Skill Guide: Become a More Efficient Weaver

As somebody without a lot of free time, I like to find efficiencies to help me in my daily life. Efficiency is all about setting up little systems that make things easier. For example, by keeping my kitchen tools organized, I never have to search for a potato peeler or whisk, and by putting out my boy’s clothes the night before, our mornings are less frantic. The same can be applied to weaving. A few small changes in how you approach weaving can help make your experience much more enjoyable. Today’s Skill Guide is full of tips and tricks for building up your efficiency as a weaver. As you read, you’ll learn about:

• What efficiency in weaving really means
• How to get perfect tension on your rigid-heddle loom
• A more efficient warp separator than paper or cardboard
• The benefits of a boat shuttle
• Tips for winding a perfect bobbin

Every item we’ve selected for this guide is part of your All Access program and will help you get the most out of your subscription. Check out the Little Looms Library and our video course website for more learning opportunities.

Happy Weaving,
Christina

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Weaving Efficiency

Adapted from an article by Laura Fry

Weaving cloth is a labor-intensive process. In other words, it takes time. A lot of time. The biggest investment in hand-woven cloth is the weaver’s labor. As someone interested in earning an income from weaving, I learned quickly that once I had spent the coin of my time, I could never get it back. While I could earn money to buy more yarn, I could never buy myself more time. Therefore, it became clear that I needed to learn my craft very well and become competent with my skills, tools, and materials. I needed to learn how to work efficiently.

Whether on a multi-shaft loom or a rigid-heddle, Laura knows that efficiency is the secret to happy warping and weaving.

Don’t Hurry!

That doesn’t mean that I could ever afford to “hurry!” Hurrying is an attitude, a mental state wherein you are not in the present moment but constantly thinking you need to be somewhere else, doing something else. Hurrying is when shortcuts are taken, and steps are left out, all to get what you are doing over and done with. Hurrying means mistakes are often made, which in the end result in poor results or extra time required to repair the situation.