Handwoven Spring 2026

Step into a world of color, pattern, and shimmering effects inspired by the tiny creatures all around us.

The ten projects in this issue celebrate the details that make insects so captivating. You’ll weave a table runner that echoes a distinctive butterfly’s coloration and another that draws on a beetle’s hues and shape. Two scarves use different techniques to create shimmering effects, while a third suggests a drifting flight of dragonflies. There are cheerful ladybug towels, garden-inspired moth towels, butterfly pillow covers woven with a special pick-up technique, and cocoon-like zipper bags shaped on the loom for simple finishing. The collection wraps up with a versatile shawl that can even become a set of playful wings for a child.

Projects explore a range of structures—including plain weave, boundweave, shadow weave, summer and winter, and lots of twills—using cotton, cottolin, bamboo, silk, Tencel, and wool.

You’ll also find articles about drafting and weaving techniques, textile history, and even pest control, including:

• Tom Knisely writes about how to keep bugs and other tiny creatures out of your stash.
• Media Picks reviews a new book about the power of profile drafting.
• Read about the history of two insects and the brilliant reds they give us.
• Learn dozens of ways you can achieve shimmer in your weaving.
• Yarn Lab takes a closer look at Yarn Barn of Kansas’s new Big Dipper and Little Dipper Tencel.

Let your weaving take flight with the ideas you’ll find in Handwoven Spring 2026.

Articles

• Notes from the Fell—A Tale of Moths and Mice, by Tom Knisely
• Two Insects and Their Brilliant Reds, by Sara Temme
• A Bounty of Ways to Weave Shimmer, by Bobbie Irwin
• Media Picks—Profile Drafting for Handweavers, by Deb Essen; reviewed by Lynn Rognsvoog
• Yarn Lab—A Pair of New Tencels for Effortless Weaving, by Samantha Haring
• Endnotes—Weaving with Aloha, by Rebecca Fox

Projects

• ON THE COVER: Hawk Moth Dish Towels, by Tina Glassenbury (8-shaft)
• Flight of Dragonflies Scarf, by Shelby Moravec (8-shaft)
• Lucky Ladybug Towels, by Sue Anne Sullivan (7-shaft)
• Woolly Cocoon Bags, by Emily Barth (4-shaft)
• Flights of Fancy, by Malynda Allen (4-shaft)
• Blue Morpho Runner, by Sydney Sogol (8-shaft)
• Shimmering Wings Scarf, by Linda Riley (8-shaft)
• Shimmering Water Scarf, by Annette Swan Schipf (4-shaft)
• Jeweled Beetle Runner, by Rahul Kiran (5-shaft)
• Elusive Butterfly Pillows, by Penny Hajdu (4-shaft)

All items in the library are intended for personal use. Please do not distribute without written approval.