Weaving Techniques: How To Make Waves

I thought I’d pop in today to share a simple way to make waves in your weavings. Once a beginner weaver feels comfortable experimenting with horizontal rows, it’s time to introduce textures and shapes.

(For texture, I recommend you begin here, “5 Simple Ways To Add Texture” or here, “3 Mini Weavings, 2 Techniques.” For geometric shapes, I suggest “An Introduction To Weaving,” particularly part 2, or DIY Woven Coasters).

For those of you who follow me on facebook, you may recall a photo of the weaving above while it was still in its early stages. It is unlike some of the other brighter and more colourful pieces I’ve shared on the blog. I refer to this one as my “crazy abstract” retro-inspired piece 😉 While I was creating it, I had no plan. I simply experimented the whole way through. It was such a fun way to create 🙂

How To Make Waves

To create a simple wave in your weaving, start by weaving across your warp. For this first wave, I used a plain/tabby weave. You can create one row or a few, as I did below. I also wanted this wave to be on a steep angle, so I wove across my warp on an angle.

Next, gently begin pushing the woven rows up or down your warp to create waves.

And that’s it – it’s really that simple.

Tip: You will notice that as soon as you begin manipulating the row into waves, the warp strands will automatically pull inwards.

When creating your own waves, test things out a bit and see what works best for you. I would recommend creating subtle waves when you first begin experimenting with wavy rows. You will not be pulling the warp in as much and you can see just how far you can go.

For the next wave, I created one that radiated outwards. I used the same method as I did for the first wave, by weaving on an angle and then manipulating the row with my fingers.

You can then begin adding additional rows to your waves.

Tip: I’ve written about this before: To ensure there is no further tightening of the warp, always create arcs while weaving.

This will elongate the amount of yarn used for your row and lessen the amount of warp that pulls inwards. Once the arc is created, push the yarn towards the row below, starting in the middle, using a fork or wide tooth comb. This will create two arcs.

Then continue pushing down by creating mini arcs until the row has been smoothed out completely.

Progress Pics

Continue making waves and filling them in along the way. I used varying yarns and added fringe and texture here and there.

Tip: When starting out, waves can be fun. However, you run the risk of having a very wavy weaving once you take it off the loom. Some wave is okay – in fact, it’s quite charming – but if you wish your sides to be relatively even, I recommend interspersing horizontal weaving with wavy rows throughout your piece.

If you take a look below, you can see where there are wavy rows of weaving and horizontal rows.

By incorporating horizontal rows throughout your weaving, this will lessen the amount of ‘wobble’ your weaving will have once it’s off the loom. That said, a bit of a ‘wobble’ gives your weaving a one-of-a-kind quality to it.