You see, I’m not a technical weaver, and technical weaving chats are normally not my jam (it’s just not how I’m wired, I’m afraid!). But I kept hearing about turning a weaving draft, and while it’s a more technical trick, it piqued my interest. It turns out that turning a weaving draft is a pretty handy trick to learn. It not only helps solve some common weaving snafu’s, but it opens up some pretty cool creative opportunities too. Happy Weaving!

Turning a Weaving Draft

Show Notes –

Madelyn van der Hoogt has a wonderful article in Handwoven magazine all about turning a weaving draft. Click here to check it out.

Need to review some weaving draft basics? Check out this episode of A Handwoven Experience: Reading a Weaving Draft.

Reading a Weaving Draft Class

Are you new to weaving? Do you need help figuring out what a weaving draft is and how to read it? Friends, I’ve got you! Check out my online Reading a Weaving Draft course. This self-paced class will walk you through the in’s and out’s of reading a weaving draft so that you will be able to tackle any weaving draft that comes your way. The best part is once you buy one of my classes it is yours to keep; you can refer back to it anytime. Ready to check it out? Click here to learn more and sign up.

The post Turning a Weaving Draft appeared first on Acton Creative.

Overshot is a wonderful style of weaving pattern, with endless options. But creating your own version is a heck of a lot of fun and I’m happy to walk you through it.

With a bit of instruction and a dose of creativity, you can begin developing your own personal variations on overshot or any pattern you like. Enjoy episode 192 to dive into it deeper.

Show Notes –

Turning overshot – Have you ever heard of “turning” a weaving pattern? I have, but I’ll be completely honest and tell you that I haven’t actually tried it yet. It may need to be a future A Handwoven Experience episode – that’s what I’m thinking. (Do me a favor and act surprised when you see it!) In the meantime, I found a great article from Madelyn Van Der Hoogt about turning an overshot pattern. Who else is intrigued? (Oooh, me me me!!!) Click right here to absorb Madelyn’s brilliance. 

Overshot 101 – Are you new to overshot? No worries! I have a 2-part series that will give you the high-level view of this great pattern. First up is  Overshot 101: Dressing the Loom, and next is Overshot 101: Weaving Overshot. Click on either or both to get up to speed!

FREE Weaving Resources

Would you look at that? There is an entire list of FREE weaving resources at your fingertips on the Acton Creative website! Everything from Parts of a Loom, to 6 Weaving Patterns, to the Beginner’s Guide to Weaving Yarn – there’s a little something for everyone. Simply click here to pick which one (or all!) will be helpful for you!

The post Overshot Variations (using treadling) appeared first on Acton Creative.

Show Notes –

Best Practices for Reading a Draft – Oooh, I found a great article on Handwoven magazine about reading weaving drafts. Susan, the author, gives a great look at the various components of a draft and what to do with them. I highly recommend you check it out here. 

Reading a Weaving Draft – If all this talk about weaving drafts and repeats in weaving drafts is foreign to you, might I recommend a skip down memory land, back to episode 49, “Reading a Weaving Draft”? It’s a great starting point. You can watch it here. 

Reading a Weaving Draft Class –

If you want to do a deeper dive into the world of weaving drafts, I have a virtual class available on the “Weaving Classes” page. I’ll take your hand and walk you through the various components step-by-step. Take a look here and sign up today. 

FREE Weaving Resources –

Would you look at that? There is an entire list of FREE weaving resources at your fingertips on the Acton Creative website! Everything from Parts of a Loom, to 6 Weaving Patterns, to the Beginner’s Guide to Weaving Yarn – there’s a little something for everyone. Simply click here to pick which one (or all!) will be helpful for you!

The post Repeats in Weaving Drafts appeared first on Acton Creative.

Have you ever been excited to try a new pattern, but weren’t exactly sure how to go about it? Well never fear, my friend! I’ve got you covered. Watch episode 172 of A Handwoven Experience for a great checklist to help you confidently dive in.

Show Notes –

Weaving Draft Library – Have you found handweaving.net yet? This amazing resource is loaded to the brim with weaving drafts for any number of shafts. I love the historical references and the tool for creating your own drafts. If you aren’t familiar with this invaluable website, click here to take a stroll through all the weaving fun. 

