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Introduction to 4 shaft weaving.
Featuring tutor Ana Petidis and students from the class of March/April 2022.
Introduction to 4 shaft weaving.
This fabulous course is for beginners and those wanting to brush up on their weaving skills. We have several different tutors who are very helpful and encouraging and looms and materials are supplied.
First the students weave a wonderful little sampler which covers all the basics of dressing the loom and weaving.
Before they know it, they are weaving over
30 different patterns!
Winding the warp.
The first step is to plan the project carefully, select the yarn and wind the warp onto the warping board.
Wendy has chosen a light sage yarn for her warp.
Wendy has chosen a light sage yarn for her warp.
Dressing the looms.
The next step is to transfer the warp onto the loom. This is known as dressing the loom.
Ana demonstrates the all important cross.
Wendy's sampler warp was removed from the warping board and wound onto the back beam of the loom. The cross is held in cross sticks and it keeps the threads in order. This is all part of 'dressing' the loom.
Dressing the loom. Threading those heddles. Edyta.
Once the warp has been wound onto the back beam the next step is to thread the heddles in the correct order. The sample being woven by the class has three different threading patterns known as drafts.
Threading the heddles. Janette.
The heddles are a white synthetic material and they may be moved easily along the shafts which hold them. Older looms have metal heddles.
Threading the heddles. Phillipa.
We love a bit of purple!
Threading the heddles. Ruth.
The Ashford looms used in the course have 8 shafts but this course uses the first four shafts only.
Ana demonstrates how to replace the reed after threading the heddles.
The reed has a double function in that it keeps the threads in order and nicely spaced. Threading the reed is known as sleying.
The joy of seeing the sampler patterns appear! Janette.
The loom has been dressed and the weaving of the sampler now starts. Each of the three drafts in the sampler show as a different colour and result in a different pattern. We start with a plain weave.
Starting the sampler with plain weave. Heather.
The sampler patterns start to emerge. Ruth.
Different patterns are created by lifting different combinations of the shafts which hold the heddles.
Janette weaving her sampler.
The weft yarn is held in a shuttle and Janette is sending the shuttle across the weaving in the shed.
Weaving the sampler. Janette.
Edyta's sampler on the loom.
Edyta's sampler shows the variety of patterns achieved in this sampler. There are over 30 different patterns created.
Phillipa added sparkle to her sampler.
There's lots of room for creativity in weaving.
Roberta weaving her sampler.
Roberta was one of our complete beginners and was thrilled with her achievements.
Wendy's sampler on the loom.
Wendy's very neat hem stitch.
Hem stitch is a popular way to finish the beginning and end of the weaving.
Look at all those patterns. Heather's sampler taking a well needed rest on the loom.
Heather's sampler off and finished!
Phillipa's sampler off the loom with sparkles and plaited fringe.
Edyta's sampler off the loom.
A gaggle of samplers!
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