How to Weave a Baby Blanket
Baby blankets are a good project for the beginning weaver. One can use inexpensive cotton yarns at a medium sett (the spacing of warp thread), so threading and sleying the reed go quickly, and the blanket weaves easily. Babies like color, so it's an appropriate time to experiment with color and weave.
Instructions
-
-
1
Calculate your sett by wrapping your yarn around a ruler and counting the number of wraps. Divide by two to get an approximate sett for plain weave, waffle weave, or huck. A normal sett for 8/2 cotton would be 16 ends per inch; for 10/2 cotton, the sett is normally 24. If you plan to use a twill threading, the sett will be closer.
-
2
Calculate the desired width of your finished baby blanket. A good width would be about 36". Add about four inches for take-up and shrinkage, for a width of 40". Multiply that measurement by your sett to get the number of threads in your warp. If your sett is 16 epi, your total number of ends is 640. Now decide on how many blankets you will weave. If the length of the blanket is also 36" and you make three blankets, you will need at least three yards of warp, plus another yard for take-up, shrinkage, and wastage. Add extra length if you plan to have fringe; however, for baby blankets a hemmed edge is probably more practical.
-
-
3
Measure out four yards on your warping board (for three blankets). Wind two ends at a time until half the ends (320) are wound. Make a cross between two pegs. You can change colors as you wind, to make stripes. Remove this half of the warp and lay aside. Wind the other half of the warp.
-
4
Put two lease sticks in the cross. Pre-sley the reed, sleying four ends every fourth dent in a 16-dent reed. Set the reed in the beater, bring the warp around to the back of the loom, and move the lease sticks to behind the reed, between the reed and the back beam. Have a helper hold the warp tight as you wind it on, using paper or spacer sticks to separate the layers as you wind on. When the warp is wound on, cut the threads in front of the reed, and remove the reed and beater.
-
5
Thread the loom according to the pattern you've chosen. Good choices for a baby blanket are plain weave, twill, waffle weave and its variants, and huck lace. Avoid patterns with long floats, as the baby's fingers could get caught in them. Sley the reed and tie the warp ends onto the apron.
-
6
Weave a few inches of rags or sticks at the beginning of the warp. Then begin laying in the chosen weft, either all one color or stripes. Weave until the blanket reaches about 40", to allow for shrinkage. Separate the blankets with more rags, and begin the second blanket. Weave for 40", add some rags to mark its end, and weave the third blanket. Add a few picks of rags to hold the final weft threads.
-
7
Cut the pieces off the loom, but don't cut them apart. Take them to a sewing machine and zigzag the two end edges of the blankets securely, to hold down the weft. Put the whole woven length in the washing machine and then the dryer. Then you can cut the pieces apart.
-
8
Trim the warp ends close to the zigzagged edge. Turn under and stitch down, using a sewing machine or a needle and thread. Press lightly and give to the lucky parents!
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Other good yarns to use for baby blankets would be a superwash merino yarn, warm in winter yet washable, such as certain sock yarns. Some weavers like to use Fox Fiber organic naturally colored cotton yarns, for the ultimate in baby luxury.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
