Pin Weaving Mini-Tutorial

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I wanted to share how I did the pin weaving on the top of my bag. It's a simple technique with beautiful results! I didn't take a ton of pictures while I was doing it, thinking I'd be able to find a tutorial that someone else had made and just link to that. Wrong. The other methods I found were REALLY cool, but quite different than what I did. So here's the very basics of how to pin weave with fabric strips.

First you need a foam board. Mine measures 11" x 14", and can produce a piece of woven fabric up to about 8.5" x 11.5". Mark the board with a 1" grid. Please note that the edges of your fabric may not be all usable, so plan on a piece a couple of inches larger than you will need.

Place strong pins (T-pins are great, I don't have any) pointing in towards the center at about a 45 degree angle every half inch across the short ends of the foam board. I found it useful to put an extra pin 1/4" on the outside of each row to help keep the edges under control.

Next you will need two skeins of embroidery floss. I used three because I couldn't decide on two colors. They can be the same color or different colors, but I like different colors in mine. Tie the ends of the skeins together and loop the knot around one of the corner pins. Next, TIGHTLY wind the floss across the board as shown, moving around two pins at each end so that the rows of floss are 1/2 apart (1/4" on the sides). When you get to the end tie a knot to secure the end as best you can. Remember you want it TIGHT. If you use a larger foam board you may need more embroidery floss.

Cut 1" strips of fabric that you want to weave with. Mine were 1/4 of a width of fabric and were just about perfect. You want them to be 1-2" longer than the width of your foam board. You will need approximately 3 strips for every inch that you will fill. Start by weaving a strip of fabric over, under, over, under, etc. until you get to the other side. Then fold the strip into thirds. If you kind of wiggle the strip back and forth while folding from the ends it kind of folds on itself. The above photo shows a strip that has been folded once. Make sure that the raw edges of the strips are on the top. Continue weaving strips through, alternating over-under to under-over with each strip. Slide the folded strips close together and continue adding strips until you reach the desired size or can't fit any more on your board.

 Cut a piece of fusible interfacing about the size of your woven area and fuse it on according to manufacturers directions. I used a black knit interfacing, but any lightweight fusible will do.

After applying the interfacing you can remove the pins and turn over your creation!

This does need to be quilted to add stability. You can do freemotion or carefully use a walking foot. If you're worried about catching anything while quilting you can sandwich it between water-soluble stabilizer and wash it off afterward.

As I said I wasn't planning to make a tutorial of my own when I started this. If there are any steps that need additional photos, PLEASE let me know in the comments and I'll do what I can to make it more user-friendly.