NewsLetter – Page 2 – Jane Stafford Textiles

Posted on June 28, 2023June 28, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

June 27, 2023 newsletter

Tuscan Tea Towels

Are you old enough to remember Nat King Cole’s song – 🎶 Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer 🎶? As we head into the summer, we thought it might be the time to have an eye-popping but easy warp waiting for you on your loom for when you were ready for a bit of “lazy” instead of “crazy” in your life.
These Twill towels were designed and woven by a team – designed by Susan Brown (Jane’s first – and longest employee) and woven by Sharon (Jane’s newest employee, who also doubles as JST’s new silk dyer). They are relatively simple and relaxing to weave when you need to give yourself a gift of “lazy” 😉

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Twill Weave
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 6 Towels

Loom Requirements

Shafts: 4, Reed: 10 dent, EPI: 20, Weaving width: 22″, Finished Dimensions: 27-30″ X 19″

Buy Tuscan Towel Kit here!

School of Weaving Season 2 kits are in stock!

Many new and experienced weavers have learned or refreshed their weaving knowledge by learning from the samples of Season 2. If you haven’t woven these episode projects, we thought we’d introduce you to the kits that are available and just waiting for you. There are no rules about what you choose to weave through the School of Weaving, but… Season 2’s projects will help you understand the information you will absorb in these episodes. They will also create a base of weaving knowledge which will be the “ground” you will walk on as you move through the years of exciting new possibilities. This knowledge, and the confidence gained, will also help you create original designs.

Asymmetry and Division of Space

Kit includes 8/2 cotton: 2 Bleached, 1 Light Grey, 1 Dark Grey, 1 Red and 1 Black.
P.S. included is one sheet of Dr. Beckmann’s Colour & Dirt Collector in case your red wants to run away 🙂

Colour and Weave Gamp

Kit includes the following 8/2 cotton: 3 Natural, 3 Navy and 1 Apricot.

Fibonacci with Gradation AKA Parrot

Kit includes the following 8/2 cotton, one cone each in, Apricot, Pale Orange, Fuchsia, Peacock, Hot Pink and optional 1 Navy.

Designing Plaids

Kit includes the following 8/2 Cotton: 2 Red, 1 Olive, 1 Gold, 1 Purple and optional 1 Fuchsia.

In this episode Jane uses the following 20/2 Bombyx Silk as the weft for the scarf: Ariel’s Voice, Buddha Berry, Tiger Lily, Dragon Fruit.

All About Stripes

Kit includes the following 8/2 Cotton, 2 Lemon, 1 Butter, 1 Nile and 1 Pale Limette.

In this episode, Jane used 12 gauge Bambu in Aruba and Indigo for the weft of the scarf.

Muted Colour Gamp on Natural Ground

Kit includes the following 8/2 Cotton, one cone each in Forest, Natural, Navy, Raspberry, Gold, Purple and Cayenne.
Jane used these colours of 18/2 Merino in the weft of one sample: Black, Navy and Bottle Green.

Primaries & Secondaries on Black

Kit includes the following 8/2 Cotton: one cone each in Lemon, Orange, Red, Light Purple, Royal, Emerald and Black.
Jane uses these colours of 20/2 Bombyx Silk in the weft of the scarf: Margaretta Violetta, Ariel’s Voice and Buddha Berry.

View all Season 2 Kits

JST Shipping

We offer a $17.00 CAD flat-rate shipping on orders to Canada & USA. Spend over $250.00 CAD and you’ll receive free shipping! Receive 10% off & free shipping when you spend over $500.00 CAD (Some Exceptions Apply).

From Our Inbox

We thought we would share some of the magic that came into Our Inbox in early December 2022 from weaver David Schulz of Sydney, Australia. We were delighted to see what he had created after watching Summer and Winter in Season 6 – Episode 8. Jane wrote back to share our delight in seeing what he’d created and before we knew it photos of another piece of magic flew over the ocean! David sent photos to show us what he’d done with Taquette layered on the graphic and the use of colour in the Parrot & Fibonacci sample.

Take time to watch Season 6, Episode 8 – Summer and Winter before watching Season 7 Episode 7 – Summer and Winter with Colour & Weave which airs August 17th! Also – mark your calendar … Season 7, Episode 8 – Turned Taquette will arrive on your screen on September 21st.

