YouTube: Shadow Weaving, Sock Knitting & Bead Weaving

Show notes and transcript

Mar 01, 2025

New YouTube video! This week, I share my latest weaving adventures, from tackling herringbone to diving into shadow weave (trust me, it's magic). Plus, I finally finished my Christmas Eve Cast-On socks and whipped up a funky beaded bracelet! Grab a cozy drink and let’s chat all things fiber arts. ☕✨

WIPs (Works in Progress)

Shadowplay Kitchen Towels (Handwoven Magazine: Nov/Dec 2021) – Read More
Zebras on the Serengeti Scarf by Carla Jeanne Hubbart (Handwoven Magazine) – View the Pattern

WEAVING SUPPLIES

Maurice Brassard 8/2 Cotton – Shop Here
Harrisville Designs Lap Loom Kit – Get It on Amazon
Ashford 10" Rigid Heddle Loom – Find at Woolery
Ashford 16" Rigid Heddle Loom – View Here

Disclaimer

This post is not sponsored (I’ll always mention if it is!). Some links are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you shop through them. This helps support my content so I can keep sharing my creative journey with you. Thank you for your support! 💖

Transcript

It’s witchcraft. It’s wonderful. And I love it so much.

Hey everybody, welcome back to my channel! I’m Kristin, and if you’re new here, this is my little corner of the internet where I pop in every other week or so to share what I’ve been making. I do a lot of knitting, crochet, quilting, bead weaving, and lately—a heck of a lot of floor loom and rigid heddle weaving. If that sounds like your kind of thing, you’re in good company! So, grab a cup of something cozy, and let’s dive in.

Housekeeping & Social Media Updates

Just a couple of housekeeping notes before we get started!

First off, thank you so much for bearing with me on my last episode. If you tuned in, you know I was filming downstairs in my living room, where the sun was absolutely unhinged. It was late in the day, and I thought filming in front of my floor loom would be a nice touch—but apparently, it was the wrong time of day to hit record. So, if you made it through all that glare, I appreciate you! It feels great to be back in my craft room, where I can control the lighting.

Also, I totally forgot to charge my little orb light back there, but you know what? We’re making it work.

Oh! And before I forget—you can now find me on Bluesky and Substack! Those are two new platforms I’m exploring, so if you feel like following me over there, I’d love to have you. But if you can’t handle another social media platform (trust me, I get it), no pressure! I’m still on Instagram for now, but I’m definitely feeling a bit over some aspects of it.

Substack, in particular, has been a fun experiment—it’s like a mix of a blog, newsletter, and social media, but without the algorithm nonsense. You can just post things, and people actually see them. What a concept, right? Anyway, if you’re curious, I’ll drop links below.

Coffee Break: The Stitch Witch Mug

Before we get into the making, can we take a moment to appreciate my coffee mug this week?

It says "Stitch Witch," and my friend Tara gifted it to me for my birthday! (Even though my birthday was last month, we finally got together, and she had this little surprise for me.) Tara, if you’re watching—thank you! I love this mug.

Currently housing my absolute favorite coffee—Stumptown Hairbender with oat milk and a packet of Stevia. Cheers! ☕✨

Finished Object: Christmas Eve Cast-On Socks

Alright, let’s talk about finished objects!

I finally finished my Christmas Eve Cast-On Socks! I completely forgot to mention this project in previous episodes, but when Dennis and I flew to Amsterdam on Christmas Eve, I cast on a pair of socks on the plane… and only just finished them. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

These are knit out of my own hand-dyed yarn—Voolenvine Yarns—on my new Nouveau Base, which is a 100% superwash merino single-ply fingering weight yarn.

To be completely honest, this is the first time I’ve ever knit socks with my Nouveau base. I usually reserve 100% superwash merino for garments, shawls, and accessories since it doesn’t contain nylon, which typically adds durability to socks. But I really love how these knit up. They’re so soft! These will definitely be cozy house socks rather than everyday wear socks, but I’m totally okay with that.

The colorway is called Merry Mermaid, which I dyed for the holiday season. I just love the random pops of berry—it gets me every time.

For the heel, I used the Fish Lips Kiss Heel by Sox Therapist. It’s my go-to when I need something easy to memorize. If I’m traveling or casting on socks on the fly, I always default to it.

In case you’re wondering, my sock blockers are Bryson Steel Sock Blockers—I’ll link them below!

Weaving Adventures: Herringbone & Shadow Weave

Let’s talk weaving!

If you’ve been following along, you know that weaving has been a huge learning curve for me. There have been high points (aha! moments) and very low points (why am I doing this to myself?! moments). A few weeks ago, I was completely down on myself because I couldn’t figure out how to weave herringbone stitch on my rigid heddle loom.

Long story short—I finally made it happen on my floor loom! 🎉

Technically, this isn’t a finished object yet, but the weaving part is done. It was supposed to be a scarf, but I ran into a little issue while warping the loom. (Classic Kristin.) Instead of scrapping it, I’m turning the fabric into project bags! It’s got a nice sturdy texture, so I think it’ll work beautifully.

Now, let’s talk about shadow weaving.

Shadow weave is witchcraft, and I love it. When you’re weaving, it almost looks like a Monet painting—up close, it’s just dots and strokes, but when you step back, the pattern emerges. And the real magic happens after wet blocking, when the fibers shrink and the design becomes even more visible.

For this project, I used Maurice Brassard 8/2 cotton in salmon, cayenne, sienna, and burnt orange. It took forever to warp, but now that I’m weaving, it’s going smoothly.

Bead Weaving: Cornucopia Bracelet

If you’ve been hearing jingling while I talk—it’s this beaded bracelet I just finished!

This is the Cornucopia Bracelet pattern by Jill Wiseman Designs. It’s such a fun, low-stress bead weaving project. You start with two brick stitch triangles, then weave a bunch of beads between them in a random zigzag pattern.

I used beads from my Potomac Beads Subscription and Dollar Bead Box, including some I wasn’t sure I’d ever use (like these weird green Czech glass beads that remind me of Slimer from Ghostbusters). But once I laid them all out, the color palette just worked.

It only took about two hours to make, and I love it.

Final Thoughts & Links

That’s everything I have to share this week! If you made it this far—thank you so much for hanging out with me.

If you haven’t already, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I put out new videos every two weeks, and if you’d like even more content, you can check out my Weekly Waffle vlogs (exclusive to channel members).

🔗 Links to everything I mentioned are below!

Until next time, happy making! ✨

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