Innovative Designs for Yarnivores
Instantly download our most popular patterns on Etsy at:
www.YarnovationsShop.Etsy.com
Li’l Slugger Newborn Crochet Photo Prop
Ball Cap, Baseball Mitt, Catcher’s Mitt, and Bib
Birds of a Feather: 9 Birds from Granny Squares
Cardinal, Sunflower Chicken, Turkey, Robin and more
Basket Collection: 6 Styles, Sewing Pattern
Chevron, Strips, Quadrants and more
Both Deborah and I each have delightful patterns in the Little Looms Winter 2026 issue on newsstands now. This issue is devoted to the wonders of wool.
This generously sized pillow is fun to make and even more fun to use. The gorgeous sky blue color and distinctive striping make it a wonderful addition to any home decor. I have mine sitting on a really deep dining room chair though it could transition well to a couch or bed.
The pillow uses just one pin loom – the 4″ square. The pillow’s finished size is 16″x16″
The yarn was delightful to weave with. It’s woven with Mountain Meadow Wool Laramie (100% Mountain Merino ® Wool; 200 yds/3.5 oz), #40475681 Storm.
Learn how to weave your own with the pattern in Little Looms Magazine Winter 2026 issue.
The lamb is made with several pin looms including:
Cascade 220 Superwash Merino (100% merino wool; 220 yd/3.5 oz) is a great choice for lovies like stuffed animals because it’s machine washable. This woolie creature was woven in colors: #71 Parsnip, #82 Jet, and #24 Candy Pink.
Learn more and get the pattern in Little Looms Magazine Winter 2026.
What fun it was to host my first Kinusaiga class. We made the Cardinal Quilt Block – pressing fabric into foam. The straight lines made this a great project for beginners. But I’d rate it more as a confident beginner pattern due to all the places where fabrics intersect.
Here’s a few of the comments I received about the Kinusaiga class:
Thank you, ladies, for attending class. It was such a joy spending the afternoon with you. I’m so thankful to be part of such a fun sewing guild.
For those that are unfamiliar with Kinusaiga, this is sometimes called “silk painting”, or “painting with fabric”. I call it “fabric collage on foam”. For this class I cut XPS Polystyrene Foam Board into 8″x8″ squares for each lady. Following a template, they used craft knives to cut the quilt block design into the foam. Then they each used a seam ripper to press the fabric into the cut grooves. Once complete, these foam boards can be displayed in shadow box frames.
Because this class was offered to the ladies in my sewing guild, they each provided their own fabric. And what a treat it was to see what they selected. I encourage you zoom in on the second picture of this post to see what they selected.
Dana
I think I’ve got a couple of these ladies as hook on Kinusaiga as I am. What fun!
Penelope means “weaver” in ancient Greek, which is fitting for a doll that’s pin loom woven! This adorable little girl is made completely from squares woven on 1 pin loom – a 4″ square. Not only is the doll woven on 1 loom, but the pattern for Penelope also includes a little blanket…made from 4″ woven squares.
But wait, there’s more! We’ve combined the pattern for Penelope with the Lilliputian dolls. The updated and revised pattern now includes:
The Lilliputian dolls can both be made with a 2″ square pin loom (but a 2″ x 4″ rectangle would be nice for the skirt). The quilt for the small dolls can be made with a 1″ square pin loom but would be more enjoyable (have less tails for weaving in) if it was also made with a 1″ x 2″ and a 1″ x 4″ rectangle.
Get your copy of Penelope and the Lilliputian Dolls in our Etsy shop.
The pattern is written for the 3 dolls you see in the above photo, a tall girl doll, a small boy doll and a small girl doll. The woven dolls are easy to customize by changing the color of the clothes, hair and skin. We say “girl” because of the skirt, but perhaps you want to weave a tartan fabric and give the boy doll a kilt. You can do that, too!
The pattern also shows the Lilliputian dolls with or without shoes. You decide about the footwear for the Lilliputians.
