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100% pure lambswool with natural dyes – yarns for hand-weavers – new course dates for natural dyeing and loom weaving – holidays in Spain with a difference

New – natural-dyed lambswool yarn for weaving

naturally dyed yarns for sale for hand-weavers We are now starting to sell naturally-dyed lambswool yarns for weaving. The yarns are the same as we use in our own hand-woven textile range and also in our weaving and dyeing courses and are available in 3 different thicknesses. All are suitable as warp and weft for weaving projects but can also be used in other textile crafts. The 4/14nm is the chunkiest and the 2/14nm the finest (makes wonderfully soft scarves). The current stock is dyed with Lanzarote cochineal but we are also able to dye to order with other natural dyes for larger quantities. Dyed yarns are sold in large skeins of around 85 – 100g each. We will be launching our natural-dyed yarns this month in our local fleamarket or rastro in Monforte de Lemos (Lugo province, Galicia, north Spain) (Sunday 12 June) but keep looking at our online shop as we hope to have the yarns featured there in due course. In the meantime, if you would like to purchase any of the yarn, contact us by email. If you would like to try natural dyeing yourself then we also sell the yarn undyed, on cones, and as ready-wound skeins, complete with ready-weighed fixer (alum mordant) and instructions (in Spanish – but let us know if you need them in English too so we can prepare them for you).

pack of 5 lambswool skeins for dyeing with natural dyes

New dates for summer natural dyeing course for beginners on 20 and 21 August 2011 (course given in Spanish but we can always help out by translating terms if you don´t understand everything )

Several people asked if there could be another introduction to natural dyeing course – in the summer – so here it is. More information on the Spanish version of the blog here. Intermediate level Spanish is sufficient to be able to participate.

Results of our short, intensive scarf weaving course for complete beginners – 5/6 June 2011 in Anna Champeney Textile Studio, north Spain

fi and maria weave maria´s scarf fi weaves Just have a look at these lovely soft scarves designed and hand-woven by weave pupils Fiona and Maria on their first weave course last weekend here at the textile studio. You can see that there is no need to copy anyone elses design when you follow your instincts: Fiona´s and Maria´s personalities and individual tastes have automatically transfered themselves onto the woven cloth they created. Both scarves used our new 2/14nm natural dyed lambswool yarn as warp and apart from the fact that one warp had just one pink and the other had two pinks they were identical. But the two scarves are very different in feel.

Fiona created a subtle, light-weight scarf by using tussah silk singles dyed with indigo (light blue) and liquen (mauve) as weft in her light checked scarf. The result was cool and understated and went well with her paler skin tone. Maria´s scarf was woven with mainly lambswool in the weft, for a warmer scarf. She combined the raspberry pink warp dyed with cochineal with another tone of cochineal – a bright saturated orangey-red as warp, plus details of a cool mauve, to create a scarf with a zingy spicey colourway which worked well against her different, olive skin.

Weaving your own linen fabric – ideal for lace makers, crocheters

linen fabric for lace makers Monica, a pupil of mine, sent me this photo of the linen fabric she wove in her first weave course at Anna Champeney Estudio Textil, north Spain, using linen, which she then embellished beautifully with her own hand-made lace edging. Weaving with linen is not that difficult – this 5-day course has been run successfully with complete beginners for over 5 years now without any problems. So if you would like to learn to weave with linen – to make your own towels, cushions, clothing or table runners then there are still places in our 5-day intensive course in July. Weaving your own linen table runner or scarf to embellish with lace or crochet is far more fun than buying it. As with our other courses, Spanish is the main course language but we can always provide language support in English. For more information (in Spanish) click here.

Woven textile design by Anna Champeney

Do you recognise the photo below? Even if you do know it is a close-up of fabric being woven on a loom, how much do you know about how woven fabrics are designed?

Spanish-based weaver and designer Anna Champeney explains the design philosophy behind the textiles on sale in the www.textilesnaturales.com shop

“I’ll start by saying all our designs are original – we don´t copy weaving patterns from weaving books or magazines but build our designs up from scratch. The only exception to that are our re-intepretations of Spanish folk textiles and even then we add our own unique touches. Behind all our textile designs there is a meticulous process of testing out different ideas and variables to find the optimum design. Sampling is one important part of this process and cloth finishing is also vital: just look at the photos below to see how fabrics can be transformed when they are taken of the loom and wet-finished.

