Don’t Just Weave Something—Make It Your Own!

I’m so excited to show you the Fall 2025 issue of Handwoven, and not just because of all the wonderful projects you’ll find in it. We’ve been working on something new for you!

We’re calling this new feature Make It Your Own, because that’s exactly what we’re encouraging you to do as you weave.

What is Make It Your Own?

In the past few issues of Handwoven we’ve been giving you a sneak peek at this new feature—which suggests specific ways you can customize projects for your own personal preferences. We’ve shown yarn wraps for alternate colorways, given tips explaining how to make a draft narrower or wider, suggested alternate drafts that require fewer shafts, and outlined how to calculate the amount of fiber your new version will require.

If you’re wondering how that works, check out Donna Flack Shadix’s eight-shaft turned taqueté Sunset Fiesta Towels project on page 21 in the Summer 2025 issue. You’ll find ideas there for:

• Changing up the treadling blocks.
• Threading colors in a different order.
• Using different warp or weft colors.
• Weaving one of these towels on a four-shaft loom.

Of course, if you like a project exactly as printed, the instructions show you just how to make it. That’s not changing!

But would you rather weave it with different colors, or to a different size, or with a different fiber, or on a loom with fewer (or more) shafts? In upcoming issues we’ll continue to provide suggestions for how to go about making changes like those. You’ll need to do a little planning and experimenting on your own, but your reward will be a project woven exactly as you prefer. And in the end, isn’t that what we’re all hoping for?

Ideas from the Fall 2025 Issue

Véronique Perrot (above) and Angela K. Schneider (below) wove samples that show color, structure, and pattern scale options for their Fall 2025 projects.

In the Fall 2025 issue, you’ll find all sorts of Make It Your Own suggestions, including:

• Half a dozen variations for a throw—including its final size, loom size, number of shafts, and scale of the patterning. We’ll leave alternate color ideas for this project in your hands!
• Alternate treadling options for several sets of dish towels.
• Yarn wraps showing suggested colorways for one of those sets of towels.
• Ideas for improvising twill stripes on a pillow.
• How to weave napkins with custom stripes.
• A surprise to weave when you’re getting tired of your towel warp.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with as you weave these projects!

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Have you changed a Handwoven project to make it your own? Please show us your work on Instagram or Facebook by using #handwovenmagazine. We’d like to share some of your creations with other weavers.