The dolls are made with 3 different types of shoulders attachments. Penelope has posable arms that can spin all around. This is great for having her wave or for holding hands with the kiddos. The little boy doll has arms that bend at the shoulder so they can be raised and lowered, where as the little girl doll has arms that are stationary.
We rate this pattern as easy…great for confident beginners. All the parts and pieces are woven in plain weave.
Learn more about Penelope and the Lilliputian Dolls Pin Loom Weaving Pattern in our Etsy shop.
Available now on Etsy.
PS: We would love for you to share our photos on social media. Spread the word about pin loom weaving.
Dana
Weave your own cuddly sheep with this instant download sheep pin loom pattern. It comes 2 for 1! Yep, the instructions include the little 4″ tall sheep (cute as a Christmas Ornament) or the large 12″ tall sheep (soft and squishy as a pillow). They are constructed fairly similarly but there are differences due to scale. But don’t worry, they are super fun and easy to make.
Let’s take a closer look at each sheep, the differences and materials needed.
Small Sheep
Large Sheep
The photo above shows the body of the large sheep woven in bias weave in 2 different weave patterns. Left is the gorgeous textured Smocking Stitch Weave. Right is the smooth Plain Weave. Both are adorable and both are so soft you won’t want to put them down. You’ll want to hug them for days and days. And the kids will beg you to weave them a sheep of their own.
Smocking stitch is really easy to weave. It’s the stitch that has you weave (under 3, over 1) across the row. The “under 3” leaves floats on the squares creating a beautiful wooly texture. It’s easy to do both in traditional pin loom weaving and continuous bias weaving, too.
The sheep pin loom pattern is now available in our Etsy shop. You’ll LOVE this pattern because it includes lots of charts for how to fold and assemble each size of sheep.
Download Wool-E Sheep Pin Loom Pattern in our Etsy shop.
We couldn’t resist showing you how Penelope (the Lilliputian doll) is going to be celebrating Halloween this year. She’s going with the little sheep as Little Bo Peep! What a cute pair. They are sure to win the cutest couple contest.
Get these pin loom patterns in our Etsy shop:
“Game On, Quilters: A Thrifty Sweatshirt Refashion Challenge”. That’s what the cover says…and we’re the instigators! Deborah and I challenged each other to a quilted sweatshirt sleeve challenge and extended it to the readers of We Like Sewing. We set the rules, wrote instructions, and provided some tips for success. Join us!
Refashion a sweatshirt and tag your pictures online #QuiltedSweatshirtSleeve. Not sure where to start. Learn how in the We Like Sewing online magazine.
This must read and sew issue just hit the web. We Like Sewing 2026 October is a blast to browse. It has fashion, fun and festive patterns in it. I adored the Halloween projects. The butterfly wings for children looks super adorable. There’s also a roundup of 15 weekend projects you can work on this fall including Deborah’s pumpkin plant holder.
The #1 reason we love refashion and upcycling is that old clothes are getting dusted off and worn again. And we love that we can plot and sew and wear our creativity on our sleeves.
Here are some close up shots of our refashioned sleeves from upcycled fabrics. The printable template for the flower is available in the magazine, too.
Ready to sew your own sweatshirt sleeves? Get started with the We Like Sewing 2026 October issue.
Tag your photos online: #QuiltedSweatshirtSleeve
Can’t wait to see your quilted sleeves!
Dana
I might be a little obsessed with the Kayu board pin loom! I had so much fun weaving up the sheep, I decided to make a stuffed pumpkin. Again, weaving with bulky yarn on the Kayu board is quick, easy and fun. The yarn I chose is a super bulky size 6 soft chenille-like polyester yarn. It is incredibly soft and squishy on its own. It is even more squishy when it is woven up, sewn together, and stuffed!
