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Several years ago, Gist’s Christine Jablonski and writer/designer Amanda Rataj started a conversation about feeling good before, during, and after weaving. But it wasn’t about the process or things they were making—it was about their bodies, and feeling strong and comfortable as they used their equipment.
For many art and craft practices, repetitive motions are a critical aspect of what we do. Painters swish brushes, potters wedge clay, and weavers throw shuttles, press treadles, and wind bobbins. These repetitive actions can create cumulative strain and cause us to feel real pain and discomfort.
Both Amanda and Christine have had experiences that led them to pay attention to these repetitive motions and areas where weavers are at risk of hurting themselves. Since we’d all like to weave safely and comfortably for many, many more decades to come, we felt that an introduction to their knowledge and best practices would be of interest to our community at Gist.
Through several conversations and careful scrutiny of their own good (and bad) practices in the studio, Amanda and Christine have identified several areas of our bodies that need stretching and strengthening to remain in top weaving condition. While we’re not doctors and this is not medical advice, the following exercises and resources are ones that have benefited them personally and that they’d like to share. If you feel specific aches and pains, we recommend visiting your family doctor or a physiotherapist for accurate medical advice. This article is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical conditions and is a generalized account of their own experiences and needs in the studio.
"The first time I realized I had to take care of my body while doing one of my hobbies came after a particularly vigorous few weeks of knitting. I was making a Christmas gift for my mum and I spent hours curled up on the couch knitting away without thinking about my (likely atrocious) posture or the repetitive grip and twist of my wrist and arm.
After I finished the shawl (which she still loves!) I found myself with lingering pain in my wrist and elbow, which was eventually diagnosed as a repetitive strain injury (RSI) that still bothers me nearly a decade later. Working with a physiotherapist helped me learn exercises and stretches that can keep it at bay, but it was the first time I realized my relaxing and fun hobby could result in real, lifelong pain and discomfort.
This brush with tendinitis led me to think more deeply about my work at the loom and make changes and adjustments to help me weave safely and prevent tendinitis or other repetitive strain injuries from affecting my livelihood. "
"My brush with hobby injury came from a skiing accident that left me with a reconstructed knee. I rehabbed it “successfully” and was very disciplined about keeping the muscles around my knee strong. When early onset arthritis hit that knee at age 40 and I was looking at a joint replacement, a very wise surgeon told me it wasn’t enough to simply strengthen my quads and hamstrings, I also needed to stretch them and strengthen the opposing muscles as well—it’s all about balance! This led me down a rabbit hole of anatomy and physiology studies (including a cadaver lab!) that now inform how I keep my body happy and feeling good at the loom."
Before we even sit at the loom there are a few things Amanda and Christine like to think about.
1. Make the equipment accommodate YOUR body, not the other way around.
There is really no substitute for sitting at a loom to see how you will feel when weaving. Some looms will fit your body better than others, not because a loom is “good” or “bad” but because of how it is designed. Amanda is very tall, so her loom has a higher breast beam, which makes it more comfortable for her long legs. Similarly, Schacht offers height extenders for the Wolf line, and is recommended for weavers taller than 5’6”.
Leg room isn’t the only consideration, however. A beater bar that feels too far from the breast beam may require a weaver to reach farther than is comfortable for the shoulders and back. This is actually how a loom came into Christine’s orbit—the seller could not reach the beater comfortably, and thus never wove at it. The issue turned out to be that the number of treadles and height of the breast beam required a bench specifically designed for that loom. (Yes, Christine also now has the bench, and loves this loom.)
Speaking of benches, making sure your bench is at a good height, or is adjustable, has a huge effect on your ability to weave comfortably. An improper bench height can result in back, hip, or shoulder pain.
Since Amanda is tall, making sure that her knees are below her hips so they can pivot comfortably when depressing the treadles is important for her comfort—for a while she sat on a booster seat made up of textbooks to get her seat to the correct height!
American craftsman Walt Turpening makes custom benches and seats for weavers, and his formulafor figuring out bench height was one Amanda used to determine what worked best for her body.
2. Your mother was half right—sit up straight, but also back, and forward.
Christine loves all things Jane Stafford and particularly that early in Season One of her School of Weaving, she talks about the importance of how you sit at the loom to be comfortable and strong. In a nutshell, scooch the bench back a bit and sit forward on the seat, rather than in the center of it. This will maximize your leg power for treadling while stabilizing your torso, which may reduce the risk of back pain caused by unnecessary rotation or collapsing the lower back.
3. Give yourself a break.
While it may feel like it during gift-weaving season, weaving is not an endurance sport! Take breaks—you will know when you need to take a break. Amanda likes to stand up about every half an hour and move for five or ten minutes. Christine will weave for 10-12” (if an easy pattern) or a specific number of repeats (if a complicated pattern) and then take a break. Neither Amanda nor Christine wind loads of bobbins before they start weaving—both use the refill moments to get up, walk around, and stretch.
