r/weaving • u/lunaysol26 • 16d ago
Help beginner floor loom weaver searching for direction
hey everyone,
i'm looking for my next floor loom project. i'm a beginner weaver with 3 projects under my belt:
1) weaving sampler, 4 shaft
2) gist's field and sky shawl, herringbone twill with clasped weft technique, 4 shaft
3) jst's tuscan twill tea towels, 4 shaft
i'm a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities and am not entirely sure what direction to go in. i've looked at a handful of handwoven magazines, but again, not sure what would be a good next step. honestly, weaving still feels a little bit like magic to me. i have access to a 4 shaft and an 8 shaft!
i do have a few weaving dreams if that'd help point me in a direction: 1) weave the lothlorien cloak from lord of the rings, 2) weave fabric to make a dress, and 3) be able to make my own draft. i'm also incredibly inspired by weavers like Amber M. Jensen, Sarah Sullivan Sherrod, and those at the Dovecot Studios.
any guidance would be very helpful! thank you!
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u/cloudy1959 16d ago
When I was a newish weaver I bought a book called “ Next steps in weaving” by Patti Graver. it really helped me figure out designs.
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u/lunaysol26 15d ago
the weavers have spoken! it'll be my first weaving book, so that's also exciting!
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u/blueberryFiend 15d ago
I was also going to recommend “Next Steps in Weaving” by Patti Graver. It covers twill, overshot, color-and-weave, and lace. There are samplers and projects for each topic. It focuses on the why and will help you towards your goal of designing your own drafts.
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u/lunaysol26 15d ago
oh, that's aptly named, haha! this honestly sounds perfect for me. thank you for the recommendation!
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u/Accomplished_Try_659 15d ago
Deflected Doubleweave, non traditional Krogkbragd, blocks, blocks, blocks as msnide14 suggested.
Drafting: Weavers Guild of MN does an online class on drafting. Often offered frequently during the winter. Have fun!
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u/Zestyclose-Hope-6334 14d ago edited 14d ago
There is a weaver on tumbler who has successfully recreated the LOTR cape in shadow weave. The person’s id is ivorivet. The weave, however, is complicated and probably outside your skill level at the current time. Definitely one to keep in mind for later. Happy weaving and welcome to the rabbit hole.
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u/lunaysol26 14d ago
i saw their breakdown of the pattern a while ago. i’ll keep it as a goal weave!! thank you for letting me know that it’s outside of my skill level :)
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u/vfrbub 12d ago
If you have a subscription to Handwoven magazine you can look through all the old issues online (you don't need the full access subscription to view old issues, but you do if you are searching for something directly). I have made several things straight out of the magazine (same colors and everything) and they have all helped me in various ways. I can hardly look through an issue without thinking "ooh, that looks cool". I find most of the projects pretty straightforward and everything is set out like a recipe, rather than a list of ideas/suggestions, so the products tend to come out with details that I would have never payed attention to when I was starting.
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u/Linnie46 15d ago
You might want to consider joining Jane Stafford’s School of Weaving. USD$99 gives you a year of access to 10 seasons worth of content, starting with very basic stuff like how to wind a warp and how to tie on (don’t skip this though - I wove for a year and still found it helpful). Each season covers a new structure, and she teaches you how to overlay colour and incorporate techniques like colour and weave to open up the vast possibilities of that structure. You’ll learn how to draft and develop confidence with colour choices, etc. Jane is a brilliant teacher who manages to break down even complicated structures in a way that makes them much easier to understand.
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u/lunaysol26 15d ago
ooo, i was thinking about getting but wasn't sure if it'd be worth it! okay, i'll definitely be adding this to my list of next steps. thank you!
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u/msnide14 16d ago
The LOTR cloak uses 40 shafts and they didn’t publish the draft (you could probably draft it yourself if you’re clever, but it would be against their wishes). Handwoven magazine just chose a random shadow weave as a replacement.
If you want to start learning how to design drafts, you should learn about blocks, which means you should foray into two shuttle weaving! I would choose a project from Handwoven that uses Overshot or Summer and Winter. These are easy to learn structures that will open up a range of possibilities! Summer and winter will be a very easy jumping off point to design your own summer and winter drafts.