I'm sure the inside is of your 2015 journal this year will be covered with pretty pictures, amazing ideas and gorgeous drawings … but what about the cover? Here's how to create a woven cover for your journal that will inspire you all year long.
See, I love yarn, but I don't knit or crochet, so I'm always trying to find ways to play with yarn that does not involve sharp objects. When I discovered weaving this summer, I knew I had met my true yarn love. It seemed only natural that I would combine my passions for art journaling and weaving.
Weaving the cover of your journal is just like that weaving on cardboard you did as a kid. Don't remember that weaving? Don't worry—it's super easy.
Using a ruler, mark spaces on the top and bottom of your journal cover, about half an inch apart.
Next, using scissors or a craft knife, go in cut slits along your markings, about half an inch deep.
In weaving, you have a warp and a weft. First, you need to establish your warp—the piece of vertical yarn which will go in and out between the slits you cut.
Make a small loop and knot at one end of your yarn. Secure that loop to the bottom corner slit you have cut in your journal cover. From here, you will pull the yarn up behind the next slit, then down and behind the next slit.
Continue until you have a warp across the entire cover.
Tie a knot and secure the end of the yarn when you are finished.
Now you are ready to create your weft. This part of the weaving, which goes horizontally, is where you can get fancy and add in a pattern. The pattern and yarn you use are completely up to you—and if you want to get crazy and add pompoms or tassels, go for it. I wanted a plain weave, so that my journal would still be flat on the front.
Using a large plastic needle and yarn, weave your weft through your warp: over, under, over, under. When you get to the end of your warp, turn around and go the opposite way back across the journal. Every other pass with the weft across the warp should be top, bottom, top, bottom.
Weave until your journal front is complete. In a typical weaving you would use a needle to weave your loose ends in. I decided to tie mine in knots.
Sometimes you really can judge a book by the cover! I think my new art journal decoration explains what is inside pretty well.
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