My very first weaving project is done! Just yesterday afternoon, I took a bit of time to put the finishing touches on my weaving project by braiding the ends and tying them off. Although my edges aren’t quite even and there are a few flubs here and there, I have to say I am quite pleased with my first attempt at weaving with a rigid heddle loom. And the colors are simply stunning, I love the way there are bright pops of teal and lime green, but overall, the colors seem so well balanced.

I started out creating small braids with three pieces of yarn ends from the warp, but the braids ended up being very thin and small. Also – the thought of creating so many tiny braids was enough to make me change my mind, so I doubled them up by using a total of six pieces of the yarn ends together. For each braid, I finished each one off with a knot to create small, tassle-type ends.

I learned so much on this first project and it was so much fun to try out something new. I have to admit, my main fear of trying out something like weaving was due to the fact that I am so comfortable knitting. I was a bit intimidated to go into something else other than knitting where I was a complete beginner again. But in the end, it was wonderful to experiment, practice new techniques, and see the progress I was making. I even had my macbook right beside me where I could watch segments of Kelley’s Rigid Heddle Weaving video class to make sure I was moving along in the right direction.

The first 10 – 15 inches of my project are where I notice the most of my little “flubs.” In between keeping the tension of the beams right and making sure all of my warp yarns were moving as they were supposed to, I think I was having a bit too much fun beating down the weft strands with the heddle. This created a few inches where there is a noticeably blue section of woven fabric. And there is a long section of messy edges where I must not have pulled the weft yarn through at the correct tension.

Also – my biggest mistake was underestimating the length of the warp. I figured in an extra foot for either end in addition to the length of what I wanted my scarf to be. Looking back, I should probably have added at least 2 extra feet for either end. So all in all, my first weaving project is either a.) a short scarf or b.) a smaller table runner.

Either way, the speed at which I was able to complete this project from start to finish is what really has me hooked on weaving. I was able to do everything from warping and threading the heddle to weaving and taking my fabric off of the loom in one weekend. My warp took up 2 balls of Imagination in Frog Prince and my weft took up maybe half a skein of Blue Yonder in Stroll Tonal.

I already have my next weaving project warped and started – I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Are you working on any weaving projects right now?