The Kayu pin loom / board is very convenient. I could get all the shapes I needed on this one board. For this project, I used it to make:
I used Loops & Threads Demi Purl from Michaels. It is a size 6. The super bulky yarn made it weave up very quickly. Because you can make many sizes on this one board, I plan on making more pumpkins in different sizes.
The construction is very similar to the pumpkin in the My First Pumpkin 4 in 1 Set (crochet, knit, pin loom weaving, sewing) in our Etsy shop. The Kayu board is available in the Ullvuna shop on Etsy. Keep in mind, weaving on a small pin loom like the Zoom Loom is done in a three warp fashion. The Kayu shapes are bias woven.
Learn more:
My First Pumpkin Pattern (sewing, crochet, knit, pin loom weaving)
There have been many times walking through the yarn department at a store where I wished I could weave with some of the beautiful bulky yarn. Until now, I’ve just looked away, and gone straight to the medium worsted weight yarn section…until now! I have been weaving almost nonstop since the Kayu loom arrived on my doorstep. For the first time, I’ve been able to weave with bulky yarn on a pin loom. At first I wanted to warp it like a traditional pin loom with a three-pin configuration, but the pin spacing is not set up for that. Instead, this loom was designed to be bias woven. I don’t bias weave often, so I had to refresh my memory. Thankfully there are written instructions on the ullvuna.com website. Once I got going, I couldn’t stop!
After getting the loom and seeing the pin spacing, I realized that I didn’t have any bulky yarn that would work on this loom. After a quick stop at the store, I picked up the equivalent of Bernat’s Blanket yarn, which is ultra soft and velvet-like. My first square was so plush and soft, my youngest son immediately declared he needed a blanket woven from this yarn! Unfortunately for him, I had another project in mind, and his blanket would have to wait!
The Kayu loom, available in the Ullvuna shop on Etsy, is a beautiful weaving board that can make 3 shapes in multiple sizes, making it the equivalent of 15 looms. For my first project, I decided to make a plush sheep pillow. This took 2 shapes in two sizes. What is so great is, all the shapes I needed were on this one board/loom! Also, once you know how to weave a square or triangle, it weaves the same for the larger or smaller shapes. You really can just bias weave all kinds of shapes and sizes on one board/loom!
The size of the loom seemed large and bulky at first, but the first time I put it in my lap, it seemed just right. It also seems like it would feel large on the table, but when you are weaving, it just feels convenient! The loom arrived with a sweet carrying bag with a little sack of “pins” that my son enjoys setting and removing! All around, the Kayu loom is just a lot of fun.
If you’ve ever thought about pin loom weaving with bulky yarn, the Kayu Pin Loom is a great option.
Happy Weaving,
Deborah
I am excited to share that my Diamond Handbag is not only in I Like Crochet magazine August 2026 issue…it is the cover project!
This is such a fun project to crochet. I purposely set out to create something that can be made in panels. Why? I wanted something that would be relaxing enough to watch tv, and something that had lots of texture. There are so many wonderful crochet stitches and techniques in this bag, you’ll love it.
One of my favorite features of this bag is the folded over front corner adorned with big chunky tassels and a large flower button. The dip in the front panel makes it so much easier to reach into the bag for your belongings. I added a few silver beads where panels are joined, too.
As you can see from the cover text, this is a really fun issue with rugs galore, gorgeous geometric designs and sizzling southwestern ideas. I’ve taken a peek at a few of the projects and they are scrumptious.
I Like Crochet is a digital magazine, so you can access your pattern right away. Learn more about the August Issue of I Like Crochet and get your copy, today!
I love it when a great yarn is available in different yarn weights. I’ve crocheted with Everyday Worsted for years and years. This was my first project with Everday DK. And it was fabulous. This thinner yarn allows for more opportunity to make intricate designs. The diamond motif takes center stage…and the side panel still has room to wrap around the front.
As of this writing, Premier Anti-Pilling Everyday DK is available in 74 colors! I’m confident you can find just the right one for your Diamond Handbag.
