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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.

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.

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

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.

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!


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.
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November 9th, 2021 newsletter

JST’s Shetland Blankie Recipe

I thought I would share Grant’s favourite Harrisville Shetland Blankie pattern with you – for freeHarrisville 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


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.


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


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.

Maiwa Foundation logo

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.

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!


Here to help

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

or on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.


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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)


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


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


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


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.