2021 – Jane Stafford Textiles

Posted on December 21, 2021December 21, 2021 by Jane — 1 Comment

December 21st, 2021 newsletter

Thank you – we couldn’t do it without you!

Wishing you all a peaceful, safe and joyous Holiday Season

As I reflect on this past year I am struck by how wonderful it is to be surrounded by folks that weave goodness and kindness into their lives and those around them. It has been another year of challenges for people all over the world, yet so many of you have helped us help others.

In particular, I want to thank all of you who supported us as we did our bit to assist the Artist Alliance of Jawaja in India. We are grateful to everyone who purchased a pattern which reinforced our commitment to the Maiwa Foundation as they provide support to these amazing, creative artisans during COVID. Our help is so important. JST has recently been able to purchase another large batch of heddles for the weavers of Sabahar in Ethiopia. Kathy is committed to getting more weavers working from home during these troubling times and texsolv heddles are so beneficial to the weavers and make their production more proficient. All of these talented artisans are currently facing challenges that go far beyond “just” COVID. I only have to think of these groups for a second to be reminded of how truly blessed I am.

So thank you, thank you again and again for all the support you give to JST, every customer, every student, every friend 🙂 It is so appreciated.

Sending you all hope, love and best wishes for a Happy New Year.
Love Jane

We will be closed for the holidays from December 25th to January 2nd.
Last orders for shipping before the holidays is December 24th.
Orders placed during our closed days will be processed on January 4th, 2022.

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on December 1, 2021September 6, 2022 by Jane — 1 Comment

November 30th, 2021 newsletter

JST Wishlist

If all you want for Christmas is “stuff” for your weaving obsession and your family knows…then we understand and have you covered 😉

Make your own Wishlist on our website and share it!

A few of our Favourite Things

Stocking stuffers!

Mary’s Tunic

I was blown away when I saw what Mary had done with the Canvas Weave sample this year. The story behind it touched my heart. We asked Mary if she would be willing to write a blog post about her weaving journey and the tunic she wove after her husband asked her the simple question “What are you going to make with it?”. Read her interesting and touching story below.
Jane

My first experience of weaving took place when I was given a small Spears weaving loom for my 10th birthday. I loved that little loom and seem to recall weaving a variety of striped, wavy edged samples on it in the bright, primary coloured acrylic yarns that came with the loom. Fast forward many decades (more than I care to remember) and I’m once again weaving lots of samples but now they are rather more sophisticated, less irregular, and the yarns are usually made from natural fibres.

Spear weaving Loom

I started spinning about 18 years ago and weaving seemed a natural progression. At the time there were very few weavers in the guild to which I then belonged so I set about teaching myself to weave using every resource I could find; books, magazines, videos and YouTube. I actually spent far more time reading weaving books and studying pattern drafts than reading novels. Then a few years ago a fellow weaver, Ian, told me about the JST online guild and I joined that same day. It was the start of Season 2 Plain Weave and now 4 years on I am still following Jane’s classes and learning so much from her.

I was really pleased to discover that Season 5 was devoted to lace weave as it was a structure I had not previously explored. Here in the UK, it’s not always easy to source similar yarns to the ones Jane uses and I often find it quite a challenge to find suitable substitutes. For lesson 2 on Canvas Weave though, I used yarns that I already had in my stash hoping they would give satisfactory results. The warp was a cotton and linen mix 28 wpi that I purchased on eBay some years ago and the other yarn I incorporated was pale blue Bockens linen yarn 30 wpi that I was given just before lockdown.

I warped up my Louet David loom with the suggested 6 yard warp at 16 epi and set about weaving the sampler as per Jane’s instructions, finding the labels attached to the treadles especially helpful when trying to ‘own the structure’ as Jane puts it.

I was delighted with the way the yarns were weaving up and loved the patterns that were emerging. The more I wove the more I felt that the fabric deserved to be more than just a sampler. The glimmer of an idea began to develop as I continued to weave the 20 samples, trying to square them up consistently. There was quite a lot of warp remaining which I used to create a length of ecru plain weave throwing in random double picks throughout.