Weaving, especially on a floor loom, engages many areas of the body from the shoulders all the way down to the feet. The following exercises are ones that Amanda and Christine do in their studios with the tools already at their disposal!
Warming up the fingers and wrists may help you grip, throw the shuttle, and manipulate thread better by warming up and getting blood flowing. The hands are our most important tool when weaving, so pay some attention to all those little muscles! I like to:
1. Roll the wrists in circles—don’t forget to switch directions!
2. Interlace the fingers together and, keeping the hands flat, move the interconnected hands like a wave.
3. Stretch out fingers by holding your hands palms-out. Gently pull back each finger, one by one.
4. Support your arm on a flat surface, like a desk, and hold a shuttle in your hand. With your hand hanging off the edge of the table, slowly move your wrist up and down. Flip your arm so the wrist is facing down as well as up – this helps move tendons closer to the elbow!
Many of the movements you make at the hand and wrist start with, or involve, the shoulders. Getting them loosened up and flexible should help you move more freely. Here are some easy ways to stretch, strengthen, and engage the shoulders and upper back.
Simple shoulder rolls should not be underestimated! The most straightforward way is to roll them forwards and backwards in a circle, but I have a favorite variation. Placing my fingertips on my shoulders, I bring my elbow points together at the front of my body. Keeping my fingers planted, I sweep my elbows down and around in a large circle, touching my wrists together at the back of my head before returning to the starting position (elbows touching). This exercise came from a Youtube video by Yogini Melbourne; the neck, shoulders, and upper back practice is one of my favorites, and you can watch it by using this link.
While I try to maintain good posture and alignment when weaving, it doesn’t always happen. Not long into my weaving practice I noticed that time at the loom often resulted in rounded shoulders, a tight chest and sore upper back. These two exercises help open these areas up:
Use the back beam of your loom!
Place your palms on the back beam of your loom and back your feet up until your hips are at 90-degree angle above your ankles. If your hamstrings are tight (like mine are!) bend your knees slightly. Your back should be parallel with the floor and your ears between your biceps. Avoid the temptation to drop your ribs toward the floor.
Breathe comfortably for 3-4 breaths. If you wish, contract your back muscles on the exhales, attempting to slide your shoulder blades toward your hips, but without moving your palms. Then relax your back muscles on the inhales.
When ready, externally rotate your shoulders so your palms face the ceiling. Repeat the back contractions on the exhales if you wish.
Use the back beam of your loom and a stack of empty yarn cones.
Stack enough empty yarn cones together such that when you hold them between your palms, you forearms are parallel. Bend your elbows, place your upper arms on the back beam, and back your feet up until your back is parallel with the floor as in the exercise above. The cones are between your palms above your head.
Inhale at center, then on the exhale, slowly and gently push the cones over to the left. Pause, inhale back to center and on the exhale push the cones to the right. You might discover more range of motion in one direction (notice how much farther I can move the cones to the right?). Continue for a few more rounds.
Did you know that tightness in your feet can cause pain in your neck? With a little help from some partially-used and empty yarn tubes, the following two massages can loosen up those tight areas in no time.
Use a partially used long yarn tube.
Sit or stand, tuck your chin to your chest and place a partially-used tube of yarn just below your skull. Bring your chin back to neutral and hold the tube firmly in place. Use the tube to massage your neck, pulling down with your right hand and then your left, creating a rocking motion.
Use an empty yarn tube.
In bare or stocking feet, place an empty yarn tube perpendicular to your foot, just behind the ball of your foot.Applying as much or as little pressure as you wish, push your foot over the tube, stopping just in front of your heel. Continue as long as you wish!
This barely scratches the surface of what you can do to care for your body for years of weaving. Here are some other resources you might find helpful. Happy (and healthy!) weaving!
Amanda Rataj is an artist and weaver living and working in Hamilton, Ontario. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design University and has developed her contemporary craft practice through research-based projects, artist residencies, professional exhibitions, and lectures. Subscribe to her studio newsletter or follow her on Instagram to learn about new weaving patterns, exhibitions, projects, and more.
Christine is Gist Yarn's Director of Content and Customer Experience. Through wit, relentless enthusiasm and enough knowledge to be dangerous, Christine seeks to introduce the wonders of weaving to every person possible. Put another way, she is responsible for nurturing Gist's relationships with our current designers and finding new ones to bring you engaging content and patterns that are fun to both learn and weave. She is also our resident weaving whisperer, who is happy to help demystify any pattern and answer any loom or equipment questions you might have. In addition to her duties at Gist Yarn, she is an exhibiting artist whose work has been shown in New England galleries and is held in private collections across the country. She is a contributor to Little Looms and Handwoven magazines, and the author of SoulSpace Notes, a monthly column on weaving, art and life.
