Weaving on a Rigid Heddle Loom
Adult Course | Registration opens 2/4/2025 7:00 AM MST
This course is crafted for beginners as well as experienced weavers. Beginners will be taken through 3 projects to learn basic weaving skills; such as making a warp, entering a loom and weaving with a variety of yarns. Advanced students will work with the instructor individually to create projects that take their weaving skills to a new level. Design and technical books will be available for planning and inspiration.
Project 1 Yarn and fabric Sampler. This is to acquaint students with the variety of fabrics that can be created by changing the yarn and weave structure. A notebook recording each sample will be created by the student.
Project 2. Scarf in warp stripe
Project 3. Placemats with plaid design or warp stripe design. Weave 4 placemats and demonstrate how to space for fringe between each placemat.
All samples will be put in a sample reference notebook. Creative notes for projects 2 and 3 will also be kept in the notebook.
Learning Objectives:
Students will acquire valuable knowledge that will help them make successful decisions when working with all types of fiber art, not just hand weaving. Yarns, fibers, dyes will be discussed in detail outlining what make a good selection to have students achieve their creative goals.
David van Buskirk
As a weaver, I am always in collaboration with a loom. It is as important to me as the materials my hands work with. The looms can be as complicated as an industrial jacquard or as simple as a weighted warp, a loom invented in the stone age. Whether complex or simple, weaving requires a mechanism to create warp and weft, the structure on which my art is made.
The warp and weft create a rigorous grid for me to work with. This grid provides the structure for exploring color, pattern and texture. This is exacting but often intuitive. There occurs a playful cooperation between the elements of rigor and organic spontaneity in my work. These contradictory elements collaborate to create works of beauty, decoration and meaning.