Hand-woven fabrics which reflect the mood of the weaver

There are many many different variables which affect drape, softness and texture in hand-woven textiles. Usually weavers are drawn to this complexity and the challenge of being able to direct these variables whilst being open to surprises. Small changes in colour or the threads used can really change a fabric in a fundamental way. Amazing as it may sound, hand-woven fabrics can even subtly reflect your mood or energy levels; if you are feeling full of energy you may, unconsciously, beat the lines of yarn in tighter, if you are tired the opposite may be true, affecting the softness and drape of the fabric and even changing its width! We always keep detailed notes of what we are doing so we know how to re-create a successful fabric formula exactly if we need or want to.

The weaving workshop as a textile laboratory

Our designs process start with a basic idea which is then worked up on the loom to produce small fabric swatches or samples. The idea can be a photograph, a particular loom setup, or even the yarns themselves. During the design process textile studio basically becomes a laboratory for testing out new ideas, in the firm belief that this experimentation is the key for interesting, and ever better new designs. These are analysed and then other samples made or the sample is adapted and transformed into a final design.

Above photos: Waffle weave is often used by the textile industry to weave cotton towels but we have used this classic weave to create something highly colourful and textural as this close-up shows. The first photo is the finished piece, the second photo is the same fabric but on the loom, before the fabric has been finished.

Why take so long to design a textile?

You can, of course, take short cuts to making hand-woven fabrics and leave out the sampling process altogether. But we don’t believe that they lead to the creation of an individual style or very accomplished work; our experience is that you rarely alight on the best idea or design formula first time around. We think that our clients are looking for distinctive work with wonderful textures and interesting designs. This is the constant challenge we have infront of us and to meet this weavers, like any other designers, need to have adequate design skills.

Designing a beautiful hand-woven textile may require more skill than weaving it and the highest compliment somebody can pay to our skill is is by purchasing our work.

So if you are a home-weaver don’t need to earn a living from making textiles does it matter as much? I would say that definitely it does. You need to produce beautiful work which you, your family and friends will genuinely love and use! Also, the public perception of weaving depends on home-weavers to quite a large extent, who often demonstrate and attend community-based events. So whichever way you look at it, design skills are important, for home weavers, professionals, and the reputation of the weaving community as a whole.

Applying the design philosphy to teaching weaving

As our weave studio is a teaching studio as well as a production studio we apply our basic philosophy of designing based on creative sampling as one we apply to our teaching as much as to the textiles we sell. So we encourage everyone, even complete beginners, to observe what they are doing on the loom to discover the design principles which lied behind beautiful hand-woven cloth.

We also recognise that learning is a life-long process and that you can always improve your skills. In May, for example, we are having a 3 week break from production and teaching work in order to spend time with Gina Hedegaard, to learn Danish textile designing techniques. So don’t forget to visit the blog again in May when we’ll be writing up our experiences.

Collapse fabrics inspired by classic 4-shaft weaves

The textile details you see in this blog are our latest samples, woven just two days ago and inspired by an email conversation with art weaver Anne Richards (UK). We tried taking classic structures like waffle weave and point twill and combining high twist and silk yarns both in warp and weft. On the loom the cloth looks open, light and lacey, but once hot-washed becomes transformed. You won’t find any of these designs in our online shop because they are currently works in progress. But we invite you to come back to our blog in future as all our samples filter through into finished designs sooner or later!

Above photos: The first photo is a close-up of a “point twill fabric” which is normally easily recognisable for its zigzag pattern. Our sample transforms this classic fabric into something very different. The right hand photo shows the same sample in an earlier stage of its making, on the loom.

Yarns and Textiles for sale: 26/2 nm linen (white) is available direct from AC Estudio Textile by the cone. 52/2 high twist yarn is available from Handweavers’ Studio in London. AC Estudio Textil textiles – here at textilesnaturales.com you can see and buy a selection of our work. For more information about our yarns and textiles click here.

