Best Practices: Essential Skills and Problem Solving for Better Weaving

For 50 years, the Yarn Barn of Kansas has offered beginning weaving classes, and along the way the teachers have seen just about every obstacle beginners might meet. With this fivepart series, two of the teachers share their knowledge and practical approaches to weaving.

Starting with winding the warp, through fixing mistakes, and even including interpreting drafts, each segment details how to keep weaving simple and rewarding. The series is geared for beginners, but includes tips and techniques that any weaver will benefit from knowing.

Here is some of what you will learn:

#1 Winding a Warp: As a beginner, I struggled with making and keeping the porrey cross, that important feature of a warp that prevents you from having a total mess on your hands when you take it off the warping board. It’s simple once you get it, and Susan and Melissa help you get it with pictures and steps.

#2 Threading and Sleying: It’s tempting to just jump in and start sleying or threading, but if you fully prep your loom for a warp as described, you will have a better experience and possibly better outcomes.

#3 Winding on and Tensioning a Warp: Often it feels like weaving instructions assume you have someone to help you wind on and tension. Really? I am usually by myself, so I appreciated the tips about how to keep things smooth...and I have been weaving for more than 25 years!

#4 Fixing Mistakes: Most beginners don’t realize that almost all errors are fixable when you are still on the loom, and many can be fixed off the loom. Weaving is gentle that way. This segment describes common errors and offers solutions.

#5 Interpreting Drafts: Drafts come in many forms besides what you see in Handwoven. Susan and Melissa describe the variations and how to decipher them in this segment. Using their tips, you could open a weaving book in any foreign language and fully understand the drafts.