Some are close cousins, others more distant relations, but together they show the ingenuity people have always brought to shaping flexible materials into structure.
Traditional basketry relies on long lengths of material that can be bent, twisted and interlaced. The forms and patterns often echo those found in WLW, but the scale and materials are quite different. WLW adapts that structural spirit to short loops, creating a bridge between age-old techniques and modern materials.
Image 1 Lace Making Source | Image 2 Cable weave Source | Image 3 Brigid’s Cross Source | Image 4 Froebel Star Source
Traditional basketry relies on long lengths of material that can be bent, twisted and interlaced. The forms and patterns often echo those found in WLW, but the scale and materials are quite different. WLW adapts that structural spirit to short loops, creating a bridge between age-old techniques and modern materials.
Image 1 Lace Making Source | Image 2 Cable weave Source | Image 3 Brigid’s Cross Source | Image 4 Froebel Star Source
The windmill knot is a close relative of WLW. It shares the same over–under rhythm and distinctive cross shape, and appears in many traditions worldwide. A familiar example is the coconut-leaf windmill toy, woven as a playful knot that comes alive in the wind. In Aotearoa, the harakeke whetū (flax star) carries a similar spirit of interlaced geometry and is especially meaningful during Matariki, when stars are honoured as symbols of renewal. Together, these traditions show how the windmill form has long been woven into both play and ceremony — and how WLW extends those same principles into a modern weave.
Image 1 Windmill Knot Weave Source | Image 2 Harakeke Whetu (flax star) for Matariki Source| Image 3 Windmill toy made from Coconut leaf
Source
The windmill knot is a close relative of WLW. It shares the same over–under rhythm and distinctive cross shape, and appears in many traditions worldwide. A familiar example is the coconut-leaf windmill toy, woven as a playful knot that comes alive in the wind. In Aotearoa, the harakeke whetū (flax star) carries a similar spirit of interlaced geometry and is especially meaningful during Matariki, when stars are honoured as symbols of renewal. Together, these traditions show how the windmill form has long been woven into both play and ceremony — and how WLW extends those same principles into a modern weave.
Image 1 Windmill Knot Weave Source | Image 2 Harakeke Whetu (flax star) for Matariki Source| Image 3 Windmill toy made from Coconut leaf
Source
From Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of interlocking rods to modern mathematical models, there’s a long tradition of building larger structures from small repeated units. WLW belongs in this family of modular design, showing how simple pieces can be combined into surprisingly strong and flexible forms.
Image right top: Sketches of grillage assemblies by Leonardo da Vinci. (Sketches by A. E. Piroozfar) Source.
Image right bottom: Sheets 899v and 899r of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, Source.
From Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of interlocking rods to modern mathematical models, there’s a long tradition of building larger structures from small repeated units. WLW belongs in this family of modular design, showing how simple pieces can be combined into surprisingly strong and flexible forms.
Image right top: Sketches of grillage assemblies by Leonardo da Vinci. (Sketches by A. E. Piroozfar) Source.
Image right bottom: Sheets 899v and 899r of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, Source.
Other loop-based crafts—like potholder weaving popular in the Depression era, or paper weaving taught in classrooms – also resonate with WLW. Each offers a way of making with what’s to hand, transforming scraps or humble materials into something beautiful and useful.
Potholder loops were originally a waste product from sock manufacturing, and utilise a square peg loom for making potholders and hotpads. Image Source
Other loop-based crafts—like potholder weaving popular in the Depression era, or paper weaving taught in classrooms – also resonate with WLW. Each offers a way of making with what’s to hand, transforming scraps or humble materials into something beautiful and useful.
Potholder loops were originally a waste product from sock manufacturing, and utilise a square peg loom for making potholders and hotpads. Image Source
Windmill Loop Weave is closely related to Folded Link Chain. First recorded in 1937 in a book published in England. it became popular in America in the 1960s where it is called Gum/Candy Wrapper chain.
The standard Windmill Loop Weave can be recognised by the characteristic holes in the weave. The Candy Wrapper Chain is stitched together and usually has no holes.
Windmill Loop Weave is closely related to Folded Link Chain. First recorded in 1937 in a book published in England. it became popular in America in the 1960s where it is called Gum/Candy Wrapper chain.
The standard Windmill Loop Weave can be recognised by the characteristic holes in the weave. The Candy Wrapper Chain is stitched together and usually has no holes.
Loops aren’t necessary to weave windmills. Similar to the Folded Link Chain above, its possible to weave Folded Link Windmills.
These instructions are from ‘The World of Origami’ by Isao Honda (1965) who is said to have learnt traditional Japanese ceremonial folding from his mother.
Loops aren’t necessary to weave windmills. Similar to the Folded Link Chain above, its possible to weave Folded Link Windmills.
These instructions are from ‘The World of Origami’ by Isao Honda (1965) who is said to have learnt traditional Japanese ceremonial folding from his mother.
Windmill Loop Weaving sits within this wider web of making – drawing threads from basketry, knotting, folding and looping. It’s a new chapter in an old story: one that continues to evolve as more makers, teachers and experimenters add their own ideas.
If you know of other traditions that link to WLW, we’d love to hear from you.