When I showed the finished fabric to my husband his immediate reaction was to ask what was I going to make with it. When told it was just a sampler his response confirmed my original thoughts entirely, it was crying out to become something more. Sadly this was the last piece of my weaving that my husband saw as he passed away shortly afterwards.

Some months later though on a miserable rainy day I decided it was the right time to put my idea into action rather than mope around the house. I had planned to make a tunic top from the sampler. First I took photos of all of the samples so I could refer back to them if need be.

Images of some of the samples

The pattern I used was a Butterick pattern 3383. It was one that was recommended in a Handwoven magazine some years ago as being ideal for using with handwoven fabric. It consists of just three very simple pieces with no darts or facings.

Normally when I am sewing with handwoven yardage I make a mock up first but there was no need on this occasion as I had made up this pattern twice before with some handwoven plain weave (Season 2) so I already knew what tweaks I needed to make to the sizing and neck line.

I carefully selected and cut two lengths of fabric from near the beginning of the sampler to form the centre panels of the front and back. I then cut the plain ecru strip in half lengthways. The selvedges of these strips were machined to either side of the centre panels so there was no need to over-lock the edges of the seams. The front and back pieces were cut out and immediately over-locked all round the edges before seaming them together. With the body made, I then set about the sleeves.

There was not sufficient width to cut out the sleeves along the length of the grain so they were cut out across its width, two pieces of fabric for each sleeve. I carefully positioned the pattern so that the dominant lines between the samples were similarly positioned on each of the sleeve caps as this is what the eye would go to. Likewise with the bottom half of each sleeve. The edges of all four pieces were over-locked to secure them before joining them together, the assembled sleeves were duly inserted and the armhole seams over-locked. The final step was to machine stitch all of the simple hems.

I was delighted when, at the end of the day, I put the garment on a coat hanger and stood back to look at the final result. Everything had fitted together perfectly and I couldn’t really find much fault with it which, for me, is almost unheard of. I usually see something I’m not entirely happy with! I think I must have had a helping hand that day and I’m sure I heard a voice say “Well done kid”. Hardly a kid but it’s what my husband would have said to me.

Making this tunic has set me thinking about how I might use future samplers. I love sampling different weave structures but a lot of time, money (I often purchase yarn specially to produce the samplers) and love goes into making them and it always seems a shame to assign them to a box or drawer rarely to see the light of day again. It was really satisfying to produce something wearable from the sampler and I can still refer back to the patterns whenever I need to.

Looking for a gift for a Friend?

Give the gift of learning for a weaving friend, an all-access subscription to Jane Stafford School of Weaving. You can purchase a one-month subscription gift or as many months as you would like, anywhere up to 12. They will have time to binge-watch all previous 5 Seasons over the holidays before we head into Season 6.

Units, Blocks & Profiles, starting January 20th, 2022!

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

We are pleased to offer free shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you. This allows the flexibility to make smaller payments towards your balance at your convenience.

With exciting advances made to both the Louet Spring Loom and the Louet David Loom,
there is no better time for your dream of a new loom to come true.

Posted on November 17, 2021November 17, 2021 by Jane — Leave a comment

November 16th, 2021 newsletter

Planning ahead ….

Holiday Season 2021 may be just as challenging for family gatherings as 2020 was – only time will tell. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t weave yourself a wee bit of elegance to wrap up in on special days. With one woven as a treat for you, you can weave another that could become a gift for a special person in your life. You can’t tell by looking at the finished scarf that it is such a quick and simple weave structure to create. Win-win!

Pucker Up Mochachino Scarves Kit

These scarves are a great introduction to a simple collapse weave. This kit provides enough silk and merino to create 2 stunning scarves with finished dimensions of 12″ x 75″ plus fringe. All you need is a simple 4 shaft loom a 10 dent reed and a weaving width of 18″.

This Kit contains:
1 skein of 30/2 Bombyx Silk – Birch
1 skein of 30/2 Bombyx Silk – Violet Ice
2-50g skeins of Merino Wool – Vanilla
2-50g skeins of Merino Wool – Suede

Learn all about the simple collapse weave structure on the School of Weaving Season 3 Episode 6 Simple Collapse Weave lesson.