Hi Jane and the JST Team,

I recently watched the episode on Summer and Winter and got all excited to put everything I have learned together into an original design. I designed a profile draft, placing the stripe and its secondary pattern using our good friend Fibonacci. Then I tweaked the threading to strategically place the threads so that motifs would be complete and the turmeric accents would line up with one motif of the secondary pattern. I also used a narrow stripe of light grey on the selvedges as a subtle kind of frame. I’m super duper happy with the way they came out and can’t wait to give them away for Christmas.

Take care of your lovely selves and all the best for the year ahead.

Regards,

David Schulz
Sydney, Australia

Hi Jane!

Oh, thanks so much! You’re so encouraging and inspiring in all of your videos and I always get so many ideas from watching each episode. I just wish there were more hours in the day to explore everything. I just watched the promo for next year and it looks AMAZING. I love turned taquette and I’m glad to see that episode coming up and I can’t wait to try all of the weave structures overlaid with colour and weave. Those supersized graphics look fantastic.

I wove some turned taquette towels a couple of months back using the parrot graphic (I’ve attached a photo). TT makes for such thick and thirsty towels. Such a fun structure.

These were woven on my David 90. I bought my David back in 2012 and haven’t regretted it for a second.

Thanks for an inspiring year.

Regards,

David

We 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 gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on

Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on June 20, 2023June 20, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

June 20, 2023 newsletter

Limited Edition!
Beach Umbrella Tea Towel Kit

Even the thought of a beach umbrella means that summer is just about here. School is winding down in our world, with summer holidays just around the corner. Our families and friends will soon be looking for ways to enjoy this time together. So we took the June photo from the JST calendar (see below) and imagined those colours in a beach umbrella that would be easy to spot on a sunny day. We then created a limited edition tea towel kit featuring June’s photo colours. You can bring these towels on a picnic with you – they would be happy to wrap your food and then act as mats for your picnic. When summer is over bring them into your kitchen to keep summer with you all year!

Get this limited edition kit before they are all gone!

Level of difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 7 Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
EPI: 18
Weaving width: 24.25″
Finished Dimensions: 21″ X 27-30″ long

Shop Beach Umbrella Kit Now

JST June Calendar Image

Can you smell the lavender? Does it smell like purple? 😉 JST carries many different purple hues, in a variety of yarns. Choose your favourite yarn and create your own garden of lavender on your loom……

Clockwise starting at the bottom:

8/2 Venne organic cottolin Light Lilac
8/2 Venne organic cotton Iris
8/2 Venne organic cotton Light Lilac
8/2 cotton Light Plum
8/2 cotton Lilac
30/2 Bombyx silk Princess Pamuk
Bambu 12 Sugar Plum
18/2 Zephyr Elderberry
Bambu 7 Crocus

Last Chance for Kiki’s Swedish Lace Tea Towels

These gorgeous classic towels were designed by my dear friend Christel Knoth, lovingly known as Kiki to everyone here on Salt Spring Island. She created them for one of our School of Weaving’s Show & Tell, the one about Swedish Lace. Every weaver that sees these towels wants to make them and Kiki has graciously shared her pattern. As our shelves are filling up with new kits, we will be discontinuing this one once we run out.

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Swedish Lace
Material: 8/2 cotton & 16/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width: 24″
Finished Dimensions: 18.5″ X 26-30″ long

Buy Kiki’s Swedish Lace Towel Kit

School of Weaving

Testimonial

Have you been weaving for a few years or more and wondered if it would be worth your while to join the School of Weaving? Are you undecided as to whether you would see and learn anything that would add to the weaving skills you’ve already developed? Have you wanted to learn how to design, prepare and weave a unique cloth instead of always following a pattern?

Many experienced weavers have enjoyed the Seasons and Episodes of the School of Weaving. They have discovered a new way to approach a task, a tip on how to adjust their current approach to a weaving step to make it more efficient or how to create an original design. Thank you, Dena – for sharing with us the obvious delight you are getting from taking what you’ve learned at the School of Weaving and using it to create your unique cloth. 👏

I’ve woven for more than 35 years, but up until about 5 years ago, I was a hesitant, scared weaver who was intimidated by most of the process. I successfully got through overshot, doubleweave and many twill projects, but always dreaded warping. So I started watching your videos to basically get better at warping and oh my God, now warping is my favorite part of the process! Easy peasy.

