The subject of take-up and shrinkage has come up a number of times lately, specifically in relation to yarn substitution. My general thoughts on yarn substitution can be found here. Take-up is how much the yarn rebounds after it is removed from the tension on the loom, and shrinkage is how much it shrinks after […]
Thanks For Spending Some Time On The Yarnworker Cloud
During this season of reflection and celebration, I want to take a moment to say thanks for being here. Three years and a dozen weave-alongs later, we have our virtual little school house in the sky. Instead of building it brick-by-brick, we have constructed it in bits and bytes. It still feels very physical to […]
Color Value
During the last Biennial Yarnworker Survey, a number of weavers noted they needed support with the basics, those fundamental skills that we rely on no matter what we are weaving—yarn selection, project planning and adaptation, basic warping, and weaving techniques. The idea for our next weave-along popped in my head as a fun way to […]
Geeking Out: Shuttles
Shuttles do just what their name implies. They shuttle the weft back and forth as you weave your cloth. Here are some ways to think about selecting a shuttle for your rigid-heddle weaving. Stick Shuttles Stick shuttles come with most rigid-heddle looms and are available in a wide variety of sizes. I like to pick […]
Geeking Out: Warping Choices
My teaching philosophy is pretty much summed up this way: If it works, then do it. If it stops working, try something else. When it comes to warping, there are so many ways to get the job done—from the super speedy direct method that uses a peg, to the somewhat less speedy and versatile indirect method where […]
The Tie That Binds: Spinning Competition Continues
Spinning competitions are old, very old. I’m not sure when the first competition occurred, but my guess is it was not long after we started spinning fiber into yarn. Humans like to test their mettle against other humans, and spinners are no exception. Textile competitions, formal and informal, are regular features during fall harvest festivals, […]
2019 Yarnworker Biennial Survey Results
Every two years I send out a survey to get a feel for where rigid-heddle weavers are on their weaving journey and what specific issues they may be experiencing. Feedback from these surveys helped start the weave-alongs and prompted me to create specific content, most recently, A Weaver’s Guide to Yarn. First a Bit of […]
When to Use Which Finish
Finishing your fringe is like icing a cake. You can create a highly decorative look or something clean and simple. Beyond aesthetics, how do you know which technique is best for your specific circumstance? The purpose of finishing your fringe is to secure the weft and, if necessary, keep the yarn from fraying. Some folks […]
Sett’s Effects
In A Weaver’s Guide to Yarn I start with sett. Understanding warp density’s effect on cloth is where the rubber meets the road, or in our case, the yarn meets the loom. Sett is the number of warp ends within an inch of the rigid heddle reed. Because rigid-heddle weavers often double up our ends in […]
When, if ever, do I need a floor loom?
Rigid-heddle weavers regularly ask me this question or a variation on this theme, essentially wanting to know if they will reach a limit with their rigid-heddle loom. All looms have constraints. Syne Mitchell, a dedicated multi-shaft loom weaver and author of Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom, talks beautifully about the concept of constraints throughout her work. […]