Yarn selection
I love the beauty, versatility and sustainability of natural fibres like linen, wool, and cotton. Each material has its own unique qualities, from absorbency to warmth and strength. Yarns come in various ‘counts’ which describe the thickness/weight of the yarn as well as the plies and there are different counts for different types of fibres (wool vs. linen vs. cotton) which can all get a bit complicated!
I source my materials from UK and European suppliers, preferring to support small, family-owned businesses. For an even more personal touch, I sometimes spin my own yarn using a traditional foot-powered spinning wheel.
Creating the perfect, bespoke shade
If I can’t find the exact yarn shade I need, I’ll often dye it myself. I’ve experimented with both synthetic dyes, like acid dyes, and natural dyes like indigo, madder, black walnut, and dyers’ coreopsis. Natural dyes require mineral mordants like alum or iron to set the colour onto the fibres, whereas the synthetic pigments of acid dyes require heat and vinegar to bond with the fibre at the correct pH.
Sometimes, I prefer to work with the natural beauty of undyed fibres, like unbleached linen or heritage breed sheep wool. These come in lovely shades of cream, brown, and grey.
Winding the warp
The next step in the handwoven textile process is preparing the warp, the vertical threads that form the backbone of the fabric. This involves some careful calculations and sometimes makes weaving feel like more of a science than an art! I need to consider the chosen design, specifically the number of threads involved per repeating unit, the desired width and length of the finished piece, the thickness of the warp threads, and the desired “handle” of the fabric. These factors will determine the total number of threads and their length. I also need to consider factors like loom waste, shrinkage, and take-up, which will affect the final calculations and ultimate size of the textile. This is also the stage where I will calculate how much weft thread (the horizontal threads) I will need. I use a warping board to wind the warp, carefully counting and tying the ends in small 1cm bundles as I go, which helps preserve their order and help with spacing the warp on the loom later. Once the required number of ends is reached, the warp is carefully removed, starting at one end, and linking it over my hands to create a chained bundle. I work with metric raddles and reeds from Toika, a Finnish family-run company.
Dressing the loom
This involves attaching one end of the warp chain to the warping beam at the back of the loom and spacing the threads evenly using a raddle. The 1cm bundles I tied earlier help with this process. Warping the loom involves keeping tension on warp as it is being wound on, as well as strumming the threads to remove any tangles.
Once the warp is wound onto the warp beam, I thread it through the string heddles and the reed, which is suspended in the beater. Heddles are attached to shafts, allowing each thread to be associated with only one shaft, in accordance with the pattern chosen.
Next, I tie the warp threads to the cloth beam at the front of the loom and ensure that the tension is even throughout. Finally, it is time to tie up the treadles according to my chosen pattern. My loom is a countermarche loom, so warp threads are pulled both up and down to create the shed (the space where I insert the shuttle). This means each treadle must be attached to different lamms – one set raises the desired threads (via the shafts), and the other lowers the rest. With eight treadles and possibly eight shafts, this can involve a lot of crouching and tying up 128 cords!
Intersection of warp & weft
Finally, it’s time to weave! I use a vintage Swedish Glimåkrabobbin winder with brass gears to wind my bobbins. Instead of plastic bobbins, I prefer using cardboard or homemade paper quills – they’re quieter and I like the freedom of being able to wind as many bobbins as I see fit.
My loom is a pleasure to work with. The moving parts are all wood or cord, creating a lovely sound as I weave – no jangly chains or heddles or clanking metal shafts.
To weave, I press the treadles in a specific order based on my chosen pattern. Then I pass the shuttle through the shed (the opening in the warp) and beat the weft down with the reed. Some weaving structures, like overshot, require two or more shuttles, alternating between thicker and thinner weft threads. As the weaving progresses, I need to loosen the brake at the back of the loom that secures the warp beam to release some new warp, and advance the woven fabric onto the cloth beam in front. I separate the layers of warp and cloth using thin birch slats.
Bringing the textile to life
Cloth isn’t finished when it’s cut off the loom – depending on the end use, you will need to carefully consider how to finish the raw edges. For fringed table runners or wall hangings, I prefer to hemstitch the fabric while it’s still on the loom. Rugs, on the other hand, are often knotted after being taken off the loom. Tea towels require a secure finish, so I weave a section of dense plain weave at each end, which can then be folded over and stitched.
All my handwoven textiles undergo wet finishing after being cut from the loom. This process involves washing the fabric, which can soften the cloth, improve its drape, and enhance its stability. It also ensures that the yarn colours are fast and can help to brighten the fabric if it contains spin oil residue. For woollen, cashmere, or mohair fabrics, wet finishing can cause the fibres to “full” and “bloom,” making them softer and warmer.
After washing, I hang the fabrics to air dry and then steam or press them. Some woollen fabrics benefit from brushing to raise the nap. Linen fabrics can also be mangled under pressure to create a smooth, lustrous finish.
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