I ended up subscribing to all the classes, started back at the basics and made it through the Primaries Color Gamp before getting totally sidetracked on all kinds of related plain weave colorful placemats, scarves and kitchen towels. I’ve been having the most fun! Every month or so, I get an email about a new class that’s ready, but I am just having the time of my life with plain weave, so all those later classes will just have to wait. I’m still back at the beginning of season 3. ha ha! It’s unreal.

So thank you for all you do. It’s very impactful for so many of us weavers out here in the world.

Happy weaving,
Dena Hirchak
Morrisville, VT

Dena’s favourite placemats!

She eliminated the yellow and green in the warp, then wove with 4 threads together for weft, using up old bobbins.

Join the School of Weaving

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130+ hours of instruction
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A new lesson every 5 weeks during your subscription
AND access to our forum!

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Video Lessons

Season 7 – An Overlay of Colour, Weave and Texture on Units and Block Structure

Available right away:

Bonus: Fiberworks Weaving Software, Colour & Weave
AND Turned Twill with Colour & Weave for our 8-shaft weavers

Monk’s Belt with Colour & Weave
Halvdrall
Overshot with Colour and Weave

Still to come for 2023:

Crackle with Colour & Weave
Summer and Winter with Colour & Weave
Turned Taquette

Season 7

Watch anywhere, anytime

iPhone Apple TV Android Android TV Fire TV Roku ®

You can watch any of the previously aired videos during your FREE trial!

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on June 14, 2023June 14, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

June 13, 2023 newsletter

JST Dye Studio

We are so excited! Finally – our on-site JST Dye Studio is operating in full swing. 😄 It’s so much fun to be able to have our whole Jane Stafford Textile business operating on our property. Our new Dye Studio is able to use larger dye pots than we were able to in the past which means we can dye more skeins a day! Win-win!

Check out the website to see the rainbow of colours just waiting for you to weave into your next project!

Freya with hand-dyed silks ready for our shelves!

JST Hand-dyed Silks

Did you quickly check to see our rainbow of colours after reading the paragraph above? If you did – you will have discovered that we use Bombyx silk in 20/2 & 30/2 weights which produces clear, bright colours as well as 20/2 Bleached Tussah silk which gives a more muted colour. Our silk is dyed in a palate of 34 magnificent colours.

Have we ever told you the story of how we named our silks when we first started thinking of dyeing our own? Picture a few weavers, relaxing over a glass (or 2) of wine in the evening. Some colours are named after the magic that is Salt Spring Island, some are inspired by old songs and some special ones for special people in my life: Margaretta Violetta….my Mom; Mary’s Blue Cardigan….for Mary Andrews who always wore a blue cardigan; Granitius Green….my darling and my rock; and Princess Pamuk named after our dog who was lying on the floor at our feet 😀

Jane wanted to create a perfect analogous colour harmony to work with her favourite 8/2 cotton colours and she did!

Naming Party

Cheryl, Charlotte and Klare

Charlotte, master of the names!

Cheryl and Jane making the final decisions on which colours made it.

Bring Salt Spring Island, and JST’s little corner of it, into your studio, and onto your loom through the magic of its colours.

20/2 Bombyx available in 100g skeins with 1,100 yds/skein (5,000 yds/lb)
30/2 Bombyx available in 100g skeins with 1,650 yds/skein (7,500 yds/lb)
20/2 Tussah available in 100g skeins with 1,100 yds/skein (5,000 yds/lb)

Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit

These lovely scarves are perfect for spring and summer! Woven with silk on linen in alternating bands of 1/3 and 3/1 twill, they have gorgeous sheen and drape with a slightly crisp texture that will only get softer and more shimmery with wear. This pattern requires only 4 harnesses, but there are 8 different tie-ups required for weaving. If you have an 8-shaft loom, you’re stylin’, but if you have a 6-treadle loom, we’ve provided a tie-up system to ensure your success!

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: 1/3, 3/1 Twill Weave
Material: 30/2 Bombyx Silk 40/2 linen
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Ganges Sunrise Scarf

Collapse Weave Pucker Up Scarf Kits

These scarves are a great introduction to simple collapse weave. These kits provide 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″.

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 30/2 Bombyx Silk & 18/2 Merino
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Each kit includes:
Weaving instructions (including draft)
2 skeins of 30/2 Bombyx
2 cones of 18/2 Merino

Autumn Equinox

Mochachino Scarf

Salish Sea

Jane’s virtual seminar at ANWG

This Saturday, Jane will virtually present her seminar ‘Weavers of Sabahar’ at the ANWG Conference. There are a few spots left to purchase and join in via ZOOM!

