Part One – Two stick yarn Mandalas
Yarn Mandelas often known as ‘Gods Eyes‘ are my latest obsession.
I’m teaching two classes on Yarn Mandelas, at this years 2022 Hummocks Retreat. I’m pretty excited about it.
I find these simple weavings meditative and relaxing to work. Focusing on the repetitive movements of my hands and the colours of the yarn, helps me to stay mindfully in the moment. Focusing my mind on one simple action over and over again, helping me control my anxious mind.
The simplest of the Yarn Mandalas is the two stick mandela. Although simple, this weaving I find to be the most difficult to plan and weave. As it has limited weave structures it relies on getting the composition just right. Colour, spacing, balance and even the weaving must be paid particular attention to, as there is not the busyness to hide anything that is not pleasing to the eye.
Simple is not easy.
Choosing Colours
The two stick mandala relies most on the selection of colour for appeal.
I have a free class on Thinkific that explains colour selection specifically for Yarn Crafters. So I won’t go into great detail here.
A few tips:
- Choose at least three colours.
- Ensure there is a different in value. If you take a black and white image of your chosen colours you can see they are a different depth of grey. (Value)
- Balance – repeat the colours fairly evenly.
- Don’t be scared to leave space an absence of colour draws the eye and can act as a frame.
Weaving Techniques I use:
- Wrap and rotate – working around all 4 points
- Reverse wrap and rotate – working around all 4 pints with the stick showing to the front of the work and the weaving stepped back.
- Feathers – Wrapping from front to back around opposite points.
- Two thread twist, wrap and rotate.
In the video below I will demonstrate each of the above techniques.