What does weaving mean for you in your life? Loom weaving for me is an activity which gives me great satisfaction, even if I don´t do it all the time. It helps me to develop my creativity and what´s really important, it helps me to disconnect from the emotional pressure which my work involves.
What was the special attraction about loom weaving and what does hand-weaving offer that other textile crafts such as crochet or knitting don´t?The difference is that woven textiles can be far more complex than crocheted or knitted fabrics. My opinion is also that woven fabrics are more stable – they don´t distort as much – and they use less material. Also, once the warp (threads set up under tension on the loom) is put on I think weaving is a quicker process.
How did you learn to weave in the first place – by yourself, with books, or on courses? I initially learned on a weaving course I did in Madrid – over twenty years ago.
Do you think that loom weaving is a more unusual craft these days compared with other fibre crafts such as crochet or knitting? Yes I think it is less common than crochet or knitting. Gone are the days when many Spanish homes had a loom on which the women of the house wove all sorts of different textiles for home use.
There are people who say that hand-weaving is very difficult. What is your opinión? Weaving is not actually a difficult thing to do, but you do need to learn how to do it properly. I learned during a course which lasted several days.
What kind of fabrics do you weave on your loom? Lots of different things, like towels, various shawls and scarves, bangs for hanging up, and some linen fabric to make clothing out of etc..
What kind of yarns do you use? Is it difficult to find high quality yarn these days [in Spain]? I use cotton, wool and linen. It is difficult to find natural yarns these days which I consider really vital to enhance the hand-made nature of whatever you are making.
Would you recommend hand-weaving as a hobby to other people? Absolutely, yes. Once you start then you start asking yourself all these other questions – about the nature of the raw materials, how the yarn is made… and how to dye your own colours (dyeing yarns is something I´ve yet to learn how to do) …
Tell us about your next weave project At the moment I´m weaving some fabric samples. I think that afterwards I´ll probably hand-weave a linen shawl for myself with linen yarn that I bought recently.
Special Note from Anna, weaver and weave teacher at AC Estudio Textil in Galicia, Spain – I´d like to mention here that Elisa, apart from being a great fun, made a very generous contribution to a commissioned I was working on, during the time Elisa was here at the weave studio doing a course. She offered to hand-crochet the edges of a linen babycape I was weaving for a client to give it a special finish. As you can see Elisa made a wonderful job of it, so many thanks Elisa, you´re a star!
- Weaving and Natural Dyeing Holidays at AC Estudio Textil in Galicia, Spain
- Cottage Holidays at AC Estudio Textil in Galicia, Spain
- Louet Table Looms for Sale (discounts for all pupils at AC Estudio Textil)
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