Sabahar is an Ethiopian company that produces uniquely designed, handwoven cotton and silk textiles. Sabahar was founded 20 years ago by Kathy Marshall from Beaver Lodge, Alberta. Her passion for preserving and celebrating the rich weaving tradition of Ethiopia, combined with her desire to create respectful and ethical work opportunities for marginalized people, have laid the foundation for the company. Sabahar’s 3 core values are Sustainability, Innovation, and Caring for each other. They are members of the World Fair Trade Organization. In 2016 Kathy invited Jane Stafford to come to Addis Ababa to trouble shoot production problems the weavers were having. It was a remarkable journey and she returned again in 2019 to set up a design department teaching unfamiliar weave structures to the weavers and exploring the possibilities of the yarns they have available; including all the Eri silk they raise in great abundance. Jane invites you to walk through the studios of Sabahar, to meet the silk rearers, spinners, dyers, weavers and finishers of an amazing organization that now employs over 700 artisans.

For more info on Jane’s seminar and late enrolment, please visit ANWG 2023 Conference.

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

June 6, 2023 newsletter

New Québécoise Colours

We’ve added 6 new colours to our range of Québécoise colours – bringing up the number of colours you can choose to 20!

Khaki, Tangerine, Gold, Navy, Sunset Yellow, Forest Green

Made of 100% wool, Québécoise is a sturdy yarn that softens with brushing. Durable, washable and affordable. There are approximately 217 yards per 100g skein (984 yards/ lb).

Shop Québécoise 2 Ply Wool

New JST Sample Cards

We now have sample cards for Québécoise 2 Ply Wool and Venne’s Eco Jeans Recycled Yarn.

When you order sample cards from us, you can be sure that the actual yarn is attached to your card (except for our silk card). It’s the only time we like to say that something from JST comes with strings attached!

Each card is hand built and will help you make those perfect design decisions with more accuracy than you get by just looking at a photo of the yarn. We try to pack every card with all the information you’ll need when planning your project – suggested setts, yardage per lb. and cone, and material.

Québécoise 2 Ply Wool

Venne Eco Jeans

Check out all JST Samples Cards

Schacht shuttles back in stock

Schacht has started producing 13-inch, 15-inch shuttles again and we are really excited to have them back in stock.

Schacht shuttles are Jane’s favourite. Why are these fabulous shuttles Jane’s favourites? Because they are the tool that is always in her hand at the loom and it needs to be light, the right length and have an open bottom to control the spin of the bobbin with her finger. Jane can even choose between maple or cherry depending on the colour of wood she prefers ;-).

You can see these shuttles fly in Jane’s hands as she weaves using her mantra – Throw – Beat – Change – Beater Back – in so many episodes of the School of Weaving. New weavers – you can watch Jane explain her mantra in Season 1 Episode 1, video 1.3.3.

Looking for a Double Open Bottom Shuttle – those are in stock as well!

13″ Open Bottom

15″ Open Bottom

Double Bobbin Open Bottom Shuttles

Shop all shuttles

From Our Inbox

We were excited to see the email from Martha of Lake Orion, MI, USA. She has combined and layered so many techniques from School of Weaving seasons and episodes to create this magnificent piece.

If you want to follow her journey – start with Season 2 – Episode 3: Colour… colour… more colour and Episode 4: The Colour and Weave Sample plus Episode 4: Parrot & Fibonacci. Then Martha moved on to Season 3 – Episode 1: Denting.

You are an inspiration to us all, Martha!

Hi Jane and team,

Thank you so much for all of your lessons and inspiration. We have a guild that follows and meets to go over the classes, here in Lake Orion, MI. I have learned so much from them and your dream team over the years I thought I’d share a 4 shaft color and weave using the tools you have taught me. Inspiration from a photo, picking yarns. Color and Weave. Denting. Fibonacci. Thick and thin, but most importantly sett. I love being able to use my handspun yarn successfully in weaving now that I truly understand sett- it has opened up a whole world of ideas for me. So here is a version of color and weave on 4 for season 7.

Thank you all.
Martha

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on

Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on May 30, 2023May 30, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

May 30, 2023 newsletter

New Tea Towel Kit – Crisp & Classic in Linen

Sharon, our new JST dyer, wove these stunning linen tea towels in no time. This is the result of her first experience weaving with linen, and she loved it!

