To Knot or Not to Knot?

This is a tutorial on how to begin a square without tying a knot, how to read a chart and follow a pattern, and how to make BEAUTIFUL squares with even warp and weft distribution.

To begin, if you DO want to start your square by tying a reverse slip knot to secure the yarn to your loom, see this short video (there are obviously other parts in this six-part series, and you’re welcome to watch those as well. But be prepared to die of boredom because not only is there no plot . . . well, you’ll see).*

Tie a reverse slip knot and attach it to one of the four pins near Cr1; begin warping as usual.

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The name of this pattern is a bit of a mouthful, so feel free to abbreviate—HBBX. It’s derived from a combination of Banded Heart and Diamond Bar X; hence the name. One of the nice things about this pattern is that the heart is slightly taller than Banded Heart (by one row), so it’s centered on the square.

I needed some color swatches for my current project, so I used this pattern and its variations for my samples (which is why I wove all the variations instead of posting, “Four more I haven’t tried yet.”). While weaving the second square (Variation 1), I discovered a mistake in the design, so the first sample has it and the second two, as well as the diagrams, don’t.

Heart Band Bar X

After looking at this more closely I see I left out the two center U3s of R8—another mistake! This square might look better had I put them in.

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