Spanish holiday cottage, loom hire and weaving tuition: Come with a partner, a friend, or a group of weaver friends to stay in our comfy two-bedroom rural cottage in the beautiful mountains of Galicia, north Spain. The cottage is just 30 metres from the textile studio where you can reserve the use of a loom to try out our yarns, work on your own project or book some personalised weaving tuition from beginner level upwards.

100% LINEN YARNS BY POST FOR HAND WEAVERS – suitable for warp and weft

26/2 nm, 100/1 nm and 12/2 linens from AC Estudio Textil

SHOPPING FOR LINEN WEAVING YARNS

Here at the AC Estudio Textil in north Spain we specialise in weaving with natural linen, and as such, we have quite a selection of un-dyed yarns from a very fine 100nm through to a very natural rustic sack linen. We can send these yarns out to you by post and accept payment in euros and in pounds sterling by cheque or bank transfer (we hope to accept payment by Paypal soon).

Because we use these yarns ourselves, both for our limited-edition textiles and in our weave courses and holiday tuition, we feel confident that if we like using the yarns you will too!

We cannot guarantee to always have the same yarns in stock, however, to please ensure you order enough of any one yarn to complete your textile project.

Sample cards – (UK) Please send a cheque for 5.90 pounds sterling and a self-addressed A4 envelope to Anna Champeney Estudio Textil, Cristosende 78, 32765 A Teixeira, Ourense, Galicia, requesting a linen sample card which we can make up by hand and send out to you. Other countries – please contact us about payment methods.

Metric count system: We use the nm or metric count system for yarns which means the higher the number the finer the yarn. The first number refers to the number of metres of yarn in 1000g of the yarn – as a singles yarn. The second number refers to the the ply – 2 signifies 2-ply and 1 refers to a singles yarn. e.g. 10/1 = 10,000 m/k. 10/2 = 5,000 m/k.

Suggested warp setts: Only sampling can really confirm which is the correct warp sett for a particular project. However, as a general recommendation, a 12/2 nm yarn can be sett for plainweave at 7 ends per cm and a 26/2 nm can be sett at 11 or 12 hpc.

WHITE LINEN

Please note this is 1/8 white linen – which means it is a creamy white not a completely white white. Each thickness of yarn varies slightly in tone. Please ensure you order enough yarn for your weaving project as slight colour variations can occur from batch to batch.

39/2 white (on order)
26/2 white (on order
12/2 white
13/2 white
12/1 white

GREY LINEN

12/2 grey
12/1 grey
15/2 grey

NATURAL LINEN (a warm beige rather than a true grey)

Rustic linen singles (possibly a number 4
6/1 natural linen
100/1 natural

Comments
“WOW! So beautiful and So FINE! Can´t wait to work with that! ” – comment by email from Mayumi about the 100/1 linen yarn and / “I can’t wait to plan a project … The 100NM linen reminds me of spider-silk from a cob web, it’s so fine!” – comment by email from Beth

OTHER YARNS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Suave yarn with angora, alpaca and wool “Suave” yarn – A wonderfully soft natural grey 50% angora, 30% wool, 20% alpaca 2/9 nm available as skeins of 125g. Delicate hand-wash in cold water required for this as otherwise you run the risk of felting this yarn! With care, however, we have both mordanted and dyed this yarn successfully with natural dyes. The studio has used this as warp and weft for beautiful scarves and it can also be used in knitting. Unfortunately we cannot advise you further (we weave but we don´t knit!).

We also stock 50% silk, 50% wool 10/1 available on cones (un-dyed)

Visit AC Textile Studio in 2011 – Don´t forget that you can always come and try out the yarns and buy our hand-woven linen texiles direct from AC Textile Studio. The studio is situated in a picturesque village in Galicia, north Spain. We can book you self-catering accommodation in Casa dos Artesans holiday cottage, just a short stroll away from the studio. The cost of cottage rental varies from 61 pounds to 86 pounds per night depending on the length of the rental (minimum stay – 2 nights – cheap tariff – 2 weeks). Combine your stay with a weave retreat (we can rent you a loom) or simply relax and unwind in some stunning scenery. Please book early, however, because availability through 2011 is limited.