PROCESS
Hand weaving is an ancient craft, an incredibly beautiful and important one, though with the advent of mechanisation weaving has all but disappeared from the western world. This is because it is a very slow, labour intensive process.
I wanted to share some of the steps involved in weaving, as the actual weaving is a small fraction of the whole process.
(1)
Sourcing yarn, and calculating the specifications for the warp.
(2)
Winding the warp. This can take a few hours depending on the length, width, and type of yarn.
(3)
Dressing the loom. This includes winding the warp onto the back beam, with even tension and spacing, then threading each warp end through a heddle (essentially a string needle) then sleying the reed. This process can take up to two days.
(4)
Time to begin weaving. This usually involves sampling colours, adjusting pedals according to patterns, winding bobbins, then starting. Pieces can range between one hour, to multiple days to weave.
(5)
After cutting the warp off the loom, each piece is washed to allow the fibres to relax, then ironed and finished. Then photographed and uploaded to the website.