Linen is a beautiful piece of cloth that will get softer and softer with age. A truly delightful piece of fabric that is happy to do the “mundane” job of drying your dishes. Another classic towel to add to your kitchen.

Buy Crisp & Classic

Comparing the David III and Spring II

I’m often asked “What’s the difference between the Spring ll and David lll”. It made me think that the best way to describe their similarities and differences was to make a wee video. We hope you enjoy it!

All Spring II looms are in stock and should arrive within 7 days while the David III looms will ship out mid-June. JST offers 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 gives you the flexibility to make smaller payments toward your balance, at your convenience.

Spring II

Spring II is available in two sizes, 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

David III

The David lll is an 8-shaft loom and is 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

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 by Jane — 1 Comment

May 23, 2023 newsletter

Did you know that Thursday is Towel Day?

Are you a Sci-Fi fan? If you are – you probably already know about Towel Day and its origins. If not, and you love any excuse to weave another towel – this newsletter is for you too!

How did National Towel Day come about???

“A towel, [The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.” It is because of this quote that Towel Day was first celebrated on May 25, 2001, two weeks after the author of this well-loved book – Douglas Adams’ death.

So – hitchhikers and friends, get weaving 😉

All-Time Best-Selling Towel Kits

In honour of Towel Day – we thought we’d feature some of JST’s all-time best-selling towel kits. Choose one (or two) kits and have fun weaving them up and have them ready to share with your sci-fi family or friends.

Granny Pam’s Inspiration in Bouclé

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Cotton Bouclé
Each kit makes: 9 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 22″

Granny Pam Bouclé

Tea Towel Time with Jane Towel Kit

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain weave, 2/2 Twill, Basket Weave,
Turned Twill, Broken Twill, 1/3 or 3/1 Twill
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes 12 towels. Finished dimensions: 21″x 27″ hemmed.

Loom requirements
Shafts 4 or 8
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving Width: 26″

Tea Towel Time With Jane Kit

Rustic Elegance in Cotton

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Huck lace
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Width in reed: 26 ½”
Reed: 12 dent

Rustic Elegance in Cotton

Ocean in Bouclé

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Cotton Bouclé
Each kit makes: 9 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 22″

Ocean in Bouclé

Abalone and Ebony Towel & Scarf

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: 4 shaft Bronson Spot
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 3 Tea Towels & 1 Scarf (silk for scarf sold separately)

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 19.5″

Abalone and Ebony Towel & Scarf Kit

Inspiration from a Sari

Level of Difficulty: Beginner

Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 Cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Towels and a bit of play time 🙂

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

Inspiration from a Sari

Huck Lace – Mountain Views

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave & Huck Lace
Material: 8/2 Cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent

Weaving width: 25 ½”

Huck Lace – Mountain Views

Spring at the Cabin

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Log Cabin
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving width: 23⅓ “

Spring at the Cabin

From Our Inbox

We’ve been saving Carol Lansinger’s emails until we had a newsletter that was perfect for her story and photos. The Towel Day issue is it and we share her journey with you today. Carol lives not too far from us in Kingston, WA. She has shared her story with us by writing about the journey she has made through the School of Weaving and JST. As you can see and read – her hands and mind never rest and she has gifted a lot of towels to family and friends. We know that any hitchhikers she has among her family and friends, now own a special towel and are ready for Towel Day 😉 Thank you for taking the time to share your story, Carol.

Thanks go out to all of you that send in items for the “From Our Inbox” section of our newsletter. We love matching the emails we receive to newsletters, as we have done this week.

Hi Jane and team,

I thought I would share a bit as the classes have meant so much to me this year. I can see my progress that lays the groundwork for continuously being inspired by not only the course and where I take it, but also the show and tell. I get to now have a list of projects that I want to do as well as keep up with the class work! I work full time and look forward to spending time with the loom (weekends are way too short!).

This year, I decided to use the class projects throughout the year for towels for Christmas gifts. I am already running a bit short as I have already given away some as birthday presents throughout the year. Meaning next year, I need more towels….

