Alumni Weaving Retreat - Potential Weekly Projects
Below are some interesting projects that can be a theme for retreat week. Let us know if any of these are of interest and we can coordinate the scheduling to suit those who would like to participate.
Turned Twill/Twill Blocks
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Rag Rug Intensive
This session focuses on the weaving of rugs using a simple weave structure to make weft-faced rugs. Using a cotton or linen warp the student will weave 4 - 5 yards of rag rugs employing a variety of different techniques to add interesting features to the normal color stripes.
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18th-Century Clothing Fabrics
This session features some of the unique clothing fabrics that were woven in the 18th century from a variety of different fibers. Students will choose one of the following fabrics and weave a 3–4 yard length of material.
• Calimanco & Camlet—worsted wool in either a five shaft satin or plain weave
• Bombazine & Irish Stuff—silk warp and worsted weft in either a 2/1 or a 2/2 twill
• Siamoises & Cherryderry—silk warp and a cotton weft woven in a plain weave
• Ducapes & Gros de Tours—silk warp and weft woven either as a plain or a rep weave.
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2/1, 3/1, & 4/1 Twill Stripes
In this session we will explore the unbalanced twills that yield amazing results when weaving twills. The student can choose cotton or wool and weave a striped fabric suitable for clothing. Warping multiple ends for the stripe repeat will be oee of the highlights of this class.
Herringbones, Checks, & Houndstooths
This session is focused on weaving a length of clothing fabric in a fine woolen or worsted using a variety of twill threadings. Students will choose from herringbones, checks, or houndstooths using two or more colors in the warp.
Saki-Ori; Japanese Rural Clothing
Led by Dosia Sanford
The history of Saki-Ori weaving is as old as the cultivation of cotton in Japan in the 1750s. Cotton rags from wealthy cites would arrive by ship to remote villages to be used by the inhabitants to weave their work clothing. In this workshop students will make a length of fabric for a simple work garment using hemp, cotton, or linen for the warp and cotton rags for the weft. Historically, most of the cotton rags were indigo dyed and there will be an opportunity in the beginning of the class for students to dye their own rags in an indigo vat.
Silks
In this session we will weave 30/2 or 60/2 silk in either a narrow length of fabric or a pair of silk scarves. The patterns can be simple twills or more elaborate bird's eye or herringbones.
Tartans
This session focusess.
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Ikat Dyed Warp-Faced Carpets
The use of ikat dyed yarns in warp-faced carpeting was a technique practiced in different parts of Eastern Canada in the 19th century and was often referred to as Jaspé. In this session the student will design a carpet based on documented examples and go through the process of tying and dyeing the warp for a 3’ x 5’ carpet. After warping on the loom, students learn proper technique for weaving wool warp-faced carpeting using a sword. These carpets are closely related to the Venetian Carpets in the Historic Draft Books section.
Four Block Rep Weave Rugs
Rep weave is a great weave structure for woven carpets, and with a simple threading technique on four harnesses, four different color blocks can be achieved. Using a hand dyed British rug yarn for the warp the student will weave a 3’ x 5’ carpet.