Weaving with Roving Instructions
Introduction
Learn 6 ways to weave with roving in this beginner weaver tutorial. You can use these weaving techniques in your own woven wall hanging to weave texture and color!
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In this tutorial you will learn:
- what is roving
- how to weave with wool roving
- weaving texture techniques
What is roving?
Roving is unspun yarn, so it is not as strong or structured as spun yarn. It comes in a tube like form. Although the fibers aren’t spun together, their structure allows them to stay together when a large section is pulled. So when you want to remove a section, pull a smaller section off to the side.
How do you weave with wool roving?
Wool roving can be woven on a weaving loom. Roving is unspun yarn with textured fibers and shape, so weaving with roving can add texture and volume to your woven wall hanging or tapestry. Weaving patterns most commonly used for weaving with wool roving is soumak or plain weave.
Materials Needed:
tapestry needle
wool roving
warp yarn
loom
Method 1: Weave color accents with small strips of roving between each row of plain weave.
After weaving a few rows of plain weave, pull a few pieces of wool roving off and add them to small sections of the row. Then weave one to two rows of plain weave over it. In the next row, add more roving to areas that the roving was not added to previously- this way the colors can spread out as you develop the design.
Method 2: Weave puffy roving texture with an end of a tapestry needle.
After weaving a few rows of plain weave, pull a few pieces of wool roving off and add them to small sections of the row. Then weave one to two rows of plain weave over it. In the next row, add more roving to areas that the roving was not added to previously- this way the colors can spread out as you develop the design.
Method 3: Weave thick chunky sections of roving.
Weaving a chunky piece of roving can be challenging, so weave with a shed stick to hold the warp strings open. Read the full tutorial on how to easily make a shed stick and use a shed stick in your weaving, Shed Sticks: Everything you need to know!
Weave a chunky strip of roving through every other warp string. It is important that the roving can move through the warp but also give it enough spacing to build up the texture. Next, move the tip of your tapestry needle behind the roving and gently pull it forward. This will make the roving puff up and stay in place. Move to the next section of roving and repeat. If needed, with your opposite hand apply pressure to the previous roving puff to keep the texture in place. Repeat until you have reached the end of the section.
Method 4: Weave layers of roving to mix two colors.
Take two small sections from two different colors of roving.Weave one color first, then weave the next one on top of it in the same row. You can move the two pieces around to show more or less of one color. Then weave one to two rows of plain weave to hold the roving in place.
Method 5: Weave plain weave chunky strips of roving.
Take four to five long sections of roving. Weave each section of plain weave through every 2 warp strings- so the roving will appear wider. The wider the spacing between the warp the wider or larger the roving will appear. As you weave each row of roving, a bubbly texture will appear and the warp will not be visible.
Method 6: Weave ombre roving with soumak weave pattern
This technique requires some preparation. You will need four sections of roving and two colors of roving.
Section 1: Color 1
Section 2: 75% Color 1 / 25% Color 2
Section 3: 50% Color 1 / 50% Color 2
Section 4: Color 2
Take a few large sections of roving and open them flat. Then layer the two colors into four sections as described above.
Weave each section in order from color one to color two (or vice versa). Take your time when creating the texture. Read and watch the full soumak tutorial in this post, Soumak Weave: Braid Weaving Pattern.
Method 7: Weave organic shapes with roving.
Gather a few warp strings and wrap a long section of roving across the warp using the soumak pattern. You can move the roving into an organic form and build up smaller sections around it. This is a gradual process, so take your time building up the design.
Conclusion
Wool roving is a great way to add texture to your weaving. Roving is easy to use and great for experimenting on the loom.
Thank you for reading- I hope that you can use some techniques for your next (or first!) project with roving!