Shop Simple Collapse Weave Mochachino Scarves Kit

Open Weave Basket Kit

Looking for something completely different???? The Garlic Baskets make welcome gifts for anyone who loves to cook. Well, it is still weaving but with a whole different technique. This kit includes the material for 3 baskets – 3 sets of spokes and 3 sets of weavers in a range of natural and dyed colours for you to mix and match. They are one of my favourite baskets because of the variety of shapes you can create.….and they don’t all have to hold garlic….you’ll come up with all kinds of uses!

If you have a subscription to School of Weaving, you can follow Joan & Jane as they make these baskets in Season 2 Episode 9.

Buy Open Weave Basket Kit

Looms at JST

With exciting advances made to both the Louet Spring Loom and the Louet David Loom – there is no better time for your dream of a new loom to come true!

We are pleased to offer free shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America. We also offer the option to pay a $1000.00 CAD deposit on your loom with the balance due when the loom ships out to you, this allows the flexibility to make smaller payments towards your balance at your convenience.

David III Louet Loom

Available in three sizes:

David 70: 27 ½″ (70 cm) weaving width
David 90: 35″ (90 cm) weaving width
David 110: 43 ½” (110 cm) weaving width

Spring II Louet Loom

Available in two sizes and in either 8 or 12 shafts:

Spring 90: 35″ (90 cm) weaving width – 8 shaft
Spring 90: 35″ (90 cm) weaving width – 12 shaft
Spring 110: 43 ½” (110 cm) weaving width – 8 shaft
Spring 110: 43 ½” (110 cm) weaving width – 12 shaft

Shop all weaving looms!

JST Gift Certificates

You can set up a Wish List on the JST Shop Store! Then just drop a hint – or two, mention that your list can be found there! You can manage your list under your account which gives you different options on how you might want to share it 😉 Your close circle can get a chance to look at your list and possibly give you a JST Gift Certificate for something you are really wishing for.

Purchase a Gift Certificate

Ask Jane

Help – my scarves won’t shrink!

I’m just starting out in the weaving field. I’ve been making scarves in baby alpaca/bamboo/cashmere/silk/& camel—or some combination thereof. (Mostly baby alpaca and silk, 80/20, with a bit of cashmere.)Here’s the question: I “wash” in good warm water, just below “burning” me, with a bit of soap. I mush them a bit, gently massage them, but mostly let them soak—for maybe 30-40 minutes. Then rinse them well in the same temp. water. Then air-dry them.But my scarves don’t shrink—at all. Or very, very little. In fact, they’re sometimes a bit larger!!! And they don’t change radically. That is, the yarn sort of “fulls” or enlarges a bit, I guess, and they’re softer after washing, but … I’m not even CLOSE to felting—not that I want to do that.So, does that sound normal? I just read so MANY articles about all the care one has to take to avoid … shrinkage, felting, and whatnot. But (I’m laughing out loud here) mine seem just fine. I guess it “worries me” or maybe just surprises me that my scarves don’t change a lot. Should I be worried?!?!? LOLI guess a part of me wonders if I were doing something different, maybe they’d get softer in the finishing process. You know, I wonder if I’m doing “enough,” seeing as how my scarves don’t change all that much.

I will try to give you a quick answer :^) Some natural fibres will shrink only a small amount, these are cotton, linen, bamboo, silk and most other yarns that are made from cellulose fibres. There are some animal fibres that like to shrink a lot and others that only shrink a little. Alpaca, Mohair, Camel all have fibre more like hair. It is long and smooth and they do not like to shrink. Wool is crinkly. The more crinkly the wool the more it fulls. Cashmere will bloom or full, but you don’t have much of it in your mix. Merino likes to shrink more than any other wool but if you are looking for a yarn that shrinks make sure it is not superwash. Superwash is a finish that is added to wool yarns so they can be machine washed without shrinking. We sell lovely yarns on the website that shrink very well. They are Harrisville Shetland; Zephyr Wool/Silk 50/50; and 18/2 Merino wool. Hope this helps.