Weaving Books – Speaking of resources, have you started a weaving book collection? If not, I have a great list to kick off your library. WAY back at episode 23, I offered up my starter list of weaving books that will cover nearly all of your bases. So, enjoy this early video and let’s dive into some new weaving patterns! 

6 Weaving Patterns

Did you know there is a freebie describing 6 different weaving patterns ready for you? Yep! In this easy-to-follow document, I laid out 6 patterns and described each one so you will have a clear picture of what makes each one tick. Talk about a fabulous cheat sheet! Click here to pick up your very own copy. 

The post New Weaving Pattern – Now What? appeared first on Acton Creative.

No, that’s not the question that feeds your insomnia? Fair enough. But I can imagine that at some point in your weaving career, you will bump up against a weaving draft that calls for more treadles than you currently have. And what do you do then?

Well, I’m tackling this hard-hitting issue in today’s episode of A Handwoven Experience! And the answer may surprise you! (Or maybe not, if you’re up half the night chewing on it!) Please enjoy episode 133, “How many treadles do you need?”

https://youtu.be/J9NUbcPV2NEhttps://youtu.be/J9NUbcPV2NE

Show Notes –

Tim’s Treadle Reducer – I found a fun tool from Earlham College that computes a way to simplify your tie-ups when a draft calls for more treadles than what you have on your loom. It’s a cool system that will help you think through the solution I spoke of in today’s video. Click here to give it a try! 

Support episodes – In this week’s episode, I tied together a number of different topics. If you aren’t familiar with treadles and/or weaving drafts, I have some prior episodes to give you a good base so you can be on the same page! Here they are –

Ep 35, “Treadles & Tie-Ups”

Ep 49, “Reading a Weaving Draft”

Ep 73, “Direct Tie-Ups”

Acton Creative Insiders – 

Do you love all things Acton Creative? Want event more? I have just the thing! I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership includes personal insights, weaving tips/tricks, and small group chats every single month! All we’re missing is you!  This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post How many treadles do you need? appeared first on Acton Creative.

One of the biggest tools in weaving is the pattern draft. Once you understand how to read a draft, the world is your oyster! You will have all the information you need to create a limitless number of beautiful weaving patterns – without a kit, without someone else giving you instructions, completely on your own! It’s kind of like getting your driver’s license. Freedom is yours!

But, back in episode 49, “Reading a Weaving Draft”, I taught the process from the perspective of a floor loom with the capability of tying 1 treadle to multiple shafts. And while that is valuable, it doesn’t help those working on a direct tie-up loom (aka, a table loom).

So today, I’m connecting the dots! Join me as I walk you through the process of understanding your table loom, and understanding a weaving draft so you can create beautiful, interesting patterns, all the live-long day! Enjoy!

Show Notes –

Handweaving.net – If you have not yet played with handweaving.net, it’s time. This amazing resource includes hundreds of weaving drafts – many of them with impressive historical roots! Plus, it offers the ability to create your own weaving drafts, which is very fun to play with. There is a free version that gives you a wonderful glimpse into what you can do. But, the paid version is very reasonable and worth the library of weaving goodness you’ll have at your fingertips! Here’s the link to check it out. 

Direct Tie-Ups – In today’s episode all about how to read a weaving draft for a table loom, I talk about the functionality of the direct tie-up loom. To watch the original “Direct Tie-Up” episode (Ep. 73), I have a magical link to take you right there! Simply click here. 

Acton Creative Insiders – 

Do you love all things Acton Creative? Want event more? I have just the thing! I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership includes personal insights, weaving tips/tricks, and small group Zoom meetings every single month! All we’re missing is you!  This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post Read a Weaving Draft for a Table Loom appeared first on Acton Creative.

When you hear a weaver talk about a “threading”, it refers to the sequence you use to assign the warp yarns to a shaft. You’ve heard me many a time discuss “threading the heddles”, which is the action, while a “threading” is the sequence.

For me, I tend to approach a threading in a visual manner, like you’re a bird looking down on the loom. (Total sidebar: if you truly have a bird looking down on your loom, please stop what you’re doing and kindly escort her out!)

In this episode, I’ll be sharing my approach to this step, AND of course, walking you through the fabulous broken twill threading. It’s a good one! Enjoy!

