Weave an Autumn Tree
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Explore the colors of fall with a weaving project that has the cheerfully retro feel of macramé.
What you'll need
- Flexible branch (ours is about 3 feet long; see tip below)
- Masking tape
- Brown yarn
- 1-inch-wide strips of fabric (ours are mostly fleece, which gives the tree volume)
For this project, look for a long, thin, straight branch that you can prune from a tree or bush; dead limbs will be too brittle. We used buckthorn for ours. Other good bets: forsythia, willow, and grapevine.
How to make it
Bend the branch into a loop and use masking tape to join the overlapping ends.
Cut the yarn into 15 pieces that are about twice as long as the diameter of the loop. (You can use more or fewer yarn pieces, but you must have an odd number of them.) Tie one end of each yarn piece to the top of the loop.
Gather the loose ends of the yarn and tie them with a single knot around the bottom of the loop.
Weave the fabric strips into the top half of the tree, tucking under the ends.
To create the tree trunk, divide the strands of yarn into two or three unequal bunches and wrap each with brown yarn. As you get closer to the bottom, wrap the bunches into one trunk. Tuck yarn ends into the back of the weaving. Hang your tree from a nail.
