Introduction to Floor Loom Weaving

Introduction to Floor Loom Weaving

This class will cover the very basics of weaving on 4-shaft floor looms, from dressing the loom to simple finishing techniques. Open to anyone with any level of experience in weaving or fiber arts, class participants will have the chance to design and weave their very own project to take home.

Sampling and Experimentation: The first part of this course is dedicated to learning the basics of weaving by playing with color, structure, and texture on several pre-dressed looms. Floor loom weaving offers relatively little opportunity for improvisation, so experimenting with sample pieces is important for determining your personal preferences.

Designing New Projects: With so many variables in play, designing your own project for a floor loom can be daunting. We’ll break it down step-by-step so choices like fiber content, warp calculations, and weave structure are less intimidating.

Dressing the Loom: Front-to-back? Back-to-front? If you’ve ever looked up how to warp a loom you know there’s a lot of information, often confusing or conflicting. We’ll cover the basics of front-to-back warping in this class, from winding a warp to threading the heddles to beaming. Where possible, students will be shown multiple techniques so they can choose what works best for them.

Oopsies and Uh-Ohs: Not a day goes by in any weaving studio without something going wrong. Whether it’s a broken warp end, threading error, or loom misbehavior, almost nothing is too catastrophic to fix. We’ll address common mistakes and mishaps as they arise so students have the skillset necessary to tackle weaving woes on their own.

Finishing Techniques: There are as many ways to finish a piece as there are to weave one. We’ll go over wet finishing as well as two different kinds of fringe tying at the end of the week, and students also will be provided resources on other methods to pursue in future projects.

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