Introduction

Flex your Designer Genes! Weave your own Fabric Swatch Book

If writers can suffer from writer's block, weavers most surely can suffer from weaver's block.....and they do! We can be so project driven that we don't take time to sample and explore the possibilities of any given warp, we are so intent on following the “recipe” for our finished project. This course is the antidote, an opportunity to take your color and design ideas to a new level. Writers seeking to flex their writing muscles benefit from working with prompts...why not weavers?

In this 8-week course, weavers will make several 6-10” wide warps and through a variety of threading, treadling, color and texture prompts, will explore design possibilities while creating their own unique swatch book of woven designs. Topics presented will include the principles of color and their interaction in woven cloth, color proportion, division of space, color and weave effects, framing, cramming, spacing, sett changes, the use of accents, and more, with pdfs made available weekly.

Expect to polish your warp-making skills with some useful time-saving techniques as you get plenty of practice dressing a loom with speed and ease on these short 2 to 3 yard warps. Weavers will be encouraged to weave several swatches on their warps and will rotate with other weavers to weave swatches on theirs as well. You are bound to make some new weaving friends and complete the course with fresh ideas for color combinations, yarn choices and weave structures. By the end of class you will be more at ease with making quick warps, warping with multiple strands, dressing a loom and you will have a larger kit bag of ideas to draw upon in exercising your design curiosity. The swatch book you create with its details recorded will serve you as a valuable springboard for future projects.

In addition to class time, four two-hour open studios will give students ample opportunity to weave each week.

Pre-requisite: An introductory weaving class or similar experience which includes making a warp and dressing a loom.

Classes begin on Sept 6, 2022 and run for 8 consecutive weeks on Tuesday afternoons from 1-3pm.