On the Loom: A Modern Weaver's Guide

By Maryanne Moodie and Alexandra Grablewski

The textile artist and author brings the ancient art of weaving into the modern day in this illustrated guide featuring step-by-step tutorials.

In On the Loom, Maryanne Moodie teaches the basics of this simple and beautiful craft with valuable information on essential stitches and tools. Along with twenty-four fashion and home projects, she also teaches you how to make your own looms.

Organized by loom type—circular, rectangular, and even found objects—the projects featured in this volume draw on the inspiration of vintage textiles to offer lush, bohemian, and uniquely modern results. On the Loom is the ultimate resource for this versatile medium, with expert tips on choosing the right materials and colors to create vintage-inspired projects with a modern twist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABRAMS
• Release date: Sep 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781613122976

Book preview

CHOOSING YOUR FIBERS

YARN COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT textures, materials, and weights. When you are beginning a new project, it’s good to think about how you want your end product to look. Will it be organic or modern? Colorful or monochrome? Different fibers offer various characteristics that dictate both how you weave and the result. Thinner yarns give you a very neat, defined look, but take much longer to weave. Thicker, handspun yarns offer a softer, more organic look and are quick to weave up, but you won’t be able to create designs with sharp, defined shapes or lines. Natural fibers treated with natural dyes offer a soft and subtle color story, while manmade fibers colored with synthetic dyes create a more vibrant result. I always think it is best to experiment with as many different types of fibers as possible to find the ones that resonate the most purely with you and can best help bring your vision to life.

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM: Linen, Angora, Sheep's Wool Roving, Alpaca, Cotton Denim Strips, Handspun Sheep's Wool, Jute, Rayon, Cotton, Mohair, Silk, Sheep's Wool Locks, Raffia

NATURAL vs. SYNTHETIC FIBERS

I USE A VARIETY OF FIBERS FOR MY WEAVINGS, but I tend to use natural fibers more often than machine-made fibers, because I find natural ones are more interesting. I like the inconsistencies in hand-spun and hand-dyed fibers—not only do they create interesting textures, but the small differences in each type tell a story.

As such, most of my weavings are made from vintage and hand-spun fibers. In particular, I like to collect vintage machine-knitting cones that were once used in textile factories. Those factories’ old inventories are a treasure trove of unusual and hard-to-find fibers. To add an extra dimension, I like mixing many fibers together in one woven piece—I use a lot of wool, cotton, alpaca, and silk in my pieces. Although I prefer to work with the natural fibers listed opposite and on this page, sometimes I add synthetic or non-traditional elements to my projects—like rope, pieces of leather (faux or otherwise), or raffia—to make the texture more interesting.

In this book, the projects are made of either thread, yarn, or fiber. Traditionally speaking, thread is made of cotton and yarn from wool, while fiber can be any material. You’ll have fun trying out lots of different fibers—just make sure that you only use non-stretchy fibers for your warp.

Natural fibers may be made of cellulose or protein. Cellulose fibers, like cotton, are made from plants, while protein fibers such as wool come from animals. What follows is a selection of the fibers I use most often in my designs. You can see them pictured on this page.

CELLULOSE FIBERS

01 COTTON

Cotton is an extremely durable, but also very soft, fiber. It’s a great choice for warp threads, and cotton-based yarns provide good definition in weaving. You can even weave with strips of cotton fabric! See the Rag Rug on this page or the Denim Catchall Basket on this page for how to use strips of cotton fabric as your base. Color choices