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Ask Madelyn HAVE A QUESTION? OUR EDITOR HAS THE ANSWER madelynv@interweave.com Dear Madelyn, My question stems from problems I have had when weaving a sample. How do you sample for sett on a wide warp, for example 36" or 40" wide? My experience has been that a narrow sample isn't really...
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We often talk of textiles telling stories, and in some cases this is literally true. For example, the Bayeux Tapestry uses embroidered pictures to tell the story of the Normal conquest of England. Another, less well-known example are the quipus used by the Incan empire. Quipus (or khipus) are made up...
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Some of Anita's creative cloth You know that famous poem about what you might do when you are an old woman? Wearing purple, spitting on the sidewalk, etc.? The first time I encountered it was when Anita Mayer sent me the manuscript for her wonderful book, Clothing From the Hands That Weave, which...
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Ask Madelyn HAVE A QUESTION? OUR EDITOR HAS THE ANSWER madelynv@interweave.com Madelyn, I am enclosing a photo (shown below) to help you visualize my issue. The string that ties the back apron rod to the warp beam on my loom has slowly been stretching. I'd like to find a different system, but am...
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During the Renaissance, nobles who wanted to show off their fancy wardrobes used to do so through public portraits. Later, when they wanted people throughout the land to see their clothing, they began commissioning illustrations mass produced from engraved plates. These printings eventually became known...
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There are many past fashion trends that we love here at BeWeave It headquarters—we’d totally wear a peplos to work if we could get away with it—but one trend we’re happy is stuck in the past is the hobble skirt , and so we're making it the subject in part 3 of our Garment...
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Ask Madelyn HAVE A QUESTION? OUR EDITOR HAS THE ANSWER madelynv@interweave.com Hi Madelyn! When does one choose to hang weights to tension a selvedge? Or beam the selvedge with the project warp? I have seen the selvedge wrapped with the warp on table looms—maybe this is because there is no depth...
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Many weavers also spin yarn, and some handspinners weave, but few of us produce most of our own weaving yarn. Fewer still have begun to explore all the color and texture possibilities of using handspun yarn in our weaving. Sara Lamb has integrated her passions for weaving and spinning for decades, each...
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How to Weave a Scarf: Seven Handwoven Scarves from Weaving Today Scarves are the weaver's playground: a chance to explore color and weave structures to your heart's content. When you weave a scarf, you're not committing your loom for weeks or months, and you don't have to spend a fortune...
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To be a weaver is to dream. We dream of the exquisite projects we will make, and when life permits, we actually weave some of them. Here's a letter that my friend Julie Barnes wrote to her weaving cooperative recently. It's more about life than weaving, and I love it because it could have come...
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Ask Madelyn HAVE A QUESTION? OUR EDITOR HAS THE ANSWER madelynv@interweave.com Madelyn is on a much-deserved vacation this week, so today's Ask Madelyn is a classic from our archives, originally published in March 2010. Dear Madelyn, We understand that when the fell line at the selvedges starts smiling...
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Ethel Merman in Ragtime What do Bill Nye the Science Guy, the eleventh doctor from Doctor Who, and Winston Churchill all have in common? Bow ties ! For part two in our A Night on the Town garment challenge BeWeave It series we’re focusing on the dapperest of dapper accessories. The origin of the...
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Quechuan woman wearing a lliclla while spinning wool. Photo by Peter van der Sluijs If you haven’t entered Handwoven’s 2013 garment challenge “A Night on the Town” yet don’t fear; we’re accepting entries until March 15 so there’s still time to join in on the...
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Ask Madelyn HAVE A QUESTION? OUR EDITOR HAS THE ANSWER madelynv@interweave.com Hi Madelyn, I was wondering if there is a way to fix a missed stitch in weaving? My shed didn’t open far enough and a couple of warp threads didn’t catch properly. I think I heard somewhere that these can be fixed...
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This last week, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of an exhibit of Andean textiles from the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC). At the opening lecture, CTTC director Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez gave a slideshow and talk about the weaving techniques, traditions, and communities...