No matter which fiber craft you pursue, swatching is always a big topic. Why you should swatch … why people don’t swatch … and if you do swatch, what do you do with your swatch afterwards?
I’m a big swatching advocate. Simply speaking, I like to know before I spend hours and ours on crafting how a fiber will work and wash.
Pin-loom swatching results similar benefits as other fiber crafts. It takes just a few minutes to weave up a hexagon, and then you:
- Know what it feels like to work with the yarn,
- See if the sett is right or if you need to make adjustments or choose another loom,
- Can quickly try different weaving methods and patterns, and
- Get get a first glimpse of what the fabric will look like.
This is not only of interest for a pin-loom project but it may be useful for other weaving. Weaving up a little piece of fabric in no time may give a first impression of the fabric that you want to make on a rigid-heddle or multi-shaft loom. It will not replace sampling on that loom, but it may help with planning a project.
Recently I bought the Spring Taster Box 2026 from The Woolly Thistle.
I love sampling, and the collection of mostly European natural yarns sounded scrumptious.
You can watch what’s in the box in my unboxing reel on Instagram.
Using the Original TURTLE Loom in F-fine sett and R-regular sett I wove sample hexagons for each of the 13 skeins, sewed them together and blocked them.
I like to create a fabric instead of blocking pieces individually if I can, because that shows how the hexagons work together across seams.
All yarns wove up beautifully, and you can see the results in my swatching reel on Instagram.
But then I had this 13-piece, 3-row-something swatch and was wondering what to do with it. Swatches can always be part of a great patchwork blanket, but this swatch was big enough to become its own project … I decided to make a small project bag and here is what I did:
Fold the swatch fabric in half, right side facing in.
The red lines indicate where to sew the sides together. I used whip stitch.
For the handles I found some bamboo rings … they measure about 4.5″ in diameter. You could also use some rope or pretty ribbon!
Add a handle by folding the flap of the hexagon at the open edge over the bamboo ring and secure the folded hexagon along three sides as shown.
Turn the right side out, and you’re done!
The bag measures about 10″ wide at the widest point and is ideal for a pin-loom project or small (sock) knitting project. Lining is optional, but if you transport needles or small, thin items, you may want to keep them in a small Ziplock bag.
Make swatching fun!
