Ready for more weaving inspo? Us too. Once again, Haley K. got a bunch of creatives in a room to make woven wall hangings, and once again they all left excited and happy and ready to make more. Now our quest is to inspire you to do the same. 

DIY Woven Wall Hangings

If you’ve never made woven wall hangings, click right over to this weaving workshop post to learn how to do it. We’ll wait.

Getting inspired

We asked our weavers how they got inspired: What they looked for, how they started, where they researched. Obviously, Pinterest and Instagram rose to the top: Check out hashtags like #weaving, #wovenwallhanging, and #wovenwallart.

They based their color choices on their homes, rooms, and yarn that called to them from craft store bins.

Jodi A.: I stalk a number of weavers on Instagram, so I had inspiration at the ready. For specific looks or techniques, I consulted Pinterest and created a board so I could ask Haley how to achieve a particular look. I drew a lot of inspiration from simply going to the craft and knitting store and being inspired by all the different textures and colors of yarn. I had an idea of what I wanted my pieces to look like but the ideas took a lot of twists and turns as I shopped.

Sheryl B.: I’ve been fascinated with fiber arts and weaving for a long time and was thrilled when this class was offered. Any inspiration came from weavings and wall hangings I’d seen at crafts fairs, the fabulous work of my coworker, and images from the Internet and books.

Carolyn T.: I got my yarn from my mom. She’s an avid knitter and has tons of leftover yarn, some of which came from my grandmother, so it was really cool to be able to incorporate both my mom and grandmother’s yarn into my pieces.

Marcella R.: I based the color palette on my style at home, I love white walls sprinkled with artwork, wood of all shades, and plants—pretty neutral but not beige, slightly rustic but modern. I like using a hit of black or rust with my white tones.

Jodi: I drew on colors at the ready in my home. It’s kind of boring—it’s a respite from all the visual bombardment at Hallmark—so there’s a lot of white, black, gray and brown. That one also sort of ended up looking like my dog. Weird.

Pro-tips and tricks for woven wall hangings

Our newly minted weavers learned a few things. Like…

Jessica L.: Try to get a longer weaving needle—it will save you time! As you weave, don’t pull the warp too tight. You’re going to sit and weave for awhile, so make sure to drink water and stay hydrated!

Sheryl: Big is better, needle-wise. And copper pipes make great hangers (and they’re relatively easy to cut to size).

Carolyn: A big loom does require a lot more work. I managed to bring in the largest loom and I was super ambitious and therefore I’m still working on my piece. I also planned out some complex shapes and patterns instead of free styling…so therefore that also adds time into it. But it will be so worth it when it’s done!

Amy J.: I learned to not wear black cotton overalls when working with wool yarn.

Julianne McC.: Sit in a comfortable chair because you will Zen out and not even realize how much time has passed. I regret sitting in a hard wooden chair for way too long. Man, did my back hurt after—but the weaving was worth it.

Marcella: I love happy mistakes. I was super organic about my weave—I just let it happen and learned what I liked along the way.

Jodi: I was pleased to see my childhood hobbies of latch-hook and friendship bracelet braiding were still of use and not too rusty. That’s not really a tip or trick, though. I guess it’s more advice to let go and draw upon those simple things we did with our hands years ago before we had them full of iPhones, keyboards, mice and the like. Also, I had a sort-of strategy: I blocked out key elements in my mind, but also sort of let the materials and my fingers allow the details of the piece to emerge.

Sheryl, with the ultimate tip: Made a mistake? Don’t like the look? No problem! It’s easy to unweave and start again.

We are not exaggerating when we say most of our workshop participants went home and immediately made more woven wall hangings. “Since the workshop I have made two more and plan to make a really big piece for my dining room,” Marcella reports.

Julianne, too: “I loved this process so much that I’ve since created a couple additional weavings, including one for my friend as a wedding shower gift.”

And Jodi: “I went home and made more. It’s such a meditative activity. Just the right mix of rough planning, precise handwork, freedom to adapt things on the fly and ability to go backwards and try again if what you did didn’t go exactly to plan. So fun.”

What about you? Make one! And show us! We’re on Facebook and Instagram.

— Trish B.