Featured below is the sample from our School of Weaving lesson on collapsing fabrics. It was woven with 30/2 JST hand dyed silk and 18/2 Merino in the warp and weft.

School of Weaving ~ Give the Gift of Learning!

Featured in this photo is a table runner from Season 3 Episode 5 – Warp Faced

Give the gift of learning, an all-access subscription to
Jane Stafford School of Weaving.
Over 45 weaving lessons with a new episode every 5 weeks
Choose between 1 to 12 months!

Buy a Gift Subscription

Here to help

Here to help You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or
on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on November 9, 2021May 4, 2023 by Jane — 3 Comments

November 9th, 2021 newsletter

JST’s Shetland Blankie Recipe

I thought I would share Grant’s favourite Harrisville Shetland Blankie pattern with you – for free! Harrisville Shetland is such a wonderful blankie yarn. Available from JST in 46 lovely, heathered colours, it weaves up quickly and blooms beautifully when wet finished.

These blankets started as a 2 stripe overall division of space and then the borders and centre stripe were designed using the Fibonacci Numerical Series and overlaid on top. A pretty easy design process.

Grant couldn’t decide which green to pick for the centre … he kept going between Loden and Evergreen so … I decided he could have both. I used all the colours in the stripe for the weft in the second blanket, playing with the graphic. The other colours used were chosen to match different elements in our living room.

Enjoy weaving and cuddling under this blankie for many years to come 😉

Jane

Click Here to Download Your FREE PDF Copy of Grant’s Shetland Blankies

Harrisville Shetland Yarns

100% wool available in 1/2 lb cones – 900 yds/cone (1800 yds per lb) Harrisville Shetland is spun more tightly (higher number of turns per inch) so it is very durable and will wear better and better every year. Washing makes the yarn even softer. The fibres blossom and have the ability to full and felt. Even if you knit with our yarn, it’s still a good idea to wash and block your finished project.
For more info on working with Shetland yarn, check out our Warping and Weaving with Harrisville Shetland as well as Fulling Instructions in the JST Knowledge Base for all the tips! For those that have a subscription to School of Weaving, don’t forget to check out/review Season 1 Episode 1.10.3 Fulling in the Washing Machine for more great tips on fulling fabrics. Jane fulls a mohair blanket in this episode but you can adapt the technique to make a Harrisville Shetland blanket.

Shop Harrisville Shetland Yarns

Autumn Orchard Shetland Wraps

Do you feel like wrapping yourself – or someone on your gift list – in a layer of cozy warmth? This wrap is the one you didn’t know you wanted 😉 The colours will remind you of the apple orchards that were so colourful not so long ago. Imagine sitting at your loom mixing and blending all the wonderful Harrisville Shetland colours in this kit. You could use one of the included colourways for one wrap and with the other – just have the fun of creating your own design.

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Harrisville Shetland
Each kit makes: 2 wraps (25.5″ X 74″ plus fringes)

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 8 dent
Weaving width: 32″

Each kit includes:
Weaving instructions (including draft)
1 cone of Harrisville Shetland – Chianti
1 cone of Harrisville Shetland – Topaz
1 cone of Harrisville Shetland – Tundra
cone of Harrisville Shetland – Blackcherry

Shop Autumn Orchard Shetland Wraps

The gift that keeps on giving… share our Maiwa

download patterns with a friend

As we have shared with you in the past, the situation with COVID-19 in India and its affect on the Artisans Alliance of Jiwaja, continues to be challenging for the artisans. The Maiwa Foundation is working hard as they continue to support them through this period. Have you thought of giving a gift that keeps on giving??? You could give one of these fabulous patterns to a fellow weaver in your life. They would learn that the gift they are receiving is also supporting a group of talented artisans who happen to be in a very difficult situation. And, as it is that time of year and … you could also buy one for yourself and have the fun of weaving up a set of towels that you can give as gifts.

