I’ve been going to ‘Spinners and Weavers’ for a while now. I joined as a novice spinner but soon worked out that a group like that would have me trying pretty much any fibre craft that comes up along the way..
Some of our club members LOVE weaving, it’s their thing, but I have resisted for a while. It’s not like I haven’t got enough projects waiting for my attention! My main issue with weaving is that there are only so many ‘rectangular’ things that I would have a use for..
But, I couldn’t resist forever.. I had the opportunity to participate in a one-day weaving workshop where we were taught how to warp and weave on a 4 shaft loom.
The materials and pattern were set (that way we were all learning the same thing) so its not exactly the colour or style I would choose – but it was a great way to learn the technique and get a sample of just a few of the many patterns you can create.
You can’t finish something like this in one day, so I loaded up the loom and took it home to practice my new skills. Loan equipment is yet another great reason to look into joining a club if you are ever interested in trying anything like this – this is not a compact hobby, you really would have to think carefully before buying your own!
The loom that I was using was actually an Ashford ‘8 shaft’, so after completing the pattern that we were given at the workshop, I warped up for a second project using the left overs and this time challenged myself to follow an 8 shaft pattern.
A bit of a Google search for patterns and a quick look on YouTube and I was good to go!
I can totally see why some people enjoy this kind of weaving, but my next challenge will be to work out how to make good use of the final woven fabric without ending up with hundreds of placemats and table runners. I suspect there will be a spinning/weaving/patternmaking/sewing project somewhere in my future..
