Five Questions with Angela Tong

Welcome to “Five Questions With,” our new series in which we ask different Easy Weaving with Little Looms designers five questions to get to know them and their weaving a little better. For this round, we’re talking to Angela Tong, who recently released a new video course with us titled Weave Patterns on the Pin Loom. Not only has Angela woven many projects for Little Looms, both for the pin loom and rigid-heddle loom, but she was also one of the teachers at our 2025 Weave Together with Handwoven retreat.

The first time I worked with Angela, she was in town to shoot some videos, including a short one about pin-loom weaving that eventually became Creative Pin-Loom Designs. I was asked to supervise that video and got to see firsthand not only how good of a teacher Angela is (she’s very good) but also her skill at weaving. Once Easy Weaving with Little Looms came about, having Angela design for us was a no-brainer. You can see her beautiful designs and sophisticated sense of color in multiple issues of the magazine.

Even better, I'm happy to say Angela's brand new video on pin-loom weaving goes so much deeper than the one I watched her film all those years ago and it's chock full of incredible information for reading patterns on the pin loom, as well as weaving tips and tricks. In her new video, Weave Patterns on the Pin Loom, Angela will help you take your pin-loom weaving to the next level as she shows you how to weave pick-up and color-and-weave patterning.

The Frosted Windows Cowl from Holiday 2020 by Angela Tong. Photo by Matt Graves

C: Tell us a little about your journey with weaving, how you got started, and especially what drew you to weaving with small looms.

A: It all started with a 24" Kromski Harp I got for free on Craigslist when I lived in Brooklyn. I was intimidated by the loom, and it sat in the corner of my room for months. Then, one day, I decided I needed to learn to use it. I signed up for a Weaving 101 class. After weeks of weaving, I was hooked.

I immediately signed up for Weaving 102, so I could learn more advanced techniques. In that class, we worked through Betty Linn Davenport’s book, Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom. It was so much fun to be able to weave patterns with a rigid-heddle loom.

Around that same time PieceWork published an issue with a pin loom on the cover. I was fascinated! At that time, vintage pin looms were expensive and hard to find. After doing a little research, I found a yarn shop that carried handmade pin looms. I called them to inquire and purchased one over the phone. When the package arrived, I dove right in. Since then, I have been in love with pin-loom weaving. Now I even have a large assortment of vintage and modern pin looms.

I have a collection of rigid-heddle looms, pin looms, table looms, and floor looms, but the looms that I reach for consistently are the rigid-heddle looms and pin looms. They are fast to warp up and portable, so I can quickly—and easily—set them up anywhere.

C: One of the things I love about all your weaving is your sense of color. How do you go about choosing your palettes for projects?

Angela’s Cape May Wrap from Summer 2019 showcases her incredible sense of color. And, believe it or not, it’s made of pin-loom squares. Photo by George Boe

A: I never felt like I had a good sense of color until I met one of my weaving idols many years ago. We were at a fiber event, and she was introducing me to other people in the industry. I remember her saying that I had a great sense of colors. Who? Me?

I think it is intuitive for me when it comes to colors. I know what I like. When designing, I will see which colors speak to me that moment, or sometimes I go into a project in a certain color mood. I often start with 2 complementary colors and then add more. Sometimes I lay them all out and take pictures with my phone to see the values and hues. It also helps to swatch if you are unsure. Just winding the yarn colors on a little piece of cardboard really helps.

I absolutely love to weave with variegated and multicolored yarns. I can pull solid colors from the variegated yarns to pair with them.

Angela’s Infinitely Spectacular Scarf from Fall 2022 is a unique take on the infinity scarf concept. Instead of hemming and sewing the hemmed ends together, Angela finished the ends with knotted fringe before sewing them together. The result is, as the name says, inifinitely spectacular. Photo by Matt Graves

C: Talk to me about weaving overshot on a rigid-heddle loom. What made you want to try that technique and why do you enjoy it?

A: I have woven overshot on a four-shaft loom, but the idea that I could do that on a rigid heddle really intrigued me—I am always up for a fun challenge. I like that I can warp the loom as I would for plain weave, and the pattern happens with just one pick-up stick. Very little is needed to achieve a complicated-looking pattern.

C: What inspires you as a weaver?

A: Yarn and color. I find inspiration in the textures and colors of all yarns. Like how a yarn is spun or if the yarn has a blend of different fibers. Chain plied, plied yarns, singles, boucle, and maybe even a little mohair—there is so much out there that works together to give you an interesting woven cloth. Pairing differently spun yarns can give the woven cloth a lovely texture.

As for color, there is nothing like stepping into a yarn store and seeing all the yarn colors on the shelves. So many possibilities. I find color inspirations everywhere I go. I like to take snapshots with my phone to remind me of colors I have seen.

C: What’s on your loom or looms right now?

A: I always have multiple projects going at the same time. These are the current lineup: A skip dent scarf on my 15" rigid-heddle loom, a scarf for a future gift on my 10" rigid-heddle loom, and a warp set up for sampling on my 12" rigid-heddle loom. I also have two pin-loom projects, a cowl and a blanket. Finally, on my SAORI loom, I am finishing up yardage for a sewing project.

Happy Weaving!

Christina