Abalone and Ebony Tea Towel & Scarf PDF Pattern Download

Inspiration From A Sari Tea Towel PDF Pattern Download

Mai-wha-ta Lovely Towel PDF Pattern Download

Stash Crackle Pop PDF Pattern Download

Tea Towel Time with Jane PDF Pattern Download

Shop all Maiwa Patterns

Shop Maiwa PDF Pattern Downloads

JST Gift Certificates

Since we’ve mentioned Christmas gifts – and I know Christmas is still quite a way off, but ….. have you been dreaming about that particular tool, some fabulous yarn – or dreaming really big, maybe about a new loom? Set up a Wish List on the JST Shop Store and just in passing mention that your list can be found there. You can manage your list under your account which gives you different options on how you might want to share it 😉 Your close circle can get a chance to look at your list and possibly give you a JST Gift Certificate towards something that you are really wishing for.

Purchase a Gift Certificate

School of Weaving ~ Give the Gift of Learning!

Featured in this photo are placemats from Season 5 Episode 9 Huck & Twills

Give the gift of learning, an all-access subscription to
Jane Stafford School of Weaving.
Over 45 weaving lessons with a new episode every 5 weeks
Choose between 1 to 12 months!

Buy a Gift Subscription

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum

or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 by Jane — Leave a comment

November 2nd, 2021 newsletter

Now that Fall is fully with us – you know what’s next…

Can you believe that Christmas is next month? I’ve heard the slight hint of anxiety slip into the voices of several of my fellow weavers, including staff! I know that some of you have friends and relatives that look forward to a new tea towel each Christmas, but you have just been too busy with other weaving projects to plan a warp and get it on the loom. So… we thought we would feature some of our very Christmassy tea towels in this newsletter along with some warm and cuddly scarves that also would make wonderful gifts. Sorry….you still have to wind your warp and get it on your loom – but all the planning has been done for you 😉

Jane

Holly & Berry Tea Towel Kit

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave & (Atwater) Bronson Lace
Material: 8/2 organic cottolin
Each kit makes: 4 tea towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 24″

Each kit includes:

Weaving instructions (including draft)
2 – 250g cones of cottolin – Natural
1 – 100g cone each of cottolin – Rich Red or Forest Green
(depending on colourway chosen)

Shop Holly & Berry Organic Cottolin Kit

Christmas Stripes Tea Towel Kit

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 Organic Cotton
Each kit makes: 7 Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 23″

Christmas Stripes kit (makes 7 towels) includes:

Weaving instructions (including draft)

2 250g cones of 8/2 organic cotton- Linen White

1 100g cones of 8/2 organic cotton- Gift Green 1

100g cone of 8/2 organic cotton- Light Stone Grey

1 100g cone of 8/2 organic cotton- Burgundy

1 100g cone of 8/2 organic cotton- Kentucky

Shop Christmas Stripes Organic Cotton Tea Towel Kit

Merino and Silk Scarves – Melting Ice

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: 2/2 Twill Weave
Material: 20/2 Bombyx Silk, 18/2 Merino
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent (or use your reed substitution chart)

Each kit includes: Weaving instructions (including draft)

1 100g skein of 20/Bombyx Natural

1 100g skein of 20/Bombyx Rainy Day

1 100g cone of 18/2 Merino Shale

1 100g cone of 18/2 Merino Pewter

Shop Merino & Silk Melting Ice Scarves Kit

Merino and Silk Scarves – Chocolate & Vanilla

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: 2/2 Twill Weave
Material: 20/2 Bombyx Silk, 18/2 Merino
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent

Each kit includes: Weaving instructions (including draft)
1 100g skein of 20/Bombyx Violet Ice
1 100g skein of 20/Bombyx Double Chocolate
1 100g cone of 18/2 Merino Suede
1 100g cone of 18/2 Merino Vanilla

Shop Merino & Silk Chocolate & Vanilla Scarves Kit

Ask Jane

Warp stripes more dominant than the weft stripes in Plain Weave – why? (from the JST Knowledge Base)

