Today I washed/finished my woven samples of American Maid naturally coloured cottons (by naturally coloured I mean the plant’s natural colour – no dyes!) – and just as they are meant to, the colours changed from ‘just about there’ shades of brown and green (see link to photos of their unwashed shades)to these very definitely there colours – so exciting to see! ?
https://www.handweavers.co.uk/cotton-unmercerised-102ne.ir
Welcome to the Handweavers Blog
New! New! New at Handweavers! ?
A combination of new products and newly arrived books have landed on our desk – some are titles we’ve been trying to restock on for a VERRRRRRY long time!
Tapestry 101 Kathe Todd-Hooker – This book is a beginning course for the person interested in learning how to do woven tapestry. It will give you the foundation you need to understand tapestry weaving and be able to express yourself in this wonderful medium. There are plans for a simple, but competent loom, information on the equipment and materials you’ll need for weaving, and instructions on doing the basic techniques that you need to know to complete your own tapestry. There is also information on
finishing and mounting your tapestry for exhibition. Even if you have been weaving for awhile, Kathe has covered information on all aspects of tapestry weaving that will be a help to you
Line in Tapestry Kathe Todd-Hooker –
Been weaving tapestry for awhile? Then you aware that there are sometimes difficulties with weaving the perfect line for the situation. Or are you a beginner who wants to get a good technical foundation? Then knowing how to weave lines easily and correctly is important. How do you keep them from being wavy when you need them perfectly straight? How do you shade with dots or create a floating bar? How do you make vertical straight lines? Or lines that travel in all directions? Are you interested in the linear techniques of kelims such as zilli, soumak, and cicim? What about textured lines such as those made with chaining or brocading? How do you tame a line and make it do what you want? This book is written about line use, line technique, and producing lines in tapestry from the simple to the complex. There are explanations and illustrated techniques for producing lines for all occasions and purposes. If you want to understand line usage in tapestry, this is the book for you.
This book also has a great deal of information of that would be of general use to tapestry weavers. These include: preparing weft bundles so that the group of yarns lie flat and weave in without tension problems, wrapping bobbins efficiently, stabilizing edges, understanding and using hill and valley threads effectively, and using the technical aspects of weaving to help support the aesthetic possibilities of the tapestry design. (82 pages of text, black/white drawings and photos. Spiral bound so that it lies flat for quick reference when you’re at the loom.)
Best of Weavers: Overshot is Hot – Madelyn van der Hoogt
Shaped Tapestry- Kathe Todd-Hooker
NOTE: This 2nd Edition has been updated with new information and illustrations.
Like the first edition, this book is filled with information about weaving tapestries “out-of-the-box”. There are many ways to weave a non-rectangular tapestry. These include: shaping the loom itself, using weave structures that cause the weaving to become shaped, and using scaffolds and other devices to hold areas of warp that are then manipulated into 3-D shapes when the weaving is finished. Naturally, these types of techniques require some special finishing techniques, and this book covers those as well. In addition, the 2nd edition has a section on shaping by adding surface dimension with techniques like rya, pulled loops, and attaching feathers.
In addition, this book has a lot of information of general use to tapestry weavers. These include: methods of stabilizing edges, choosing the warp and weft for tapestry, overview of tools useful for tapestry weaving, tips for beginning and ending weft threads so that you don’t have a lot of extra ends hanging off the back of the loom, tips for easily securing weft ends, how to re-align warp ends, adding supplemental warps and wefts, hints on controlling eccentric weaving, methods of ending and finishing tapestries, and readying them for exhibition. There is a lot of information here that can be applied to all types of tapestry weaving, not just shaped work. The 2nd edition has more hints for displaying shaped tapestries, and new patterns for shaped purses and handles.
For an excerpted sample of this book about weaving on a box loom click here.
(88 pages of text, color photos, black/white drawings and photos. Spiral bound so that it lies flat for quick reference when you’re at the loom.)
The Complete Book of Drafting – Madeleine Van der Hoogt
More Than Four – Mary Laughlin
Pattern Techniques for Handweavers – Doramay Keasbey
The Handi Handle comes in two sizes;
Large to use with the Ashford Table Loom or Rigid Heddle Loom
Small for use with the Ashford Katie, Knitters and SampleIt looms
Yes, this kit really does include everything you need to start weaving – even good quality yarn and instructions to make your first project a sucess!
Once you’ve mastered the basics and are ready to try new things, the kit has you covered….
it includes The Ashford Book of Rigid Heddle Weaving, pick up sticks and extra reeds – not to mention extra width and built-in 2nd heddle holder that the 16″/40cm SampleIt gives you.
Check out Ashford’s helpful video tutorials at ashford.co.nz/tutorials/weaving-tutorials