Playing with Pick Up on a Rigid Heddle Loom
Go beyond the basics and weave more than plain weave on your rigid heddle loom. Learn how to create decorative designs and textures in the structure of your woven fabric. Spend the weekend immersed in the joy of weaving with pick up sticks, learning to make additional sheds and manipulate your warp threads. Discover the difference between warp and weft floats and how to use them to create your desired patterns in a sampler. Try out warp or weft floats, lace patterns, waffle weave and more. After learning a variety of patterns, see how the right finishing techniques really make your patterns pop. This sampler will be the basis for planning many beautiful future textiles. While weaving the sampler, students will learn various methods for finishing the ends, how to wet fish the woven pieces, and many tips for easier weaving. After you finish your sampler you will see how to plan future projects based on the patterns you like best.
This Zoom workshop is broken into three sessions, with time to weave in between. Participants should plan to warp their looms before the workshop begins. Deborah has built in an extra half hour on Saturday to allow time to start with an overview of what the class will entail and a check to make sure everyone's loom is set up right. Students will receive Zoom instructions and a handout from Deborah a few days before the class starts.
Class Level: Advanced Beginner. Students must have some weaving experience and be able to warp their loom prior to class.
Homework before class: Warp the rigid heddle loom - put on an 88" warp of 48 ends, using a 7.5 or 8 dent reed. Use yarn that is about worsted weight, a solid color, smooth, non-hairy, strong and at least 2 ply. This will take about 125 yards of yarn. To warp you'll need a warping peg, sley/threading hook, clamps, 2 brown paper bags. It is important that you have exactly 48 warp threads!
Supplies: In addition to the yarn you warped with, you'll need about 150 yards of the same type yarn but in a contrasting color. 1 ball of bulky weight yarn, 20 yards acrylic worsted weight waste yarn, shuttle, 2 pick up sticks appropriate for the size of your loom, manila file folder, scissors, tube from inside a paper towel roll, tapestry needle, tape measure, pins, notebook, post it notes, pen or pencil with eraser.
About Deborah Jarchow
Deborah Jarchow is a full-time weaver and artist who teaches and lectures on fiber arts, creates and sells wearable art, and exhibits her work at galleries and museums across the country. Her commissioned pieces are held by churches as well as in many private collections. Since 2004, she has been an artist in residence, teacher, and weaver at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo, California.