I am a member of a weaving study group in Halifax, NS and our members have taken Jane’s Colour and Design workshop. When studying our design samples, we noticed (specifically in the plain weave asymmetrical design) that the warp stripes were more dominant than the weft stripes. Why? Would the same thing happen in a balanced twill? Well, that is a very good question and I’m not entirely, absolutely, perfectly sure about this, but here is my theory: The warp is under more tension than the weft while weaving so when you look up close at how much of each thread is showing we see more warp. The weft does more dippy, divey stuff and gets hidden more. We have come to this conclusion because it happens in balanced twills too. I hope this helps and I’m glad you are studying your samples.

image of Asymmetry sample below: warp direction ↑and weft direction →

Looking for a gift for the holidays?

Give the gift of learning, an all-access subscription to
Jane Stafford School of Weaving.
Over 45 weaving lessons with a new episode every 5 weeks
Choose between 1 to 12 months!

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on October 26, 2021September 6, 2022 by Jane — Leave a comment

October 26th, 2021 newsletter

Weaving for Babies

I know some of you will already know why I love this blankie sooo much. My youngest son Daniel was given such a blankie when he was born, soft, luscious and always there to wrap him in love and warmth. He always wanted to know where ‘she’ was when he was little. (I was given permission to make this public knowledge :^). Blankie doesn’t look quite this good anymore but even though she’s been washed and thrown in the dryer about 10 million times, she’s hangin’ in there.

We thought it only fitting to put blankie into a pattern for other schnookums in our lives – especially now that I’m an absolutely delighted grandmother!

Canvas Weave Baby Blankie

Level of Difficulty: Beginner

Weave structure: 4 shaft canvas weave
Material: Monte Cristo cotton & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 1 blanket

Loom requirements: Shafts: 4

Weaving Width: 35″

Reed: 12 dent

Each kit includes: Weaving instructions (including draft)
1 1lb cone of Monte Cristo cotton, 1 cone 8/4 cotton in nile, 1 cone 8/4 cotton in periwinkle

We can make this kit in any colour we have in stock! Check here to make sure we have your colour in stock then simply, put the Canvas Weave Baby Blanket kit into your cart, on the checkout screen in the “notes” section let us know what colours of 8/4 cotton you would like us to make the kit in.

Shop Canvas Weave Baby Blankie Kit

Monte Cristo Baby Blankie

Level of Difficulty: Beginner

Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Monte Cristo cotton
Each kit makes: 1 blanket

Loom requirements:

Shafts: 4
Weaving Width: 35″
Reed: 8 dent

Each kit includes:

Weaving instructions (including draft)
1 1lb cone of Monte Cristo cotton

Shop Monte Cristo Baby Blankie Kit

We are so lucky to have Sharon Broadley on our team of creators. She always shares her amazing talents so generously, sharing patterns with us for our ongoing Maiwa Foundation fundraising, weaving for our show and tells in the School of Weaving and this time an extremely special blog post. Sharon and I have both become first time Nana’s this year and as all you Nana’s out there know…..it is a very special moment in our lives. If only I could have done this for my little Freya…..but she knows she is loved and thank goodness I have time ahead to create some lovely things for her.
I know you will enjoy Sharon’s post 🙂

If you would like to see more of Sharon’s weaving, give her a follow on Instagram @colour.woven.

Grandma Sharon’s Weaving for Baby

Once upon a time, a weaver found out she was soon to be a grandma. So she did what all good grandma-to-be weavers would do: she dusted off her loom, pulled all her yarn out of the cupboard, boxes and (ahem) from under the bed and began to plan what her new grandchild might need.

A couple of cotton bouclé hooded bath towels in rubber ducky colours were woven just like a regular tea towel using 12epi/12ppi except they are about 40 inches square on the loom. An extra 12 inches was woven to create the triangular hooded part. A quick trip to the fabric store ensured that the handmade binding coordinated well. The corners were rounded using a bowl as a template so that none of the binding would need to be mitered.

