Finger Weaving Instructions with Carol James

Carol teaches you to fingerweave, beginning with a project with 8 strands of yarn, and resulting in a friendship bracelet or bookmark. She then shows you a more efficient manner to hold and manipulate larger numbers of threads.

The video takes you stepwise through a series of traditional fingerwoven patterns, building from simple to more complex. Carol shows you how to execute the pattern with threads, and also how to map the patterns using graph paper. Follow the patterns on the attached handout.

Also included is a section on mistakes, how to detect mistakes, how to correct, and how to avoid mistakes in the first place.
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From the author of Fingerweaving Untangled, clear instructions on the subject of fingerweaving. This 2 1/2 hour video assumes no previous weaving or braiding experience. It begins with a project using 8 strands of yarn, resulting in a friendship bracelet. The video takes you stepwise through a series of traditional fingerwoven patterns, building from simple to more complex. Watch Carol's expert fingers move. Learn to make the designs watching animated follow-along patterns. Also included is a section on mistakes, how to detect mistakes, how to correct, and how to avoid mistakes in the first place.

What you will learn

  • two different ways to set up the threads
  • a basic method to make an 8-strand friendship bracelet
  • how to twist fringes to finish the piece
  • a more efficient method to use your fingers to manipulate threads
  • how to check your work, what mistakes look like, how to avoid mistakes
  • how to read patterns
  • how to create diverse designs
    • diagonal stripe
    • vertical stripe
    • sawtooth
    • chevron
    • reverse chevron
    • arrowhead
    • arrow & lightning
    • bulls eye
    • curlicue

Materials needed: yarn*, 2 sticks**, tape, scissors, an anchor point

* Feel free to use any smooth yarn that you have around the house, cotton, linen, wool, acrylic. Thicker yarn (worsted or DK weight) is more preferable to thin for beginners.
**Sticks could be pencils or popsicle sticks or chopsticks or twigs or knitting needles
Average rating:
(based on 6 ratings)

Customer reviews:

Fantastic instruction! Carol is so relaxed and calm, gives precise instructions with close ups, and has multitudes of hints and suggestions. I especially liked her section on common mistakes-- I can now easily recognize and watch for weaving errors. Although I have 2 books on finger weaving, it was her section on efficiently holding and moving yarns from one hand to the other ("scissors and pinching") that helped me develop a flow and rhythm. Watching her videos multiple times gives me confidence (she assuredly assumes I will get it!). I also really appreciated her rudimentary tools -- chopsticks, a chair to warp, tape, etc. All in all, excellent!

By  Diana Hsieh  on  Dec 20 2025 06:05 AM

So usefull! Essential to really understand how finger weaving really works. You cannot get it from books only.

By  weaverbkk  on  Jun 17 2023 04:36 AM
,This video answered a lot of questions I had. It was very easy to understand. I have been trying to do the arrow pattern for a long time, I have books, watched other videos the visuals just weren’t where I could understand. I watched this video and now I get it. Carol James starts you out small and progresses to the next level. You ll be able to do each of the patterns she has shown. Thank you Carol James I love this video it was worth the wait. 
By  MJ Hinu  on  Dec 22 2019 05:41 AM