Choosing colors to get many projects from one warp
If you don’t love warping but you don’t want to weave the same thing over and over, one way to solve the problem is to weave many different projects on the same warp. You can weave nearly limitless possibilities from a single warp! One way to change things up without changing the tie up, treadling, […]
How to use clashing colors in your handwoven cloth
Using yarns whose colors clash can be a challenge when designing your own handwoven cloth. It’s easy for them to weave into fabric you dislike. But it’s not that hard to harmonize colors that don’t “go together”. This blog post will show you how to use clashing color combinations to make beautiful handwoven cloth. Why […]
Make your weaving glow!
Did you know that you can make your weaving glow? By using color patterns that are light in the center, but taper off into darkness at the sides, you can give the impression of a glowing object. In this draft, the center of the stripe looks like a glowing tube radiating light into a dark […]
Product Review: Palette Scout by Zollie
Zollie, a sister company to GIST Yarn, has come out with a new color product, Palette Scout. They were kind enough to send me a review copy, so I played around with it earlier this week. I love it! I think it’s very well thought-out and will be useful to anyone who wants to explore […]
Proportion: How to Tame Troublesome Hues
Have you ever struggled with a color so bright, it took over your entire piece? Some colors are hard to use in handwoven cloth, because they blaze out so strongly that they dominate the piece. Yellows, oranges, and hot pink are the most assertive hues, but if you pair equal amounts of any bright color […]
Scale: How it can turn your designs from muddy to magnificent
Sometimes creating handwoven fabrics feels like wrestling mischievous imps. A project that looks gorgeous in the initial sketch, or in a weaving software simulation, turns into a muddy mess when woven. A garment that looked great while you were sewing it blurs into shapelessness from across the room. Figuring out what happened can feel hopeless. […]
Frustrated with your weaving? Six Strategies to help.
Sooner or later, it happens. Your warp gets tangled, you make a bunch of mistakes while threading, or you find a treadling error – after you’ve woven four more inches. Or your project colors don’t turn out as expected. What do you do when your project has you ready to pull your hair out? This […]
Handwovens and Scale
Multiple pattern scales can be used intentionally to create pieces that transform as you walk up to them. It’s particularly important for fashion show garments or wall hangings, which are apt to be seen from both close and far away, but even with accessories such as scarves or shawls, you can create pieces that will […]
Ending Shaft Envy
Once upon a time, I was under the illusion that more shafts are always better. Because on a loom with eight shafts, you can weave four-shaft designs as well as eight-shaft ones, so you get more design freedom. But why stop there? On a 16-shaft loom, you can weave four, eight, and twelve-shaft designs (not […]
Why your yarn colors are weaving into duller ones – and how to fix it via the draft
Have you ever wondered why the same two yarns can weave into dramatically different colors of cloth? If you use two very different colors, like blue and orange, you might get anything from brilliant patches of blue and orange to disappointing mud – or anything in between. The secret is in your choice of draft. […]