This grandma-weaver also had some leftover waffle weave fabric and some hand printed Maiwa cotton which were shouting to be put together so a vintage pattern was found. And because this stuffie ended up much larger than remembered from when she’d been a sister-crafter over 50 years ago, she renamed it a Pillowpotamus.

And then when she was told that this new baby would be a girl baby, the grandma-weaver was over the moon because, as all this grandma’s friends know, pink is her favourite colour.

Huck lace woven 41 inches square with two thirds of the warp in baby pink 8/2 organic cotton and the other third in cream organic cotton, playing with these two colours for 2 blankets and adding some other stripes for the 3rd. The sett is 16epi/16ppi.

Plain weave towels in the colours requested by the mom; added light stone grey and pistachio to the pink and cream. Some of these blankets were hemstitched off the loom and some had machine sewn hems. These blankets have become the go-to blankets for all things baby: swaddling, covering, drying, draping…

After weaving some samples on a very long warp and (finally) getting bored, re-sleyed to a narrower sett and made a series of smaller weavings that were planned as samples to refer back to but then, being in grandma-weaver mode, decided to make the best baby wash/spit-up/whatever cloths. The sheep was supplied by the new mom.

Finally, this grandma-weaver wants to share this knitted sweater she made for her first born which will now be worn by her granddaughter. Four children in the family have worn it so far and because my sister carefully wrapped it in acid free paper almost 30 years ago it looks brand new.

Oh and they all lived happily ever after.
The End.

Looking for a gift for the holidays?

Give the gift of learning, an all-access subscription to
Jane Stafford School of Weaving.
Over 45 weaving lessons with a new episode every 5 weeks
Choose between 1 to 12 months!

Buy a Gift Subscription

Here to help

You can always find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 by Jane — Leave a comment

October 19th, 2021 newsletter

Two 20/2 Bombyx Silk Colours on Sale!

10% off Shamless 20/2 Bombyx & Coral Flame 20/2 Bombyx Silk
on instock only

The autumns of my youth had a much more vibrant palate than those we experience in our little rain forest on Salt Spring Island! I miss bright ORANGE and RED at this time of the year – our natural forests are evergreen with a dash of yellow here and there. But I do have one Japanese Maple that turns a brilliant red. It greets me at my gate and never fails to bring a smile to my face. This weekend I sat outside admiring my tree sipping a pumpkin latte and decided to offer some orange and red silk in this newsletter.

Happy Weaving xo Jane

Coral Flame 20/2 Bombyx Silk 10% OFF!

For optimum drape we sett 20/2 silk at 20 epi for Plain Weave and 24 for Twill.
20/2 is available in 100 g skeins with 1,100 yds/skein (5,000 yds/lb).

Shop Coral Flame 20/2 Bombyx Silk 10% off

Shameless 20/2 Bombyx Silk 10% OFF!

For optimum drape we sett 20/2 silk at 20 epi for Plain Weave and 24 for Twill.
20/2 is available in 100 g skeins with 1,100 yds/skein (5,000 yds/lb).

Shop Shameless 20/2 Bombyx Silk 10% off

JST Hand Dyed Silks

Watch how our silks are all hand dyed right here on Salt Spring Island!

Ask Jane

Wet finishing fine yarn fabrics (taken from the JST Knowledge Base)

I have recently woven a 20/2 silk scarf in a lace weave, which turned out beautifully. However, when I washed it, spun it for 30 seconds in the gentle spin, hung to dry and ironed it dampish, the fabric is still showing creases, which won’t iron out. The same thing happened with the last three bamboo scarves in plain weave. I cannot get the creases out. I rewashed them but it didn’t make a difference. Where have I gone wrong? Silk loves to crease when it is wet. When I wash my silk, I never wring it out. I have always hand washed my silk scarves and stoles in the kitchen sink and I let them drip dry in my shower. Imagine taking your silk scarf and lowering it into your sink, lowering it down like an accordion. I then raise and lower the silk up and down to wash it. When I have finished the washing I accordion it into a lasagna pan sitting beside the sink. Rinse it the same way, always ‘accordioning’ it, never wringing it. I then take the lasagna pan up to the shower and drape the scarf over a broom handle stretched across the shower (I have a corner shower) and I let the scarf drip dry. Then I steam press it with a thin cloth over it. Same thing with any fine yarn, like bamboo.

