Simply continue to weave and follow the basic weaving techniques. Adjust the strings when weaving, it'll turn out just fine!

Thank you so much for checking out my ible. Please do share a picture if you recreate it and don't forget to hit the 'Vote' button if you like it!