The class projects are:
Turned Twill (upper right corner)
Crackle weave (lower left)
M’s and O’s (lower right)
Holly Berry linen towel kit with added pastels (upper left) – class catch up from prior season on lace

I have so appreciated the projects and the encouragement to play. I will do the towel I am most interested in. Get some practice with the project, and then start to riff and may go back and do the ones that Jane did make sure I didn’t miss something. I find out rather quickly what I like and what doesn’t work so well with the color. I find that a 6 yard warp is enough to give me 6 towels. More than that, I want to get on to the next project. I need the practice of dressing the loom and am actually liking that process very much.

The color play is so fascinating and a good stash really helps!

Thank you so much for bringing me along this year and I can’t wait for next year’s pile of Christmas towels for sending. Got to stop doing Birthdays …..

Oh and I almost forgot that I do have 4 more gifts – Whew – I was wondering why I was short on the Christmas list:
Collapse weave scarf Kit (wool and Silk) – Upper left
Abalone Towel/wrap Kit – (already gave towels away) – Upper right
Overshot class project (cotton and Zephyr) – Bottom left
Overshot class project (dyed silk warp and Zephyr) – Lower right

And – from Carol’s most recent email …….

A few more projects done so far this year to stay current and catch up on prior episodes! More gifts are lining up for Christmas 2023 and a wedding:
Summer/Winter – (8/2 & 8/4 cotton) sized for towels and a little more drape 10 EPI- left
C&W turned twill – 8/2 cotton- center left
Rustic Elegance added color for fun – 8/2 cotton -Huck Lace – center right
Block analysis- Zepher warp/Silk weft – upper right
Block analysis – 8/2 cotton warp/Silk weft – lower right in purples (gift for co-worker’s wedding)
So love the classes to launch off and play.
Cheers,

Carol Lansinger

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

May 16, 2023 newsletter

New Bambu 12 Colours

Hooray, we found more shelf space when we recently did a spring cleaning of the Studio! Now, we’ll be using that space to bring you new choices in your weaving life! This week we’ve added some new colours that are perfect to include in a summer scarf or wrap.

Watch this space as we add new yarns and colour options that you will soon be able to add to your own stash.

Turquoise

Raspberry

Limited Supply

Limited-time offer on Mandarin!

Our Bambu 12

available in 100 g cones with 1,386 yds/cone (6,300 yds/lb)

The raw material for these yarns is derived exclusively from the pulp of bamboo trees grown under sustainable agricultural practices. Because the base is consistently lighter than that of pulp taken from typical trees harvested for common rayon, the production of our Bambu yarn is subjected to less chemical treatment than usually applied to the production of common rayon. We recommend twisting your fringes before washing.

Sett:
plain weave: 24 epi for a very fine, gossamer fabric
Twill (3/1: Turned Twill): 30 epi for a stunning fabric

Check out our Bambu 12 in stock

We’ve been testing a new yarn!

At JST we are always looking for the best yarns for our weavers and we fell in love with these samples of 16/2 Baby Alpaca. In the very near future, we’ll be filling our shelves with a range of beautiful yummy colours. In the meantime, we have these two colours in stock. Only 10 cones are available in both Cloud and Kentucky.

16/2 Peruvian Baby Alpaca put up in 100 g cones – 984 yds/cone, 4457 yds/ lb.

plain weave: 16 epi & ppi
Twill: 18 epi & ppi

16/2 Baby Alpaca ~ Cloud

16/2 Baby Alpaca ~ Kentucky

And we’re back at it!

Our new dye studio is up and running! Sharon has been getting our first batches ready for the dye pots. Don’t forget to sign up for the back-in-stock notifications on your favourite silk colours. That way we’ll know what colours need to jump to the front of the line 😉

JST Hand-Dyed Silks

In Case You Missed It

Handwoven Magazine May/June Cover

Barbara Mitchell is a very talented weaver we have been working with at JST for a number of years. This month we were thrilled to see her Colour and Weave scarf – Shadow Boxing – on the cover of the newest issue of Handwoven Magazine that is on its way to subscribers’ mailboxes. If you love this scarf and want to weave it – the Shadow Boxing draft is in the magazine and the colours of Bambu 12 yarn that Barbara wove with are … Truffles, Pearl, Emperor, Aruba, Borage, Lime Grass, Cerise, and Cyclamen (or Raspberry).

