Designing Awesome Warps
Techniques for designing your own beautiful textiles
Project planning & calculating, warp winding tips & tricks
Instructors: Becky Ashenden, Eva Gaultney, Dave Dumas
Dates offered: returning in 2025
Designing your own fabrics takes time and concentration. Imagine what you can accomplish in a full week dedicated to exploring patterns, colors, and textures in a group setting. We’ll present specific designing techniques for several weave structures and materials, along with the calculations required to write up your project sheet. Winding warps on our warping mills will be explored in greater detail than we are able to offer in other programs. Students will go home with a treasure trove of designing tools and projects, ready to hit the loom.
See our class preview video below.
Structures & forms
- Stripes
- Plaids
- Block design
- Monksbelt/Plattväv
- Rosepath
- Smålandsväv
- Rep
Warp-mill techniques
- Puddling & un-puddling
- Winding with multiple ends
- Multiple crosses in one pass
- Half width and twice the length
- Designing on the mill
Planning & calculating
- Stripe proportioning
- Project sheet details
- Planning a border
- Pre-sley calculation
Project possibilities
- Yardage
- Placemats
- Napkins
- Tablecloths
- Blankets
- Shawls
- Runners
class preview video
Prerequisites: Vävstuga Basics (Why does everyone need Basics?)
Max enrollment: 6
Location: Farmhouse
Course fee: $975 (includes all instruction and studio time, course handouts, lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Thu)
Materials fee: by weight
Days offered: Five-day session, Mon–Fri
Schedule: Instruction time 9:00–noon and 1:30–4:00. Once a session begins, the Barn studio is available at all hours. Exception: on the last day, instruction ends at noon, and checkout must be completed by noon.