Beginning Backstrap Weaving

I find weaving to be very relaxing and calming. It teaches many things: patience, focus, staying in the moment, clearing/quieting the mind, self esteem, self confidence, staying in your own business (this is so important for you to live YOUR life), critical thinking, attention to detail, math, goal setting and steps to achieve your goal, critical thinking, eye hand coordination, color sense, and more.
Our society is so consumed by competition. Don’t let this flow into your weaving. Don’t compare your work with others. You are just learning; they may have been doing this for years. Instead, compare your second piece to your first. What has improved? What have you learned? Applaud yourself for what you have achieved and learn from mistakes. Mistakes are simply stepping stones to help you learn and improve. If you need to compare, always do it within your own work.
In weaving tension is your friend. Never leave your threads slack for they like to tangle up with their neighbors! This small piece is not excluded. Be very careful to keep it stretched out. I suggest using a heavy or large fiber to begin with. (Do not use nylon! Knots won’t hold.) It’s easier to see what you are doing. A smooth fiber is best. Don’t use something that likes to felt (stick together) if you find it sticking together and making it difficult to open your sheds, try spraying it with water before you give up. Crochet cotton makes a beautiful project. I like working with #10, but for learning begin with something much heavier. That’s why I’m suggesting a worsted weight.
This band is a warp faced weave. That means the warp (long threads that are tied to your backstrap) are pulled together so the weft (thread on your shuttle) doesn’t show except at the edges. There is much to learn with this first piece! Keep it small and short. Consecutive videos will add to your abilities.
Pay very close attention to the technique I use when pulling the shuttle thread through the warp. Even edges are your goal. It takes time, practice and patience to achieve them.
Weaving is a wonderful activity for homeschoolers as well. It can be tied in with studying history, social studies, English, math, and of course, art. There are many calculations that go into planning a piece of weaving. For example: this piece has 10 threads, 18” long. That’s 10x18=180” the weft (shuttle thread) is 7/16’s wide - (we’ll say 1/2” to simplify it), 7” long and there are 6 rows to the inch. 1/2 x 7 x 6 = 21” if you are using the same fiber for warp and weft you get 180 + 21 = 201” / 36” to a yard (the common measurement for fiber) equals 5.58 or approximately 6 yards to make this project. There are more calculations to take into consideration for future projects including draw-in, fringes, shrinkage and all are important. I’ll include a blank project sheet at the end on the video along with some notes. These are also available in my blog. It’s very important to keep good records on each project in a notebook. They will be invaluable as you continue weaving! Have fun! 😊
More the calculations and the project log are on my blog.
deborahpeterscreations.blogspot.com
Happy Creating!