In Part 2 of her Spice Up Your Selvedges series, popular weaving teacher Sara Bixler suggests that you consider crochet when you’re finishing your piece. If you missed Part 1, which covered ways to deal with lace and weft floats, you can find it here.
—Handwoven editors
A handwoven’s intended purpose drives the fiber and the structure we choose to work with.
Likewise, when it comes to finishing, the best method may depend on who the piece is for and how it will be used—and finishing is also an opportunity to add a final bit of polish to your work.
This is where crochet can come in handy—as a practical edging where fringe could be a problem, or as a decorative edging that enhances your piece. I show an example of each in this video tip.
Crochet Trims to Try
Below are three projects that use crocheted edgings for practicality or style, plus a sampler to weave and then try out edge trimmings on.
Photo by Joe Coca
- Ilse Brake’s Pastel Baby Blanket, above, has a crocheted shell stitch edging on all four sides. Find the project in the Weaving for Baby eBook.
Photo by Joe Coca
- Sally Gelbaugh’s embroidered basketweave vest, back side shown above, has an edging of single crochet plus picot stitching all the way around the finished garment. Find it in the September/October 2004 issue, on page 71.
Photo by Joe Coca
Liz Gipson’s Pocket Scarf, above, has a scalloped crocheted border on the pockets. Download the free project.
Looking for more trims? Weave a sampler and then try out more than 20 crocheted (and knitted) trims on it. Download the free project.
Have you added crocheted borders around your handwovens? Please tag your posts #handwovenmagazine so we can all see what you’ve done.