Love Jimothy the raccoon? Sew him with us. This trio sewing pattern is fun, easy and great for new sewists. Make a coaster, a keychain or an Christmas ornament … or applique a towel or shirt. This Jimothy sewing pattern has step-by-step instructions for 3 projects but once you learn how to make the applique, you can put Jimothy on a whole host of things.
Jimothy Sewing Pattern Includes
Sewists love to capture moments in time in fabric and thread. Commemorate and sew a fun Jimothy raccoon, bison / American buffalo, or tourist for your bag. Or tie ribbon on them and make Christmas ornaments. The bison reminds us of our brother who attended CU Boulder. CU Buffs have an American Buffalo as their mascot. If you’re a fan of professional football like us, then you probably know someone that’s a fan of Buffalo Bills. Whatever your reason, this pattern makes it easy to sew fun projects.
The easy step-by-step sewing pattern for Jimothy, Bison / American Buffalo, Boy and Girl is now available in our Etsy shop. It includes tracing templates for Fimothy and Friends and 3 different step-by-step instructions for making a towel, keycahins and coaster.
When we saw Jimothy online, the first thing on our To-Sew List was the keychain. And we fell in love with it. The keychain is light weight and melts our hearts.
Second on our To-Sew List was the towel. We fell even more in love with Jimothy upon appliqueing him to a towel. It looks soo good next to the sink. Guests will get a real kick out of it.
Third and finally, we had to “quilt” a coaster. For this project we decided to go old school and sewed Jimothy with simple straight lines. Top stitching can be done with any technique like swirls or jagged “fur” scruff. But we opted for a geometric look.
Sew with us. Get your copy of Jimothy and Friends Sewing Pattern in our Etsy shop.
Make Jimothy as a coaster, keychain or applique for a towel or shirt – the pattern includes tracing templates for all three. But it also includes tracing templates to make a bison / American buffalo and a guy and gal tourist as a keychain or applique. Customize them with different fabrics to your hearts content.
Why Do You Need a Jimothy and Friends?
If you want quick and easy projects to make with your stash, this is it! We upcycled and stash busted for all of these projects. The fabrics were all remnants and bed linens picked up at a second hand store. The cork on the back of the coasters is an old roll we inherited from our dad when he retired from woodworking. We used snippets of stabilizer and batting we had in a remnants pile. This is the ultimate upcycling and sewing project to make practical and whimsical gifts.
Get your copy of Jimothy and Friends Sewing Pattern, today.
My love of bison (and an incident at Yellowstone) inspired me to create a pin loom bison stuffed animal. These impressively powerful mammals possess a quiet strength as they feed across the prairie. They are social creatures that seem unbothered by all the things around them.
For others in my family, the bison makes them recall their time at the University of Colorado. I imagine a blue bison could rile up a Buffalo’s fan or two!
I didn’t have any dark brown fur, so I decided to make the front of the bison with a textured stitch. The smocking stitch became especially prominent by warping the pin looms in a single strand of yarn, and weaving it double stranded. These two brown colors of Caron Simply Soft yarn really contrast nicely.
For me, determining the size of the head kind of dictates the size of the rest of the body. First, I imagined the different parts of the body in shapes, squares, rectangles, triangles, and cylinders. Then I determined the size of looms that would accomplish those the best.
I ended up using 6 different pin looms: 1″ and 2″ right triangle looms, 2″ and 4″ square looms, and 1″ x 4″ and 2″ x 4″ rectangle looms.
With a little folding, rolling, and tucking, this little bison quickly took shape. His finished size is 11″ long x 4″ wide x 7″ tall. For complete instructions, you can find the pattern in our Etsy shop. It includes step-by-step written instructions, charts, and photos.
Unlike those found in the wild, this one likes to cuddle!
Happy Weaving,
Deborah
Love pin loom weaving or Bison? Share one of our photos on social media.
Want to make one? The bison – American buffalo pin loom weaving pattern is available now in our Etsy shop.