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My family gave me a loom for my birthday this year. It is a beautiful old 4-harness floor loom that a friend purchased in Maine and brought down here when she moved. She told me that after several years it became apparent to her that she would never find the time to learn this craft. She asked if I would be interested in buying it when she heard my fiber plans. The loom came with no manual, information regarding the manufacturer , nor any accessories, not even a shuttle. As I did with spinning, I will have to teach myself how to weave, since there are no guilds in this area.
May the warp be the white light of morning, May the weft be the red light of evening, May the fringes be the falling rain, May the border be the standing rainbow. Thus weave for us a garment of brightness, That we may walk fittingly where birds sing, That we may walk fittingly where the grass is green, O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky." Once again I sought help from the Internet. I joined several weaving lists and everyone suggested that my first purchase should be "Learning to Weave" by Deborah Chandler. I agree. I find this book to be very easy to follow as she has written it to be used as a study guide. The reader is taken through one lesson at a time, with reviewing and practice offered as in any classroom setting. My first project was a sampler as suggested in Deborah Chandlers book. For warp separators I used some extra pieces of molding we had set aside in the garden shed for several years now. I guess my husband was right. He is always telling me not to get rid of stuff because we may find a use for it later. I bought some cotton for the sampler because I did not want to waste the coopworth yarn I spun myself, or any of "my girls mohair". I will save those for something special. The sampler was a great exercise as it afforded me practice on my weaving technique, such as how hard to beat and trying to get an even selvedge, as well as learning different weave variations and how they "pack" etc. After participating in one of the online discussion lists I discovered one of the members lived in my area. You can imagine the excitement to finally find someone interested in fiber art close by. We made plans, via email, to meet and have become fast friends. I introduced her to spinning and she offers wonderful advise on weaving. We continue to support each other in becoming better fiber artists and experimenting with new adventures such as natural dyeing. We have tried to encourage interest in this wonderful craft by doing various demonstrations at the state fair, a local knitting guild etc. but while everyone seems curious about the craft no one really seems interested in learning. A Student's Mistakes
My first project, after the sample, was to weave a rug from some coopworth. Since it was some of my first hand spun yarn I thought it would be great for a rug. It was so inconsistant, novelty yarn, which adds nice texture to any project. My first mistake was in the calculation. I wanted fringe on my rug and measured it to a rug without fringe. I thought it would not make that much of a difference but it did. I had no idea how small the woven area would be when taking away 3 inches on both sides for fringe. Well if you don't make mistakes you can't learn :-)
My loom and everything a-near me,
From every brownie and fairy woman,
In name of Mary, mild of deeds,
Her pedaIs, her sleay, and her shuttle,
Every web, black, white, and fair,
Thus will my loom be unharmed,
Your Path  © 1996-2004  |
