13 Reasons Knitters, Spinners and Crocheters will Love Weaving

'But I already have too many yarn crafts!' is a phrase that we are often greeted with at yarn events and this blog details why we know that knitters, spinners and crocheters also love weaving.

1. It's the best way to use up a yarn stash

Every knitter and crocheter has a stash, half-used balls, single skeins bought "just because", and leftovers from projects finished years ago. Knitting and crochet usually need enough of one yarn to complete a whole project, so odds and ends sit waiting.

Weaving is far more forgiving. A scarf needs a warp (the lengthwise threads) and a weft (the threads woven across). The weft can be almost anything, so a few metres of this and a few metres of that all find a home. You can change weft colour every few rows, stripe your way through a bag of oddments, or use up a single beautiful skein that's too small for anything else. Warp yarn is worth choosing with a little more care, but a stash often holds plenty of suitable candidates.

2. If you love working with yarn, you'll love weaving

Spinners, knitters and crocheters tend to share one thing: they simply love yarn. The colour, the twist, the way it feels running through your fingers. Weaving lets you enjoy all of that, and it shows off yarn in a different way.

In weaving, the yarn forms the fabric itself. You can see the character of a handspun yarn in every weft row. Handspun yarn is particularly rewarding to weave, as the slight variations you spin become part of the texture of the finished piece. One of the reasons I started to weave was that I started to spin. I soon realised that my knitting was unable to keep up with the amount of yarn I was creating and then needed another way of using up this beautiful yarn. If you have also been spinning more than you can knit, weaving is a natural outlet.

3. Handwoven scarves and gifts are surprisingly easy

Weaving has a reputation for being complicated, mostly because of pictures of enormous floor looms. A rigid heddle loom is a much simpler thing. Once it's warped, the basic action is to lift or lower the heddle, pass the shuttle through, and beat the weft into place. It's rhythmic and quick to learn.

Plain weave, the simplest structure, makes a lovely scarf, and many beginners finish their first one in a weekend. A single warp can often produce several small items, such as scarves, snoods, table runners or coasters which makes weaving a very practical route to handmade gifts. A handwoven scarf looks impressive, and nobody needs to know how straightforward it was to make.

4. Colours behave differently in weaving

How the colours behave in weaving is something which weavers at our scarf weaving workshops find most interesting. Colours behave differently when woven compared to when they are knitted or crocheted. This is the reason many knitters and crocheters get hooked. In knitting and crochet, colour sits in stitches and rows. In weaving, two sets of colour cross each other, and the eye blends them.

It means a single warp can produce many different fabrics, and it's hard to predict exactly how colours will combine until you weave them. Stripes in the warp and weft together create checks and plaids, and even simple colour changes can produce subtle effects. For anyone who enjoys colour play, it's a fascinating new area to experiment in.

5. It's a faster way to make fabric

Weaving produces cloth quickly. Weavers have very few WIP's. Where a knitted or crocheted scarf might take weeks, a woven one can take a few hours of actual weaving once the loom is set up. If you enjoy finishing projects, this is a real advantage, and it's a good antidote to the long project that never seems to end.

6. It's a different kind of fabric

Woven cloth has a drape and stability that knitted and crocheted fabric doesn't. It doesn't stretch in the same way, and it can be soft, crisp, or airy depending on the yarn and sett. Because it's a different structure, it suits different projects: table linen, bags, wraps, and cushion covers are all natural fits.

7. Your existing skills give you a head start

As a knitter, spinner or crocheter you already understand yarn weight, fibre properties, tension and how yarn behaves. You know what merino feels like against wool from a hardier breed, and you know how to handle a tangle. Those skills transfer directly. Reading a pattern, planning colours, and finishing a piece with care are all things you already do.

8. You can pick it up and put it down

Once a warp is on the loom, you can weave a few rows in a spare ten minutes or settle in for an evening. There's no counting stitches or losing your place in a chart, and that makes weaving relaxing. Many people find the repetitive motion calming in the way they find spinning or knitting calming.

9. Small projects need very little space

A rigid heddle loom folds, can be slipped into a bag against an armchair or stands against a wall. Small looms such as our bookmark weaving looms, square looms or inkle looms need less room still and are super portable allowing them to be taken on a journey or put away in a drawer. If your house is already full of wool, you may be pleased to learn that woven projects can be quite compact and portable.

10. Weaving suits your handspun and special skeins

Some yarns are difficult to knit or crochet. Textured, slubby or very fine yarns often work better woven, where the structure supports them. If you've bought a beautiful novelty yarn that you didn't know what to do with, weaving may be the answer.

11. There is a lot to explore, whenever you're ready

Start with plain weave and you can go a long way. When you want more, there is pick-up stick patterning, colour-and-weave effects, twill on a multi-shaft loom, band weaving on an inkle loom, and much more. Weaving rewards curiosity, and there's always something new to learn.

12. It is sociable

Weaving groups, workshops and guilds are welcoming places, and there's plenty of shared knowledge. If you already enjoy the community around knitting or spinning, you'll find similar warmth among weavers.

13. It complements the crafts you already do

Weaving doesn't replace spinning, knitting or crochet. Handwoven fabric can be trimmed with a crocheted edge, tassels or fringes can be added, and handspun yarn can feature as weft. It fits alongside everything else, and you may find it makes you enjoy your other crafts even more.

So, is there room for one more?

The idea of "too many crafts" only holds if each one is competing for the same thing. Weaving gives your stash a purpose, lets you enjoy yarn in a new way, and produces gifts and finished pieces quickly. You don't need to give anything up to try it, and a first scarf might be closer than you think.

Details of all our weaving kits are available in our TabbyandTweed website shop for UK, USA, Canada and New Zealand delivery.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with our weaving work then do sign up to receive our newsletter by clicking the link here.