Yarnworker is for weavers who love to weave on the rigid-heddle loom
Hi, my name is Liz and my mission is to share know-how that brings ease to the weaving life. Yarnworker grew out of my love for the rigid heddle loom and teaching others to use it. Yarnworker is a space to discover all that the rigid heddle loom has to offer, including helpful FAQs, resource lists, terms to know, blog posts, YouTube videos, an online school, and Yarnworker’s monthly newsletter.
From books and patterns, to online classes and weave-alongs, I create learning tools that help you build your know-how to weave the cloth you want. My goal is not to tell you the best and only way to weave, but rather offer you a good way to get started, help you discover the techniques that work for you, and allow you to fully express what you want to say.
All Weavers Welcome
In the sea of yarn and weaving information, Yarnworker offers you something very specific, rigid heddle weaving techniques, patterns, and inspiration. I love all looms, but rigid-heddle weaving is what I know best. Much of the information I offer may be applied to any loom type, most is specifically related to rigid-heddle weaving.
All Yarn Welcome
While I may offer advice about why one yarn is better than another for a given project, there is no yarn that you can’t weave with. From my personal predilection towards minimally processed, producer-sourced yarns, to easy-to-find big-box beauties, my focus is on offering know-how to weave using materials you have and that will get you the results you want.
All People Welcome
As a largely virtual space, the Yarnworker community is comprised of folks from all walks of life—all nationalities, all cultures, all colors, all ethnicities, all genders and gender identities, all religions, all sexual orientations, all ages, all sizes, all abilities, all people from all sorts of families, and all are welcome. Those who hang in this space agree that weaving is tops, and we want to grow our weaving skills in an environment that is encouraging, inclusive, and informative.
I personally monitor all the activity on my sites and feeds. If there is anything I can do to make your experience better please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at worker@yarnworker.com. You can see the spaces I hang out on the contact page.
Heddles Up!
Liz
The Yarnworker Team
As an almost one-woman show and full time teacher, the majority of the work put in to make Yarnworker run is done by me. However, no one works in a vacuum, and I could not do what I do without an amazing team of contractors who contribute to Yarnworker’s success. To learn more about me, click here. Following are folks who help me do what I do.
Hector Aguilar
Hector spent over five years working with Angela Smith of Purl & Loop playing an essential roll in developing systems to assemble the Swatch Maker Looms. He graciously offered to continue this roll as the looms were brought into the Yarnworker world.
Holly Chayes
Holly is a blogger, sewer, knitter, and virtual assistant. Holly helps manage the additional elements introduced to the Yarnworker world with the launch of the Patreon community, and takes on projects that help move Yarnworker forward.
Janet Dawson
Janet’s strength is in making complicated concepts easy for the beginner to understand, and in checking all the crunchy mathy bits so you don’t have to. Janet loves spreading her obsession with yarn and fiber to others via classes at her shop, The Bobbin Tree, and her online presence Janet Dawson Weaves.
Liz Mrofka
Liz is an inventor, entrepreneur, and graphic designer. She designed many of the consistent visual elements of the Yarnworker space. Liz is the design talent behind What If? Ideation that helps small businesses get their creative projects done.
Cindy Rook
I create a ton of content, and Cindy reads almost everything I write. I so value her input and timely turn-arounds. Cindy is the knitwear designer behind Orange Smoothie Knits.
Cesar Pinto
Cesar Pinto works with me to keep the Yarnworker website optimized and we are working on entirely new platform to bring all aspects of the Yarnworker School under one digital roof.
Angela Smith
As the former owner of Purl & Loop, Angela and I are working together to keep the Swatch Maker Loom line available. I used to be her consultant, and now she is mine!
Contributors and Collaborators
Yarn Support
A special shout out to Gist Yarn and Cotton Clouds for their collaborative support of the weave-alongs.
Patrons
The Yarnworker Patreon community makes the Yarnworker School possible. I could not have taken Yarnworker to this next level without their support, and I’m eternally grateful.
I used to occasionally publish patterns from other rigid-heddle weaving teachers. When I launched Yarnworker, I thought this might be my primary activity, but oh, how Yarnworker has morphed. While publishing other weavers’ work is not really what I do now, I’m happy to network and support in any way I can. There can never be enough patterns nor enough teachers. I do not want to be the teacher of all weavers, but I do want all weavers to have a teacher.
