May 05 2008
Beginners
This is an exceptional book that contains information about textile design and weaving techniques, some of which were new to me. Janet Phillips is the author and the book is really about a system of designing for handloom weavers.This system, written about in a very well explained way, involves the construction of a sample weave blanket based on the 2/2 twill. Ten different threadings are used and 50 different treadlings or lifting plans.And the really good news is that it is for four shafts.
These sample blankets may look the height of boring to the beginner weaver but Janet shows how relevant it all is to designing beautiful textiles as she includes 50 different project designs based on the sampling but showing what yarn, fibre, colour, inspiration in design and specific choice of structure can do…and wow.
The sample blanket creates a reference for the weaver or more accurately the base recipe that you can adjust to your own flavour. The author has written it with a generosity and warmth that will appeal to new weavers as well as delight hardened ones like me!
I’ve been thinking about beginner weavers in general. There is something exciting about beginnings. Learning something new allows no preconceived ideas about anything much. Anything may be possible and experimented with. This is why I think it is so important to be around beginners. When we know more about the rules and conventions our choices become more refined but also much narrower.
As a beginner I just thought that the creation of ANYTHING woven was something of a miracle. To think that I could make such a web of fabric. I was so pleased with what I would consider so little today. Now I’m fussy about what I want to create, how it is woven, how it is dyed, how it will perform and more. It’s a wonder I can start to weave anything.
Pictured is a towel I wove many years ago on a four shaft counter-balanced floor loom. I was so pleased with it that I gave it to my mother in law and she has kept it. This reminds me of the pure thrill that weaving can give. How can it be that I have the skills to create a fabric from such raw materials. I love how close I can get to the fibres and know something of the process from the natural environment that leads to the spinning of yarn ready to weave. It all gives me such an intimate connection to life and I’m so grateful that I have learnt such an extraordinary craft.
Hmm, yet another book I want. I really should start a wishlist.
As for beginners being willing to experiment, I’ve found that very few are willing to play. Most seem to want to be instructed in every detail of whatever craft they’ve undertaken, so they can produce a perfect towel/quilt/sweater the very first time they try. And most classes, patterns, and books seem to be geared that way. I think it takes a gifted teacher to coax the timid into trying something new – God forbid they waste $5.23 worth of yarn! I keep thinking I want to create exercises to help the un-self-assured slowly move out of their comfort zone and to realize it’s OK to screw up, to make a sample that isn’t the most beautiful object in the world, to play and explore and create.
Thanks Lynn for this interesting observation on how as beginners we want to be so perfect. This is why craft kits are probably so successful as all the supplies and design for the project are set up to reduce any risk of producing an item that says ‘ugly’ or ‘unskilled’.
Hello. I think projects are useful for a beginning weaver. There is so much to master. Projects allow one to become confident with calculations, preparing a warp, dressing and adjusting a loom, weaving and using finishing techniques. In time and with practice, when ‘all’ these skills are acquired and can be performed without assistance or the benefit of another workshop, then the so-called playing, exploring and creating become the next challenge. This is my experience of the process. Cheers.
Oh, no, another must-have… And I came here looking for a past post of yours…
As a newbie, I was terribly fascinated by the act of weaving itself, and I kept weaving these long sample pieces, which I still have. Perhaps because my first loom was a rigid heddle and I only had wool yarns, I knew that I would have to invest in time, energy, equipment and material in order to do the kind of weaving (finer cotton and silks) I really wanted to do. That came a few years later.
By your definition of a beginner, (”Learning something new allows no preconceived ideas about anything much. Anything may be possible and experimented with,”) I believe I’m still firmly a beginner, because experimenting and doing new things on the loom continues to be fascinating.