In June, 2021, I had the great fortune to take a beginning weaving class at the Sievers School of Fiber Arts. The class was taught by Susan Frame, of Osseo, WI. Susan was an excellent, patient teacher.
The weaving class took place in the Sophie Studio at Sievers. We learned to weave on Schacht
Baby Wolf looms.
The lighter colored loom in the bottom right of the picture below is the newest acquisition for the school. The classroom Schacht looms are made of maple. Maple darkens with age.
The type of yarn we used for our two projects (table runners and/or scarves) was pre-selected for us. We did get to choose our own colors to work with. We used "Cotton Fleece" yarn for the first project and "Cotton Fine" yarn for the second project. Both yarns are by Brown Sheep Company, Inc.
The loom shown below is the one I used in class.
Teacher samples of table runners are hanging on the rack. These represent
what we made as our second projects.
Winding yarn onto a warping board. Susan (teacher) showed us how to move the warp
from the board to the loom. We warped our looms from front to back.
Photos below: first one shows the 12 dent heddle in position for "sleying" the reed.
This is one method of doing this task (there are others). Subsequent photos show
warping the loom, hemstitching, and finally, weaving! We used a twill weave setup.
Different patterns are created depending on what colors you use and in what order
you use those colors. I like the blue and white color combo!
Once our first pieces were off the loom, we chose colors for our second project, a
"gamp". Often these are done in a rainbow of colors. We were free to choose our
own colors. As you can see, I opted for jewel tones (my favorites). Students could
pick up to 7 colors plus a border color, or, use repeats of several colors. The loom was
warped in a prescribed order. The goal was to weave 7 blocks x 7 blocks, following a
pattern. Some students repeated the pattern. After weaving my seven blocks, I
decided to weave free form to finish my table runner.
Photo of me, taken by a classmate (Mary).
Shown below: My table runners, draped over a beautiful basket I purchased at the Sievers Gift
Shop. The table runners still need a bit of finishing work. I am pleased with how they
turned out. I learned a LOT in this class!
Class photo and "graduation" certificate.
