How to do Stick Weaving on a Y-Shaped Branch

If you’re like me you have a ton of yarn left over from knitting projects and you don’t quite want to throw it out, but you aren’t sure what to do with it.

Stick weaving is the perfect answer for when you have a bunch of yarn leftovers that you want to use up. Plus, if you’ve never tried weaving this is a great beginner project!

Maybe you’ve seen branch weaving projects and have been wanting to try it yourself. I had been wanting to for a while, and then every Y-shaped branch I saw was a reminder. One day I just grabbed a few of the branches from our back yard, lugged out my yarn (I have a ton), and got weaving!

Stick Weaving Supplies

Y-shaped stick

Yarn

Tapestry or weaving needle

Fork (optional)

How to do Stick Weaving

Find a good solid stick with a nice ‘Y’ shape.

Start by tying a knot down in the bottom of the Y on one side.

Bring the yarn across the Y to the other side and wrap fully around the stick one full time before going back to the original side of the stick that has the knot.

Repeat this continuously all of the way up the top of the Y. If you run out of yarn, just start with a new piece where you left off, tying a knot with the yarn as your new starting point.

branch weaving start

The spacing of the “rows” of initial yarn in the “Y” is up to you. For one, I made the rows about ¼” apart, and for the other I had them run very tight right next to each other. This is a fun time to experiment and see what you like the look of, and how you like to work. It was SO MUCH easier to weave through the yarn when it was further apart.

Once the Y is complete, start at the top of the Y on one side with a new color of yarn. A weaving or tapestry needle is a must, because you’ll be threading the yarn over and under the rows of yarn.

weaving in y shaped branch

I wove a couple of rows with the first color, two on each side of the Y.

I used a fork throughout the weaving to press the rows of yarn close together and tight to the edges. At first it will seem like this isn’t working, but after you add more rows of woven yarn, the fork will pull the rows tighter together.

yarn weaving

As you weave, the Y will get fill in, creating your pattern of different colors.

As you can see, on one of the weavings I continued to wrap a color up and down the part of the stick that wasn’t a part of the original Y. Have fun with it and wrap the whole stick in different colors!

yarn woven branches with different colors

Tie the loose ends of the yarn with a knot, and put a drop of glue on them or tuck them in behind.

Voila! You’ll see once you start that there are so many different ways to weave with yarn and sticks, and you’ll want to make lots of different versions once you start!

Comments

0 comments

Leave a Comment