June 2019

This month we celebrate all things Drawloom.

But first… if you are feeling spontaneous…

Space available in June/July classes

Swedish Rag Rugs class June 18-21. Fiber Frolic class July 1-5 for ages 10-Adult. Pebble Weaving with Tablets Meets Fabric class July 16-19 if you would like to learn to incorporate a tablet woven band into your weaving with our guest teacher, Inge Dam.  

Drawloom Weaving

Vävstuga is your place to go to experience Becky’s expertise in our Drawloom classes, to find a great assortment of books featuring Drawloom weaving, to purchase Drawloom equipment and tools and, of course, to find the highest quality yarns for these exquisite projects.

Drawloom ABC and Drawloom Treasures class projects

We had wonderful students in our Drawloom ABC classes working on Single Unit, Shaft Drawloom, Combination, and Opphämta projects this spring, as well as some Drawloom ABC alums weaving exquisite Drawloom Treasures projects. Anything you draw on graph paper can translate into stunning woven pictures in damask with the single unit drawloom. The shaft drawloom creates some of the most pleasing designs that repeat themselves across the width of the warp by weaving damask with pattern shafts. For more advanced drawloom weavers, the “combination” system combines single unit patterning with the shaft draw. Opphämta on a shaft drawloom is another way to produce lovely repeated float patterns across the warp on a plain weave ground. Our Drawloom Treasures projects included the Lithuanian Opphämta (Shaft Draw Opphämta on 21 Pattern Shafts) with Monksbelt and a Combination Damask tablecloth.

Drawloom Weaving Books & DVD

Damaskvev is a stunning new Norwegian publication dedicated to Drawloom weaving. This encyclopedia of inspiration includes an introduction to drawing your own patterns, plus many patterns ready to go using 10–75 shafts. Knowing Norwegian would be useful, but there is plenty to work with here just looking at all the pictures. The Damast booklet contains 23 different project ideas in damask for your drawloom. Most projects use 10-20 pattern shafts. Some pieces use an individual draw system. The beautiful color photos inspire the weaver to take his or her designing skills in new directions due to the variety of styles portrayed.   Sara von Treskow’s book When a Single Harness Simply Isn’t Enough provides a thorough examination of Drawloom weaving from many angles – technical, theoretical, and practical.   In the DVD Dress Your Swedish Drawloom: Damask, Opphämta and related techniques Becky presents the  details of setting up a warp on a Myrehed shaft draw, single unit, and combination systems on Swedish looms. Single unit draw system with pattern-saving lashes is presented and Damask is thoroughly covered, including sword damask which uses only simple equipment. Opphämta is demonstrated with the weaving sword and the drawloom and even the related structure, Smålandsväv, is presented. All set to lovely Swedish music played by Karen Myrehed, the maker of the drawloom attachments.   We call these 14 treasures our Little White Pattern Books. Britta Johanson has catalogued over 15,000 different motifs into categories in these delightful and useful little books. These “pixelated” patterns were embroidered, woven, or knitted around the world in the 1800s or earlier. Originally published by a cross stitch group in Sweden, they are useful for many types of weaving and embroidery, as well as beading, knitting, tiling, or any other artwork that thrives on gridded patterns. Joanne Hall’s book Drawloom Weaving offers an introduction to setting up and weaving on a drawloom with practical step-by-step information for new Drawloom weavers.  

Weaving Books with Drawloom sections

These additional books offer chapters on setting up a Drawloom and especially on the beautiful Opphämta patterns. The Swedish Weaving Book: Project Planning, Loom Dressing, and Finishing, translated by Becky, includes several pages dedicated to a concise, but thorough, description of how to set up a Drawloom. Heirlooms of Skåne includes a beautiful chapter on Opphämta coverlets from southern Sweden. Reflections from a Flaxen Past: For Love of Lithuanian Weaving, by Kati Reeder Meek, includes many beautiful Opphämta patterns, including the one offered in our Drawloom Treasures session. Vävglädje (Happy Weaving) While many of these projects require only 4 shafts and 4 treadles, there is also plenty to choose from for the more advanced and technically inclined weaver, including several compositions using a drawloom attachment. Vävstuga has just created an English supplement, translated by Becky Ashenden, that is sold as a set with this book. Weaver’s Delight  This reprint of an 80’s vintage classic Swedish weaving text has several Drawloom pieces in both damask and opphämta.

Drawloom Equipment

Weaving on a Drawloom holds a well-kept secret – it’s not that hard!  Yes, it does require more setting up of the warp, and you can learn in depth at our Drawloom ABC class. Once your loom is ready, however, it is easier to weave on than many other kinds of “regular” weaving projects, and with such exquisitely ornate and creative results.

Attachments and accesories

From Shaft, Single Unit, and Combination Drawloom attachments, to Loom Extensions, Shaft Expansion Sets, and Drawloom cords, Vävstuga can provide the products and expertise to guide your purchase. We currently offer two damask shuttles that have a more shallow depth perfect for the often thinner sheds on a Drawloom warp.  The small Damask shuttle is great for narrow Drawloom warps and the beautiful long Damask Shuttle is a favorite shuttle on a drawloom or for regular weaving on wide warps. We also offer our own thick and thin weaving swords. The thick sword is for weaving sword damask. The thin sword can be used for weaving Opphämta, among other possibilities.

Barnfest – June 8

Weaving Exhibit – Becky’s 30 year Legacy – See what Becky has woven during the last 18 months, as well as during her Swedish schooling in 1981. The exhibit will include over 30 items, large and small, representing the broad range of techniques that are taught at Vävstuga, including many Drawloom pieces woven on warps from our Drawloom ABC class. Textile Teasers at Barnfest: Spinning Circle with Deanna Moore & Justin Squizzero (see flyer). Register ahead for the MINI Workshops $10 each. Mini Music Workshops Knitting for Beginners, Ages 10 and up, 1:30 – 2:30 pm Visit our textile presenters: Katie Cavacco – Free Ramblin’ Kids Nur Tiven – Fiber Shed Carole Adams –  Whispering Pines Farm – Fiber and Herbs Marti Ferguson – Walking Cloud Farm– Sheep, Chickens, and Wool Emily Gwynn – Hands to Work Textiles Justin Squizzero – The Burroughs Garret – Fine Linen Vävstuga Weaving School – Traditional Scandinavian Weaving Come throw the shuttle a few times on the Raffle Blanket, or try out weaving on one of our other looms. Festival details at: Fabric of Life website.