Welcome to a New Year! From what I’ve seen on social media many are embarking on weaving! I know you won’t regret it!! As a weaving instructor I see many new weavers and weavers who want to improve their weaving. There is lots of advice I could give, but today I’m going to keep it short and sweet: don’t beat so hard! That’s it.

This is a weft-faced fabric-meant to be dense with no warp showing

Experienced weavers know that what they see on the loom is not the fabric that will come off the loom and is not the fabric that will emerge after finishing. New weavers try to make the fabric on the loom look like the fabric they want when it comes off the loom. So they beat. Really hard. The weft is pressed so tight that nothing is getting through that fabric. When it comes off the loom and is finished a very dense stiff fabric results (and they have used way more yarn than they anticipated, or the pattern called for). I know this from personal experience!

Here’s the non-technical theory behind weaving. When you weave, the warp is under tension (stretched out). This allows the fibres to move up and down easily and create nice sheds for the shuttle. When the fabric (it’s actually called a web at this point) is cut off the loom, all the tension is released. So if you wove 80” on the loom, it might only measure 72” off the loom as the fibres go back to their natural relaxed state. This will vary depending on the fibre.

After you have taken the work off the loom, it takes a hot bath. This relaxes the fibres even more, and with agitation, fulling can occur. Fulling draws the fibres closer together creating a stable fabric. So now your 72” piece might only measure 65” (again, this will vary depending on the fibre)

In order for this to happen, the fibres need to have room to relax and move.

Here’s a couple tips to help you out:

1. Keep a tape measure handy. A balanced weave (good for beginners to practice) will mean that you have the same ppi (picks per inch) as epi (ends per inch). So if I am weaving a scarf on a 7.5 dent reed I should have 7.5 weft threads per inch of weaving. Check you work often with the tape measure. Especially when you are coming back after a break.

This is the same project as above after finishing-no holes!

2. Pay attention to how you draw your heddle forward. If the heddle is tilted towards you, you cannot see the weft being pressed into place. If you tilt it a little away from you, you have a great view of what is going on and have a little more control. You should be able to see through your work easily. Here’s a little video https://www.instagram.com/tv/CI6xZN-JWLQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I hope this is helpful to the new weavers out there! Follow me on facebook or Instagram to find out when new blog posts are out. This year I plan to cover some beginner tips (things like edges, pick up sticks, and project planning) as well as delve deep into double heddle weaving, and, just because I can’t control myself, there will be some inkle weaving, tablet weaving and floor loom weaving. I’d also love to cover topics you are interested in, so if there is something you are looking for, please let me know!

New Year, New Weavers

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