Show Notes –

Twill Glossary – Oooooh, I found a great resource for you! In Handwoven magazine, they shared a wonderful twill glossary that includes all sorts of variations, including our broken twill threading! Some were even new to me! I’ll definitely be studying it further right after I finish this post. Click here to see what the excitement’s about. 

Straight Draw – Back at episode 57, I introduced you to the Famous Straight Draw. And the truth is, you could easily dress your loom using a straight draw for the rest of your life and never get bored! If you’d like a refresher on this sturdy workhorse of a threading, here is your review of the straight draw. 

Point Twill Threading – The other threading I refer to in our current episode is the wonderful point twill threading. I featured this one in episode 111, which was a great lead-in to waffle weave! Click here to see what the point twill threading is all about! 

Acton Creative Insiders – 

Do you love all things Acton Creative? Want event more? I have just the thing! I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership includes personal insights, weaving tips/tricks, and small group chats every single month! All we’re missing is you!  This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post Broken Twill Threading appeared first on Acton Creative.

You see, skeleton tie-ups allow you to create a pattern using less treadles than the weaving draft calls for. As long as you have the appropriat number of shafts, you’ll be in business!

Check out episode 98 to see what all the fuss is about!

Show Notes –

Tim’s Rudimentary Treadle Reducer – It appears that a mathetician from Earlham College (which is in Indiana, thank you very much!) created a way to calculate skeleton tie-ups! I haven’t used it yet, so please let me know if you give it a try. I’ll be very curious about your experience! Click here to give it a go.

Support episodes – In episode 98, I get pretty technical – which can be confusing if you aren’t immediately familiar with all the terms. So, I’m including a few previous A Handwoven Experience videos to help you! The first one is Ep 35, “Treadles & Tie-ups“, and next is Ep 73, “Direct Tie-ups“. Click on each title to get the back story!

Acton Creative Insiders – 

Do you love all things Acton Creative? Want event more? I have just the thing! I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership includes personal insights, weaving tips/tricks, and behind-the-scenes action every single week! All we’re missing is you!  This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post Bare Bones of Skeleton Tie-ups appeared first on Acton Creative.

Take a peek at this week’s A Handwoven Experience video right here. Enjoy!

Show Notes –

A Touch of History – I found a research paper focused on the discovery of historic Appalachian weaving drafts. Turns out, one of the weaving advisors mentioned in the paper is Tommye Scanlin, who I took a class from once upon a time! She’s amazing! If you have a touch of Indiana Jones in there, you’ll get a kick out of this interesting paper. You can read it right here. 

Reading a Weaving Draft – All those lines and boxes and numbers – it all looks very confusing, doesn’t it? Never fear, my friend. If you want a simple tutorial on reading a weaving draft, I have just the thing! Here is my step-by-step, visual walk through a weaving draft. 

Acton Creative Insiders – 

Do you love all things Acton Creative? Want event more? I have just the thing! I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership includes personal insights, weaving tips/tricks, and behind-the-scenes action every single week! All we’re missing is you!  This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post Xs and Os appeared first on Acton Creative.

A draft normally comes with three distinctly different parts that are all connected to each other – the threading, the tie-ups, and the treadling. By following these visual instructions, you can re-create someone else’s pattern to a “t”. All it takes is a sense of orientation and a few notes on reading a weaving draft. Here we go!

Show Notes –

Another version – I know that everyone learns differently. So, if you’re interested in watching another explanation, I like this video from Jane Stafford. She has a calming, steady way about her that is perfect when learning something complex. Take a look right here! 

Free weaving drafts – I found a lovely resource from Interweave titled, “Free Weaving Patterns from Weaving Today”. It’s a 19-page document that’s a combination of general instruction and specific projects. Download your copy today!

Now, you!

In the past when you’ve tried to read a weaving draft, where did you get confused or turned around? Let me know!

Acton Creative Insiders –

Have you heard the great news? I’ve partnered with Patreon to bring you the Acton Creative Insiders! This monthly membership offers you a behind-the-scenes look at life as a weaver. You’ll get discounts on products and classes. Plus, you are the first to know about all the good stuff coming down the pike (because you’ll get to help create it)!

Have I piqued your interest? Want to know more? This link will take you right to the AC Insiders page where you can see more details and register today! I can’t wait to have you as part of the team!

The post Reading a Weaving Draft appeared first on Acton Creative.