How to Weave a Cherokee Blanket
Authentic, hand-woven Cherokee blankets are costly items at antiques shops and crafts fairs, but it takes only time and patience to create an affordable, DIY Cherokee-style blanket of your own. Use yarn and a simple loom to create a personalized blanket with the colors and pattern of your choice. Cherokee blankets are practical and artistic. In addition to traditional uses, Cherokee blankets are used as decorative wall hangings and furniture throws.
Instructions
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1
Place the warp threads (the vertical threads) on the loom first by wrapping one end of the yarn around the first notch the left-hand side of the loom. Usually, the warp threads are neutral in color.
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2
String the yarn down the loom and wrap it around the notch at the bottom, directly under the top notch you just wrapped.
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3
Wrap the yarn around the notch directly to the right of the notch you just looped, then string the yarn back up to the top of the loom and wrap it around the notch opposite the bottom notch.
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4
Repeat steps 1 through 3 until the loom is covered in vertical threads of yarn.
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5
Cut the yarn when the loom is threaded and tie off the end.
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6
Push a needle through one end of yarn to make it easier to weave through the warp threads.
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7
Weave the yarn horizontally through the vertical threads, starting at the very top of the loom. Weave the yarn through the loom with an alternating, over-and-under pattern by placing the yarn on top of one vertical thread, then under, then over, then under and so on until one line is complete. Pull an extra 6 inches of yarn through the loom, leaving a short tail at the right end of the line. Tape this tail down with a piece of masking tape.
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8
Unwrap the skein of yarn and remove enough material to complete several lines of the blanket at once, then cut this amount from the skein.
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9
Weave the yarn through the loom in the same over-and-under pattern. Keep each new line tightly pressed up against the line directly above it. At the end of each line, turn the yarn immediately back into the loom and begin weaving across.
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10
Weave a second and/or third color of yarn into the loom to create a striped, Cherokee-style pattern.
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11
Push a needle through any loose horizontal threads on the right of the loom when the pattern is complete.
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12
Draw the needle and the thread through the edge of the blanket.
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13
Cut off the needle and any excess thread from the right edge.
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14
Pull the blanket gently from the loom, sliding the loops along the top and bottom of the blanket away from the notches.
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15
Cut each loop in half to create a series of loose strings along the top and bottom of the blanket instead.
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16
Tie two of these loose threads into a knot along both edges of the blanket until all loose threads have been knotted together.
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Tips & Warnings
You do not need a fancy loom to weave a blanket. Even a stiff piece of wood or cardboard with evenly-spaced notches may be used as a weaving loom.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images
