At FibreFeelia 2024, I watched three women learn to weave using a rigid heddle loom. By the end of the weekend, they had each created a beautiful scarf. That was it—I was hooked. I needed to learn how to weave.
For me, getting the tools wasn’t a challenge since Laurel Tree Fabric and Fibre is an Ashford dealer. With the help of a friend, I did some research and decided on a 28-inch-wide Knitter’s Loom. I also picked up nylon reeds in every size and a loom stand.
The Knitter’s Loom is similar to a rigid heddle loom, except it's varnished and folds for easy carrying. Both looms are designed to be used against the edge of a table, but because I bought a stand, I can weave without needing a tabletop.
Excited, I jumped into my first project—a practice run to get familiar with the loom, learn how to start and stop a project, and pick up the terminology. Like cooking a meal, quilting a blanket, or even building a bridge, weaving comes with its own language. You have a warp and a weft. One runs vertically, the other horizontally. Here's a simple trick: weft rhymes with left, so the weft runs left to right.
Then there's banging. It doesn’t mean hammering things into place—it’s the gentle motion of pressing the weft yarn toward yourself, toward the roll of completed fabric. In my test project, there was a lot of actual banging. So much that my loom stand shook, shuddered, and even lifted off the floor at one point! But with my friend's guidance, I figured it out.
My test project? Gone. Never to be seen again. After removing it from the loom, I felted it in my front-loader washing machine, then cut it up into little bits and gave it away as flannel.
Here’s a photo of my second project. I still banged harder than I should have, making the weave a little too tight, but I’m proud of it—I made fabric! For this piece, I used Estelle Highland Alpaca Fine and Symphony Viva. Viva was my warp, and the alpaca was my weft.
Now, my loom is warped with Highland Alpaca Fine in two colours, and I’m using two shuttles—one for each. It’s looking great so far, and I’m finally learning to weave more gently.
I’m so grateful for the inspiration I found watching those three women at FibreFeelia. Seeing them take on a new skill gave me the push I needed to do the same.
If you stop by Laurel Tree Fabric and Fibre, you’ll see my loom sitting in its stand, always with a project on the go. Come say hi and see what’s on the loom!