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 […]
Colour your Heddles!
Have you ever started threading a project, and JUUUUST before you finish, you realise that you don’t have enough heddles on one or more shafts? This can happen for a few reasons. You might have made a mistake in your threading, or an error in your calculations. Most likely though, you made an error in […]
No Fuss Floating Selvedges
I’m not a fan of floating selvedges. Moving their weights, separating them from the threaded ends they’re next to, lifting them up to go under or pushing them down to go over – that all detracts from my weaving experience. Anything that slows me down and interrupts my weaving zen irritates me every single time. […]
How to use any reed, for any Sett.
There are lots of denting charts online (often called reed or sett substitution charts) but in my opinion a chart just doesn’t cut it. For one thing, there are often entries missing. Want to know how to get 22 EPI in a 10 dent reed, or 17 EPI in an 9 dent reed? Good luck […]
How to choose colors that stay bright in handwoven cloth
One of the challenges in weaving is brilliantly colored yarns that turn into a dull color when woven together. This can produce fascinating results…but very often, it’s not what you anticipated or wanted. If this is happening to you, how do you choose colors avoid getting “muddy” cloth? It turns out to be quite simple. […]
Save your selvedges!
It isn’t unusual to hear a weaver say “My selvedge(s) keep fraying and breaking!” This is an issue that often is caused by a combination of yarn/weave/threading that results in the outermost thread on one side of the warp slowly unplying, while the twin thread on the other side of the warp is slowly plying […]
Fixing your floats
At some point in your weaving life, you will take a piece of fabric from the loom, then sigh when you notice that there is an error in it in the form of a float that shouldn’t be there. Don’t be too worried about it, it happens to the best of us, and for some, […]
Design your own twill, with the new Twill Generator
There are a lot of fabulous twill drafts out there, but how do you create something that is truly your own? In the past, a weaver would sit down with some graph paper and start sketching. It takes significant time to fill in the threading, tie up and treadling, then fill in a repeat or […]
How to ice dye yarns for beautiful, unique weaving
Ice dyeing is a fun and easy summer project that requires very little room, time and equipment. The results are delightfully unpredictable and never the same! How it works: Ice dyeing is done with cellulose fiber such as cotton, linen, hemp, and rayon using fiber-reactive dyes. Silk can also be used, but colors will impact […]
Sewing with your handwoven fabric
Sewing your own weaving can be intimidating – it can be hard to know where to start. Get solid, practical advice for sewing with handwoven fabrics!
