Projects Inspired by the Tiniest of Creatures

Welcome to the Spring 2026 issue of* Handwoven! *In it, you’ll find 10 irresistible projects that look to the colors, shapes, and shimmer of the tiniest creatures for weaving inspirations, a review of a new book about the power of profile drafts, an article about the reds that two insects have given us, and a look at a new pair of Tencels. Here’s more about what you’ll find in the pages of this issue.

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I’ll admit that the theme of this issue—bugs—concerned me right from the start, even though it was entirely my idea.

After all, the scurrying legs, surprise appearances, and stinging parts of various insects can be off-putting, and we really don’t welcome the sight of bugs in our weaving spaces.

Nevertheless, I find myself drawn to the astounding variety of looks these tiny creatures sport: brilliant (or subtle) colors; stripes, dots, swirls, and other patterns; bodies of all shapes and sizes; delicate transparency; and shimmering iridescence.

Why not devote an issue to those shapes, colors, patterns, and textures? I ran the idea past some colleagues and other weavers, took a deep breath, and posted a call for submissions.

But then I found myself fretting late at night, when even small problems loom large. Would weavers be put off by the topic? (2 a.m. me: Everyone will hate it.) Would they find insects as intriguing as I do? (2 a.m. me: Absolutely not. This was a terrible idea!) Would anyone be willing to design projects around creepy crawlies? (2 a.m. me: What was I thinking?)

As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. When the designs came flooding in, I realized my biggest problem was going to be choosing only a dozen or so ideas from among all the wonderful submissions.

Because the designers in this issue did share my fascination, and they found inspiration in bugs of all sorts—ladybugs and other beetles, butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies.

We have a set of dish towels inspired by moths and another by ladybugs, a scarf evoking damselfly wings (and woven in honeycomb, to boot!), a runner showcasing the colors of the blue morpho butterfly, two scarves inspired by shimmer (but woven in different ways), and a wrap and a runner with shapes and colors that evoke beetles.

There’s more: A scarf and a pillow with inlaid dragonflies and butterflies, a shawl that can turn into wings for a special child to fly, and even a set of zippered moth cocoons to hold your bits and bobs.

Left: Sydney Sogol’s Blue Morpho Runner uses twill blocks to showcase the distinct wing colors of its namesake butterfly. Right: Emily Barth’s Woolly Coccoon Bags take their patterning from three moths. You’ll definitely want to see the ingenious way that they’re woven and constructed.

Left: Shelby Moravec’s Flight of Dragonflies scarf uses silk to capture the colors and iridescence of those beautiful creatures.
Right: Penny Hajdu used a twill pick-up technique to portray a modest (and newly discovered) butterfly on a pair of pillow covers.

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Free Project PDF and WIF Downloads

Three projects in this issue have drafts or charts that were too long to fit in the print issue. Download the full project PDFs and WIFs for free at the following links:

• This issue’s beautiful cover project—the Hawk Moth Dish Towels by Tina Glassenbury.

• The Flights of Fancy Shawl and Wings by Malynda Allen, with weaving instructions and steps for turning the shawl into wings.

• The Blue Morpho Runner by Sydney Sogol, including a rundown of treadling blocks that you can use to improvise your own version.

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Also in this Issue

• Yarn Lab spends time with the new Big Dipper and Little Dipper Tencels by Yarn Barn of Kansas.

• Read about two insects, the brilliant reds they give us, and the oversized historic roles those colors played on opposite sides of the earth.

• Bobbie Irwin runs down a bounty of ways to weave shimmer. I’m afraid that a bad caption slipped past us in this piece—Photo 8 on page 27 doesn’t show a crépe weave at all. That’s huck! My apologies.

• I review Deb Essen’s new book about profile drafts. Not sure exactly what profile drafts are good for? Deb explains everything, along with how to plan your next project around one, and why you might do that.

• Tom Knisely tells tales of moths (and bonus mice!) in Notes from the Fell.

Subscribe today to read our review of Big Dipper and Little Dipper, and to get access to all 10 projects, as well as three bonus web projects.

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Have you changed a Handwoven project to make it your own? Please share your photos with us on Instagram or Facebook using #handwovenmagazine. As always, please send your weaving questions and comments to handwoven@longthreadmedia.com. I look forward to hearing from you! —Lynn