Wednesday PM – Friday AM
Note: Instructors will send you extended details on what to bring to your workshop.
As of April 3rd Pre-conference Workshops are open to non-conference goers.
Untying the Mysteries of Tied Weaves – Su Butler
Level: Intermediate to Advanced. Students must understand profile drafting. Students must have a strong foundation in single warp weave systems (tabby, twills, etc.) and fully understand the components of standard drafting. This class is NOT for beginners.
Log Entry: This popular workshop is a great way to begin your journey into Tied Weave structures! Through lecture and hands on weaving experience, students will learn and understand the sometimes-mysterious Tied-Unit Weave systems. Students will weave samples on their own looms, developing a working notebook of different tied-unit weave systems. The goal is to understand how Tied-Unit Weaves work, and how they can be used to the advantage of handweavers and allow students the freedom to design their own tied weaves after the workshop.
Student Equipment Requirements: Each student must have at least an 8-shaft loom. Table looms or computer-aided looms are the most desirable. Floor looms will require lots of re-tying of treadles. The more shafts the more design possibilities.
All looms must be fully functional and equipment must be familiar to students. Students will dress looms to teacher specifications prior to the workshop. No class time will be devoted to preparing looms. Looms will need a lot of heddles on the first four shafts.
Materials Fee: $20 (extensive handouts)
Warping and Weaving with Ease – Yohanna Klingensmith
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Log Entry: Have you ever said, “I love weaving, but warping…!” Whether you are an experienced weaver who would like a new approach for warp snarls and hidden tension problems or a beginner wanting to establish a reliable warping process, this workshop will meet your needs. We will cover all the basics, step by step from measuring the warp to dressing the loom and beginning weaving techniques including winding shuttles. However, the main focus of this workshop is dressing the loom.
The method taught in this workshop is back to front the Swedish way, but we will also discuss the pros and cons of the different ways to warp. We will cover the advantages of different styles of shuttles and demonstrate how to wind them to reduce drag. The warps will be pre-measured, and there will be a thorough demonstration of warp winding in class. Then we will go step by step warping our looms so you will be confident to do it on your own. There will be a choice of making an organic cotton scarf or hand-painted wool scarf.
Student Equipment Requirement: 4-shaft floor loom or table loom; 8, 10 or 12 dent reed; 1 shuttle – boat or stick shuttle (winder for your boat shuttle); threading hook; paper to wind your warp on the loom; lease sticks; scissors, tape measure and a 6” ruler.
Materials Fee: $50 (pre-measured warps, handouts/instructions)
Hand Painted Warps — Ella Strawman
Level: All Levels, no dyeing experience necessary.
Log Entry: In Hand Painted Warps we will discover the beauty of hand dyeing warps for weaving! While there are plenty of commercially dyed variegated yarns available to use in a warp, there are very few options that allow for color changes consistent across the width of your warp. By dyeing your own, you take total control of how you want your warp to be colored. In this workshop, students will dye their organically grown Texas cotton yarn warp with Fiber Reactive dyes. 1,960 yards of warp will be provided, allowing students to chose between dyeing for 2 wide warps (26”) or 4 narrow warps (13”), each warp will be 7.5 feet long. We will cover the basics for dyeing plant based yarns and discuss how you can apply this technique to future weaving projects. No need to bring your loom or any weaving supplies, as we will only be dyeing and discussing weaving.
Equipment Requirements for Students: Clothes they aren’t afraid to get dye on, comfortable shoes to stand throughout the day with breaks, a binder for handouts, an apron if they want.
Materials are provided, materials fee: $75 includes 1,960 yards of organic Texas grown cotton pre-measured warp yarn for dyeing, dyeing materials like gloves and plastic, and dyes.