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Posted on October 14, 2021September 6, 2022 by Jane — 2 Comments

October 12th, 2021 newsletter

Inspiration from a Sari Tea Towel Kit

The colours of this warp Inspiration from a Sari come straight out of the muted colour gamp from my Colour and Design workshop. When I presented that project to the School of Weaving, I wove the bright saturated colours from a sample called Parrot on top and it took me straight to India. When I was there, I had noticed that muted warps, with brilliant wefts, were extremely successful and if you threw in peacock you got iridescence. The first towels on this warp follow the concept of weaving a gamp, working the colours across the warp from one side to the other. After the first 3 towels were done, I broke out those Parrot colours and that is when I really started to have fun. They are my favourites, bright happy and intended to make you smile.

The colours of India will inspire my weaving forever and I hope they inspire you too!

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 Cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Towels and a bit of playtime

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Inspiration Taken Down Another Rabbit Hole 🙂

Anita Salmon is a fabulous weaver living in Victoria, British Columbia. She fell into the weaving “rabbit hole” after retiring from a very busy life in the field of health care. She has been inspired by Jane and was able to take a number of her in-house workshops on Salt Spring. These workshops gave her the tools to gain comfort to explore different structures on her loom. The following is a wonderful example of her journey. In this case, Anita has used the colour palate from a JST kit, layered a totally different structure on top of her own graphic, and shared her eye-popping results with us.

When I first saw the post about the “Inspiration from a Sari” Tea Towel Kit I knew I wanted to weave those colours. They are simply so glorious. However, I wanted to do something other than plain weave (as much as I love plain weave). Turned Taqueté is a structure I had seen in different publications and woven before. The start of my journey into Turned Taqueté was adapted from this older issue of Handwoven that can still be purchased as a digital version. (Long Thread Media’s Handwoven September/October, 2015 issue)

What is Taqueté? Little is written about it in current weaving texts. It is an ancient weft-faced weave structure used in finely woven textiles found from 200 CE China to Coptic Egypt. Over the years the technique found its way to Scandinavia where it persists today, most commonly used for rug weaving. In structure it is known as “polychrome summer and winter” or in other words, summer and winter woven without a tabby which gives a weft dominant fabric. Turning the draft 90 degrees – et Voilà – Turned Taqueté, a straightforward single shuttle warp dominant weave.

I liked the way this weave structure made the warp and weft colours interact with the irregular wavy warp lines.

In 8/2 cotton, with a sett of 20 epi, the cloth has a lovely squishy hand. It is a 4 shaft, 4 treadle structure that is easy to thread and easy to treadle. Winding the warp goes quickly because you are winding two colours at a time.

For my tea towels, I wanted irregular stripes. I paired up all my warp colours in a sequence that I found pleasing, deciding which would be A and which B. These alternate on the surface of the cloth much like in warp rep. I added a few additional colours to those in the kit. Because each threading and treadling unit is four threads, I designed my stripes in multiples of 4, the smallest stripe being 12 threads and the widest 40.

From the photos, you can see that I played with weaving blocks and stripes and changing the weft colour.

You’ll find the threading sequence below!

Turned Taqueté Edition, Threading Draft

Hot pink/Cayenne 24 threads
Gold/Pale Orange 36
Pale Limette/Peacock 12
Raspberry/Pink 40
Pale Orange/Pale Limette 20
Peacock/Limette 20
Purple/Gold 32
Hot Pink/Magenta 16
Raspberry/Cayenne 32
Gold/Pink 20
Pale Orange/Fuchsia 32
Raspberry/Purple 24
Purple/Peacock 32
Pale Limette/Limette 20
Gold/Pale Limette 32
Magenta/Purple 40
Peacock/Limette 12
Pink/Magenta 36
Cayenne/Hot pink 24

Total 504 threads

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Turned Taqueté Edition, Threading Draft

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