It is difficult to even imagine the holiday season without a decorated tree, isn’t it? Therefore, let’s get started on weaving a tree wall hanging now, so that we have something to decorate in upcoming weeks.
For this wall hanging I used 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon, color 332, which consists of several greens and a very dark maroon. The different green shades make a perfect fir tree imitation, and the maroon serves quite nicely as the tree trunk. I bought my Noro at WEBS, and as of this writing, they have plenty of this color in stock. While weaving with the crochet hook and the weaving needle is possible, a locker hook will make weaving more enjoyable. The Noro Kureyon yarn is single spun, so it has a tendency to snatch and split more easily, which the locker hook helps to prevent.
You will need to weave 26 “green” hexagons on the original TURTLE Loom™, as well as 2 “brown” (maroon) hexagons for the trunk. I just wove through both skeins, which yielded only a few more hexagons than needed for this design, and I could then picked the hexagons that I liked best.
Use the photo to layout the hexagons on a towel or design felt. Thanks to the character of the Noro Kureyon, randomly placing the different green shades will work out just fine.
Sew the hexagons in rows first, then sew the rows to rows, to achieve best results (and not lose the way in which you have laid out the hexagons). Weave in any ends.
To block the wall hanging I soaked it in cold water with “Soak” (or use your favorite blocking detergent) for about an hour, then rolled it in a bath towel and let it air dry.
To stabilize the tree as a wall hanging, I used a wire hanger from the dry cleaner. It is light, sturdy, comes already with a “hanger”, and also adds enough tension to keep the tree in shape. Just clip the bottom center and bend the sides straight. I also curved the clipped ends to avoid injury. Then tie the hanger to the wall hanging on the wrong side with leftover yarn ends, where hexagons meet each other.
The size of the finished wall hanging as shown is about 20″ at the widest point, and 25″ tall at the highest point. All you need to do now is to hang and decorate your tree (and the decorating part is optional).
In the weeks to come we will provide suggestions, but if you want to get ahead, here are 6 ideas to decorate your new Tannenbaum:
- 2” Hexagons, woven on the TinyTURTLE™ loom, are the perfect size and shape for “ornaments”. Make 24 for an advent calendar, make some in different colors, or in colors that match your decoration, or make them of special yarns, like handspun.
- Make some pretty ornaments with your other looms. About 2” size is perfect. Squares, triangles, … are so much fun!
- Decorate your tree with store bought mini tree decorations. Some of those are so cute, they just want to be displayed!
- Use the wall hanging to display your crafts, like origami, mini paintings, quilted ornaments, …
- Cut out pretty pictures of old (or new) holiday cards and hang them on your tree.
- Print and cut out family photos and use the wall hanging as a holiday family tree display.
Enjoy your Tannenbaum, and happy weaving!
3 thoughts on “O Tannenbaum”