City or Country – The Roxanne Top Covers it

Posted on by texasgabi

Have you seen our ad in the new Summer ’26 issue of “Easy weaving with Little Looms”? The Roxanne top was inspired by the theme for this issue, which is about summer in the city or the country.

City chick over a camisole or country-style relaxed over a shirt … the new breezy top Roxanne easily styles both ways.

It just takes one pin loom and your favorite summer yarn to make your own Roxanne.

I used the Original Jewel loom in F-fine sett and Queensland Eco Twist, an elegant yarn with a natural character that is a pleasure to weave.

Weaving is easy, just plain weave.

You may also enjoy the blank charts in three sizes so that you can plan your own colors.

The assembly is unusual: Putting jewel shapes together into something wearable is a first, but the pattern provides detailed, photo-guided step-by-step instructions to master the task.

Get the Roxanne pattern now at the Bluebonnet Crafters Etsy store.

Happy weaving, and I hope that we will see a lot of Roxanne tops this summer!

Special thanks go to Gale Zucker, www.gzucker.com, on Instagram @galezucker, and Yliana Mancini, Instagram @missladybugg95, for delivering the best photos on the shortest notice.

Hello, Little Looms Summer ’26!

Posted on by texasgabi

With some people across the world still drowning in that cold, white stuff on the ground, it is so refreshing to receive this color-bursting issue of “Easy Weaving with Little Looms”, Summer 2026. The magazine is loaded with ideas around spending summer in the city or in the country!

I had the honor of designing the Hexie Knot Mat pin-loom project for this issue, a fun table topper that is woven of the delightful DMC Eco Vita Raffia yarn.

I used two looms, the Original Jewel Loom, R, and the Original TURTLE Loom™, R, both looms in regular sett for worsted weight yarns.

This is the first published project that uses a pattern weave on the Jewel loom. An easy-to-weave twill pattern creates an interesting directional effect, just because of the weaving method that is used for this loom. The pattern becomes even more interesting when you put several jewel shapes together!

On the Original TURTLE hexagon pin loom you will weave a fun new pickup pattern that looks like a knot. The pattern originated from an 8-shaft draft that I “translated” into pin-loom weaving.

Both patterns have potential far beyond the table topper.

Once you master the mat project, go ahead and plan to use those patterns for other projects.

For example, add coasters to your summer table outfit by weaving single knot hexagons and crocheting a little border around it!

I wove the hexagon in DMC Eco Vita Raffia, shade 04, and used DMC Petra Size 3 in color 53837 for the border. Crochet one round of single crochet along the edges, then randomly work scallops in a final round.

Your imagination will be the limit: Try to organize the twill jewels in different directions. Weave the knot hexagons in yarn instead of raffia.

But let’s get back to the magazine issue for a moment …  for pin-loom weavers (and other pin looms) there are not one, but two blankets to choose from, the cutest cuddle mice to make, and a handy purse that may also serve as a perfect storage case for weaving tools.

And of course there’s so much more … that lacy hemp rigid heddle loom pattern is waiting to be sampled on a pin loom, the color scheme of the title model is stunning (and you could make such a scarf in those colors using a pin loom), that wedding bouquet band invites to dream, and Tom Knisely’s feature about the linen lifecycle is hard to put down.

For your convenience we offer the print magazine in our Etsy store so that you can just add it to your loom order. However, the best deal is to subscribe to the magazine through the publisher Long Thread Media, which will give you instant online access to now 10 years of Little Looms content.

Did you see our ad in this issue? We will release the pattern for the breezy top Roxanne on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

Make sure to be back for that, or even better: Subscribe to be notified about new blog posts so that you don’t miss any TURTLE news!

Weave a Square – Make a Bunny

Posted on by texasgabi

When I learned how to machine-knit a bunny a few weeks ago in a session with Diana Sullivan, it sparked the thought that “if you have a square, you can make a bunny”.

I looked around online and found the most adorable ideas for making bunnies from (knitted) squares. I decided to try those ideas using pin-loom woven squares.

I made three different bunnies with squares woven on the TURTLE Square, 6″, R-regular sett loom, using Paintbox Simply Aran yarn. The yarn has a little stretch to it, make sure to weave loosely.

The first bunny is similar to the one we machine-knitted … a bunny that sits with its legs tugged under. I followed these instructions by Gina Michele.

The ears are made of one 2″ square, woven on the bias. Pull one tail in to gather the fabric. This will be the bases of the ears.

The second example is a bunny that is sitting up tall. This seems to be a very popular make, based on the many patterns that I found. I chose to follow these instructions by Gina Michele.

I think my favorite bunny is the one that will hold some treats. It starts similar to the previous bunny. The only difference is how you finish the body. I followed these instructions by Gina Michele.

For the faces, I tried different ideas: Just leave it without a face, embroider yarn eyes, and embroidery a shiny nose with embroidery floss and use 6 mm black beads for the eyes. You could also use safety toy eyes, googly eyes, or sew on small felt pieces. Choose which method you like best for the looks and to keep it safe for the recipients.

You can use any pin loom and any weaving method to make your squares … if you choose a different size, your bunnies will just turn out larger or smaller.

Using a 6″ square, the bunnies turn out to be about 4″ – 5″ big.

Enjoy this quick, fun way to turn a square into something cute for the upcoming holiday. These bunnies will also make nice decorations or toys year round.

All instructions referenced in this post can be found as “free patterns” online. I’m not responsible for any of those sources. Copyrights remain with their respective owner.