Editor’s note: Early this year, we had an idea—and Linda Ligon sent out a call to weavers: “Wouldn’t it be fun to get to know some of your fellow Handwoven readers?”
Stories began to pour in: About how weaving has led to recovery and new career paths. About using wool from your own sheep. About the sheer pleasure gained from creating handmade cloth. About weaving that enriches, and inspires, and soothes the soul. As one weaver put it, “After attending a fiber fest, I sat at a floor loom and thought my heart had come home.”
Keep reading for one weaver’s story, and then find out how to submit your own. We’re eager to hear from you!
I used to work for an apparel company. The company bought raw wool in bales, and cleaned, spun, and wove it into fabric, which was made into blankets and clothing. I was exposed to the whole process before I ever really thought about any of the parts of it being done by hand. Then one year at a company picnic where groups and individuals had been invited to give talks or demonstrations, I saw a Sheep to Shawl team in action.
One of the spinners was inviting people to try their hand at spinning. I sat down and with a little instruction, was quickly hooked. I also took note of a weaver who was demonstrating, but the Spinning Bug had taken hold first.
After spinning and accumulating handspun yarn for several months, my local yarn and fiber shop owner had the answer to my question: “What do I do with all this handspun yarn?”—Weave with it!
I was interested in learning to weave anyway, so when the shop offered a weaving class, I signed up. I ‘got it’ quickly, the draft and the mechanics all made sense to me, and after the ten-session class was over, I arranged to rent a table loom. Then I started looking for a loom of my own. I’ve had up to three looms at one time and am now down to one, an eight-shaft jack loom that suits all my current wants.
Weaving gives me the right amount of calculation and playing (designing), making it very satisfying and educational. I’ve learned how to read a fabric to create a draft, and how to edit drafts to change the pattern, which allows me freedom to create just about anything, and I’m still learning. I find myself looking at fabrics out in the wild and attempting to work out the draft—or at least the type of fabric—in my head. Is that chair upholstery made with a supplemental warp, or something else altogether? There’s a piece of double weave in my swatch book that I've yet to try to duplicate.
The actions of measuring a warp, dressing the loom, throwing the shuttle, and stepping on the treadles, the very activities of weaving, are very satisfying for me in a way that isn’t matched by my spinning, knitting, or embroidery. Throwing the shuttle and treadling take my whole attention, and I find that relaxing.
The pleasure I get from having made cloth, whether it’s a scarf, towel, blanket, or rug, is not matched by many other things I do, and my family enjoys the gifts!
—Katherine Dashner
Find our first profile here, of weaver Tessah Blessings, who was drawn to weaving by beautiful baby wraps.
Have you been a weaver for a long time, have you just barely started, or are you somewhere in between? Please send in your 300- to 500-word story, along with one or two photos of you and your weaving. We may use it in the magazine or online.