Tips & Tricks

A robust yarn stash makes experimenting with a wide range of yarns easy to do, but it takes time to grow organically. If you’re a new weaver eager to have more cones and skeins on your shelf, thrifting and sourcing pre-owned yarn can be a smart and affordable way to grow your stash. This blog post provides suggestions of places to look for pre-owned yarns, and things to keep in mind before bringing them home. 

In this blog post, Karla Stille explores one possible adaptation of her Endless Options Mug Rugs. By winding a longer warp and re-sleying the loom, weavers can explore weaving a modified Rep-Weave table runner on the same warp as their mugs. 

If you have unidentified cones of yarn that were gifted, thrifted, or purchased years ago, a simple burn test can help you identify the fiber. Burning fiber can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this blog post, Kristin Crane walks you through how to perform a burn test to help you identify the mystery cones in your stash. 

There's no greater blow to a fiber lovers ego than discovering moths have infiltrated their yarn stash. In this blog post, Kristin Crane recounts her experience getting moths out of her studio, and shares what she learned about preventing and protecting yarn from being affected by moths. 

Inlay is a weaving technique that utilizes a base (or ground/tabby) weft and an inlay (or supplemental) weft. The base weft travels from selvedge to selvedge, while the inlay weft travels only where the weaver desires. This creates unique designs that draw the viewer's attention to specific areas of the cloth. In this blog post, we will explore a few of the many options available for weaving Inlay.

Beautiful weaving can be crafted by incorporating multiple colors in the weft. When weaving multiple picks with a single yarn before switching to another, many weavers opt to cut the weft yarn before transitioning. But when the yarns change with each pick or at small intervals, it is more practical to keep all the weft yarns connected to the weaving. In this blog, Carolyn Heacock shares tips for successfully carrying two and three yarns up the selvedge in a way that creates structurally sound, beautiful selvedges.

There's nothing like a beautifully set table, and as weavers we can put our personal stamp on the dining linens – from design to size. Generally, larger indicates more formal, but your handwovens should fit your table and your needs. Here are some Gist table linen projects, and suggested standard size ranges for designing your own.

A “blanket” can range from a very small “lovey” to a throw for a king-size bed, and everything in between. Googling “blanket sizes” yields a dizzying array of options, which means you can pick what works best for you! This blog post goes over some general size ranges for different projects to design your own, as well as a few Gist patterns that fit the bill. 

Loom maintenance can go a long way in preventing mistakes, supporting equipment longevity, and ensuring that your most important tool is running smoothly (which in turn means that weaving is smooth and fun, too!). In this article, Amanda shares a short checklist of things she likes to do every few months to care for her loom. 

Deflection in weaving happens when (intentional) floats curve around areas of plain weave, and doubleweave is the weaving of two layers of fabric simultaneously. Combining the curves of deflection and the layers of doubleweave creates deflected doubleweave, a common technique in shaft-loom weaving. But with two heddles and, in some cases, two pick-up sticks, the humble rigid heddle loom can also create this stunning structure.     

There are few things that elicit a heart-stopping gasp more than the realization that the handwoven item you are wearing has just snagged on something. For years I tried to save my hand work from the zippers, drawer pulls, and puppy paws, but I've learned a few repair tricks that keep my weavings wearable through it all.