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on May 9, 2023May 9, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

May 9, 2023 newsletter

Magical May

One night last week we looked out and up at a sky was an incredible pink! It was the most amazing pink that matched and surrounded the flowers of a Camellia bush in full bloom. The magic sky slowly deepened to the richest pink/red that you can imagine. As weavers – the first thing that goes through our minds is how can we use that colour in a fabulous piece of cloth – maybe a scarf, a cozy wrap for a spring night or …… Picture a scarf made out of 40/2 linen with the subtle colour of Peachy Keen and/or Violet Ice mixed with the Linen as weft. Not in the mood for a scarf? who says you can’t have pink tea towels? Just imagine the fun you could have designing your own towels using 8/2 cotton in Salmon, Peach, Fuchsia, Cinnamon or with Bouclé in Salmon – which are the colours featured above on our May calendar page 😉

JST Pink Kits

Can you tell that pink is our “flavour” of the month? We thought you would enjoy seeing different kits that play with pink in their design. You can wrap yourself in pink or use it to brighten up your kitchen in the months ahead.

English Rose Lace Scarf Kit

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Canvas Weave
Material: 40/2 linen
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width: 16.5″

Buy English Rose Scarf

Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: 8 Shaft Bronson Lace
Material: 20/2 Bombyx Silk & 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 2 scarves

Loom requirements
Shafts: 8
Reed: 8 dent
Weaving width:18″
Finished Dimensions: 16″ X 63″ long (plus fringe)

Buy Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf

Tea Towel Time with Jane Towel Kit

English Rose

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4 or 8
Reed: 12 dent
Weaving Width: 26″

Buy Tea Towel Time with Jane Kit

Back in Stock

Ruckle Beach Wrap

Harrisville Shetland is such a wonderful cosy yarn. Available in lovely heathered colours, it weaves up quickly and blooms beautifully when wet finished. Ruckle Beach Wrap kit contains enough yarn to weave one blankie or two wraps based on one of the squares from our colour and weave gamp (DDL), woven in a frame. Once fulled and brushed, it makes the perfect light throw or snugly wrap for curling up with a cup of tea and a good book.

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plainweave
Material: Harrisville Shetland
Each kit makes: 1 blankie or 2 wraps

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4
Width in reed: 43″ for the blanket or 32″ for the wrap
Reed: 6 dent or 12 dent

Check our Ruckle Beach Wrap Kit

For fulling tips, visit our Knowledge Base.

School of Weaving subscriber?
Watch the video Fulling in the Washing Machine.

Limited Supply

Mohair Bolero Bouclé

Our supplier sent us Mohair Bolero Bouclé instead of the Brushed Mohair so that means you’re in luck! Grab these while we have them on our shelves! Bouclé mohair is easy to warp with and it weaves up quickly at 6 picks per inch and can add some texture to your project.

Mohair Bolero Bouclé is made of 78% Mohair, 13% Wool and 9% Nylon in Natural at 980 yds/lb and available in 100 g cones. It’s a joy to dye so imagine weaving with this mohair in colours you have created! Double the fun 😉

Get mohair Bolero Bouclé while you can!

Mother’s Day

Are you looking for a last-minute gift that will give your “weaving” Mom some fun choosing an item she has wanted to add to her weaver’s toolbox? These E-Gifts are perfect.

Purchase A Gift Certificate

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on May 3, 2023May 5, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

May 2, 2023 newsletter

Soft & Snugly

Spring is finally arriving on our coast and every living thing around us is taking a deep breath and looking forward to being surrounded by new life, in so many forms. It’s a joyful time of year and there is nothing more heartwarming than the arrival of a brand new baby, no matter what season they are born in 😉 These 2 blankies have proven over and over again how much they are treasured by the family that receives one as a gift. You’ll see it for years as the “comfort blanket” of choice for the baby you wove it for as they grow. Is now the time to think about having a blankie woven and waiting to wrap around a new bundle of joy in your world?

Monte Cristo Baby Blanket

Project Specs
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

Check out Monte Cristo Blanket

Already have our JST Monte Cristo Baby Blankie pattern? Just buy the cone of yarn right here!

Canvas Weave Baby Blanket

Project Specs
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

We can make this kit in any colour you like! 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.

Check Out Canvas Weave Baby Blanket

New lower shipping rates
now you can order more yarn!

With our new shipping rates for orders under $250 CAD, we offer a $17.00 CAD flat rate on orders to Canada & USA. (some exceptions apply such as oversized items). Now adding to your order doesn’t mean higher shipping rates, you still will pay only $17.00 CAN for shipping.

Remember, spend over $250.00 CAD and you’ll receive free shipping! Receive 10% off & free shipping when you spend over $500.00 CAD (Some Exceptions Apply. Please see our shipping policy page for full details).

