Woven Yoga Mat Strap

Make your own yoga mat strap with this easy version of Baltic Strap weaving.

Supplies:

Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn in 4 colors

4” 8 Dent Heddle

4” or 8” Stick Shuttle

2 D Rings 1.5”

Back Strap. This can be as simple as a belt or sturdy rope tied around your waist.

This project will be warped in a totally different manor from how we usually warp a loom.

Begin by cutting 3.5 yard lengths of yarn.

If you have a Kromski Harp Forte or a warping board, this can be made much easier. If you don’t, no problem, just measure out the lengths and cut them individually.

Find something to hold the 4″ heddle upright.

I’ve used a Kromski warping clamp to hold mine.

Drape the warp yarns over a chair or similar so that you can pull one strand at a time to warp the heddle as follows, beginning on either side.

First – 2 white, 2 pink, 2 white. This will form the border.

Then – 1 green, 2 white (3 times)

Next – 1 blue

Followed by – 2 white, 1 green (3 times)

Finally, the other border – 2 white, 2 pink, 2 white.

Lay the warp across a table as you warp one strand at a time.

Once the heddle is warped, even out the ends behind the heddle and tie them in a knot.

Tie a slip knot at a point in the length that will make for comfortable weaving and attach that to a peg or door knob.

Before you begin to weave, the warp must be smoothed. Tie a temporary loose knot in the other end so that the heddle will not fall off.

With the far end attached to your peg or door knob, smooth out the yarn to assure that the tension is even and securely re-tie the front end of the warp. Moving the heddle along the length can assist in smoothing and untangling the yarn.

Load the stick shuttle on one side only with white yarn for the weft. You will leave the other side empty and use that in place of the heddle to beat the yarn after each pass.

Tie the back strap or belt around your waist and attach the weaving to that. Tie a piece of yarn around the knot and then tie that to the belt. A simple knot that you can easily untie to advance will work. You can sit in a chair or on the floor – wherever you feel most comfortable.

Make sure you have the pattern and shuttle nearby as you prepare to weave.

Let’s begin weaving!

First we will secure the end so that it won’t unravel when we are finished.

1.Lift the heddle, pass the shuttle from right to left. Leave a 6” tail.

2. Lower the heddle, pass the shuttle from left to right. Then bring the tail through the same shed. Pull the end of the tail and the weft to snug it against the edges. Press down firmly with the shuttle (NOT the heddle).

3. Raise the heddle and pass the shuttle through. Keep the shed open and pass the tail through again too. Snug up the selvage edges.

4. Lower the heddle once more and pass just the shuttle through this time. The tail can be trimmed once the strap is finished.

We are now ready to begin the pattern.

Note that the side edge border is not drawn out over the entire length of the pattern.

It will be worked in plain weave throughout, so there is no need.

You may also notice the dots on some of the pattern squares. Those depict the pattern threads as they lifted by the heddle. If they are not colored in, they will need to be pushed to the background.

Let’s take a look at that.

The 1st section is plain weave. All of the pattern colors have dots, therefore we know that they will be engaged by the heddle.

Weave this section for 4”.

The 1st row of the pattern repeat (the section within the yellow box) shows that the center thread, a blue thread, is lifted, because we see a dot, but it is not colored in.

We don’t want that thread at the top so it will need to be pushed back below the shuttle.

To do this, insert the shuttle into the shed and pack down the warp. Then pull it out and reach in with your fingers to move the blue thread to the back. Replace the shuttle while holding the blue thread to the back. Pass the shuttle and prepare for the next pass.

*This may be much easier to understand through the video which you can find here.

The second pattern row shows that 2 green threads are lifted. We know this because of the dots. They are not colored in so they must be pushed to the pack in the same way as the previous row.

Continue in this manor completing the pattern repeat as many times as needed to achieve a 2 yard length.

Weave the bottom section again for 4”.

If you are struggling to keep your selvages even, try this little trick.

Fold a piece of card stock 4”x3” lengthwise into thirds, making a thick 1”x4” piece. Now fold that in half and place it around the strap. Wrap tape around the edges that stick out past the strap. Draw a line on the paper the same width as your strap.

Now you have a template that you can slide along as you weave and check that your strap width is consistent.

To finish the end so that it won’t unravel, you will need a piece of yarn that is thinner than the yarn you are working with. It only needs to be about 8” long. Fold that yarn in half.

Pass the shuttle through normally. Before you change the shed, place the folded yarn into the same shed so that the loop is on the opposite side of the shuttle.

Change the shed and pass the shuttle back to the side with the loop of yarn.

Cut the weft, leaving approximately an 8” tail.

Draw the end of the tail through the loop of thinner yarn. Do not pull it snug.

Pull gently on the thin yarn. It will pull the end of the weft through the row of weaving below the last row. Pull until the end of the tail is free and discard the thin yarn. Tighten the selvage if needed before trimming the tail. The weft is now secure and the band can be safely cut from the heddle.

Trim the ends so that the fringe is about 1” long. Once the D-Rings are firmly attached you can trim it further.

To make the strap into a Yoga Mat Strap attach a D-Ring on either end. This is best done on a sewing machine, but can be accomplished by hand f a machine is not available.

Run one end of the strap through the D-Ring and fold over 1 inch towards to back side of the design. Stitch a square with an X on the folded area.

This will create a nice strong attachment.

Repeat this on the other side.

Pull the strap through each D-Ring and slide the loops over your mat. To do this, simply push the strap through the D-ring, with the raw, sewn end to the outside. Keep pulling the part of the strap that is nearest the end until the sewn “X” flips through to the inside of the loop. Repeat this on the other side.