Weaving Words: Two Ways

When I first put out the call for the “Weaving Words” themed Winter 2022 issue of Easy Weaving with Little Looms, I had a feeling I would probably get one or two submissions that took the theme literally. Lucky me—I was right! I received not one, but two incredible inkle projects that feature writing, each utilizing a different method for creating a handwoven alphabet.

Method 1: Baltic Pick-Up

For her Charlotte’s Bands (shown in the top image), Sara C. Bixler found her inspiration from the classic children’s story, Charlotte’s Web. Her bookmarks feature quotes from the book as well as a sweet little spider. Sara could have easily gone with a simple, blocky type of writing, but decided instead to make it more elegant with a serif font. For her letters—and adorable spiders—Sara used the Baltic pick-up technique. With Baltic pick-up, the inkle loom is warped with thin background threads and thicker pattern threads. To create designs, pattern threads are either picked up (hence the name) or pushed down before each pick. The resulting floats (or lack thereof) create the patterns.

Baltic pick-up uses a mix of background and pattern threads in the warp. Before each pick, pattern threads are either picked up or pushed down to create floats, which in turn are used to build patterns or, as in the case of Sara C. Bixler’s Charlotte’s Bands, letters.

Baltic pick-up is a great next-level technique once you’re comfortable warping and weaving plain weave on an inkle loom. The loom is warped using the same method as plain weave, and you don’t need any extra special equipment, although some weavers like to use a small pick-up stick. If you’re a beginning bandweaver wanting to learn how to add letters to your weaving, this is an excellent starting point—and I’m sure intermediate and advanced weavers will find much to love in these Charlotte’s Web–inspired bands! You can download the pick-up chart for these bookmarks here!

Method 2: Pebble Weave

Alison Irwin’s Follow Your Star Bookmarks (which grace the cover of the issue) also feature a quote from a children’s book, in this case Grandpa Bear’s Fantastic Scarf. Alison also opted to skip the blocky lettering and instead gave her alphabet jaunty angles for a more playful feel. For her lettering, Alison used pebble weave, a technique usually associated with backstrap weaving. Unlike Baltic pick-up, which doesn’t require any extra weaving tools, Alison needed two shed sticks and a pick-up stick to weave these beautiful bands. Pebble weave also requires more steps per pick in order to create patterns and designs.

Alison Irwin wove her Follow Your Star Bookmarks using pebble weave. While pebble weave also involves picking up threads to create patterns, the process is more complex than with Baltic pick-up.

Pebble weave is a great way to create more complex designs in bandweaving, but it is also a more advanced technique. If you’re brand new to bandweaving, consider this a project to aspire to rather than starting with. If you’re more experienced, this project is an excellent way to challenge yourself and weave up something truly spectacular. Once you understand the charts and the mechanics, a whole new world of design will open up! Even better? Alison provided a pick-up chart not just for her project band, but also for the entire alphabet. You can download all of Alison’s pick-up charts for her Follow Your Star Bookmarks here.

Beyond the Project

No matter which band you weave, you can use these projects as jumping-off points to write your own messages in your weaving. Create your own bespoke bookmarks with quotes from your favorite books, a dog collar with your pet’s name woven into it, or anything else your heart desires.

Remember, all the pick-up charts for both these projects can be found in the Little Looms Library, so you can print, enlarge, and mark off rows as you weave.

Happy Weaving!
Christina

Download the charts for Charlotte’s Bands here.

Download the charts for the Follow Your Star Bookmarks here.

Originally published 10/11/2022; updated 9/30/2025