I know... I've been missing for 3 months, but I've missed you guys so much! Somehow, uni got the better of me and amongst the never-ending assignments, I simply did not have the time to update (I still don't - I'm two days away from my first final exam but I really needed a break from all that science...), and to apologise, here's a sweet and simple DIY to add a splash of colour to your wall.
What you'll need:
- Scissors
- A rod/dowel/stick from a tree
- Assorted yarn and rags (I chose a red, black and grey colour scheme)
1. Cut shallow notches into the top and bottom edges of your cardboard about 1.5 cm/0.5 in apart. Make sure they don't go too deep, otherwise your notches will bend and your hanging won't turn out even on the edges.
2. Take a piece of your background yarn (choose a neutral colour like black, grey or white) and tie the end to the bottom left corner. Weave the yarn up and down between the notches as you move across.
3. I like to start off with my 'end' colour to give my piece some coherence. Take some black (or neutral) yarn and weave in and out across the lines until you have about 5 or 6 rows. You may find it easier to use a darning needle, but I just grabbed the end with my fingers and pulled it across.
4. Now you can start with the other colours! To give my hanging some texture, I chose yarn of different thicknesses, and wove in some fabric strips I cut from old clothes (yay for repurposing!). Make sure each colour block is of a different thickness to the ones around it to give it some interesting variation.
As you weave, make sure not to pull your yarn too tight. It will make your hanging turn into a bottleneck in the middle - if this happens, you will have to go back and loosen up your yarn.
5. When you approach the ends, you may want to leave a gap at the top where the yarn fits between the notches. I kept weaving all the way up to the top, because I didn't like the empty space. Leave about 1 cm space for your rod. I also tidied off the bottom and unhooked it from the cardboard, and filled in the space with more yarn.
6. Carefully take off one notch at a time and thread the rod through. I tried to keep the little holes facing the same way so they will sit neatly on the rod without twisting.
7. Tuck your ends into the back of the hanging with a crochet hook if you have one, or simply use a bobby pin. You should have something like this:
8. Now for the fringe! Cut out 30 cm/12 in pieces of yarn in three or fewer colours (I chose the colours that stood out the most).
9. Thread them onto the bottom of the hanging, making sure all of the knots are facing the same way.
10. Once you're done with the fringe, tie some yarn around the rod and hang it up!
My room has a lot of black and red in it, so this looks great! I'm thinking of doing a few more in different colours and patterns. What do you think?