JST Shipping Policies

From Our Inbox

Shirley, from Campbell River – just over the water and up the coast of Vancouver Island from Salt Spring Island – sent us a photo of her exploration with what she learned in Season 6 Episode 8 – Summer and Winter. She has taken that episode and created her own design for her placemats – it’s stunning, Shirley!

Here is a sample of my interpretation of the Summer and Winter study. I used 2/8 cotton for the warp and pattern weft and 2/16 cotton for the tabby weft. I used Jane’s threading but set it at 16 epi. (Next time I would try 18 epi.) After sampling all the alternative treadlings, I settled on dukagang for a few mats.

As always, I found this to be fun and challenging. Thank you Jane!

Shirley Greening

Here to help Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Posted on April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 by Jane — Leave a comment

April 25, 2023 newsletter

New Cone Holder

Have you ever wound a warp using an old shoe box with holes in its side and chopsticks or knitting needles supporting 1 or 2 cones of yarn as you wind your warp? If you have, then you will know that – when you least expect it – the chopstick has managed to move and slide out of one of its holes. Then – you spend your time getting everything back in order before you can carry on.

If this sounds like you … we have an answer! Check out the cone holder that we now carry waiting on our shelves to head to your home and make winding a warp a whole lot easier 😉 It’s designed to control your yarn – no matter what kind of cone you are using until your yarn is happily on your warping board or warping mill.

Check out the new cone holder here!

New Eco-Jeans Colour in Stock!

We’re happy to say that we have added this beautiful zinger to our Eco Jeans colour range.

Very Light Yellow will add a little spark of brightness should you want to create your own design to weave into scarves or maybe a wrap for a baby.

The Eco Jeans yarn is made from recycled jeans and used plastic bottles. Worn jeans, jackets and other articles of jeans fabric will get a new life. A gift you can create that is also kind to our planet – win-win!

Check out all our Eco Jeans colours right here!

Buy Very Light Yellow!

Cramming and Denting Eco Jeans Scarves

While we’re on the subject of Eco Jeans yarn – this kit has become a hit with our JST worldwide family. This Eco Jeans yarn is lovely to work with when weaving Cramming and Denting. The yarn is well suited because it grabs onto itself and holds in place very well. You have enough yarn in the kit to weave 2 scarves that are light and airy, casual and warm. Also included are full instructions on how to weave Cramming and Denting along with the pattern for the scarves. The result …. a perfect addition to jeans and a T-shirt!

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: Venne Eco Jeans
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width: 13″

Buy Cramming & Denting Kit here!

School of Weaving’s Halvdrall Episode
airing May 4th!

Season 7, Episode 5 – Halvdräll will be live soon, and the kits for this exciting episode are now available so you can have your loom ready and waiting when it airs.

This episode introduces Halvdräll, which I tend to think of as Monk’s Belt on steroids. Colour and Weave works beautifully on this structure, as does texture, so we’ll start adding another layer. Simple unit designs or big block designs and again, it is hard to believe that all these looks come from the idea of a unit. Positive/Negative is a strong force in Monk’s Belt/Halvdräll and is also a strong Positive/Negative force in Colour and Weave. Have fun with Halvdräll…

Jane

Project Specs
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Halvdrall
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements
Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width:22
Finished Dimensions: 27″ X 19″

Buy Halvdrall School of Weaving Kit here!

The Cone Family!

We recently had the question – “how do I know how much yarn is left on my cone?” We were able to send the weaver to our Knowledge Base and specifically – The Cone Family. It’s one of the many topics and questions in the Knowledge Base that can help you to find the answers to your questions quite quickly. The Knowledge Base has a lot of information that Jane has written over the years – questions about looms, tie-ups, and weaving with different yarns, as well as Louet loom-specific questions that she has answered.

Read more on The Cone Family

Here to help

Have a weaving question? Find us on the Jane Stafford School of Weaving Forum and on Weave with Jane Stafford at Ravelry.

Category: NewsLetter

Weave a Path to Excellence

Tuscan Tea Towels

School of Weaving Season 2 kits are in stock!

Asymmetry and Division of Space

Colour and Weave Gamp

Fibonacci with Gradation AKA Parrot

Designing Plaids

All About Stripes

Muted Colour Gamp on Natural Ground

Primaries & Secondaries on Black

JST Shipping

From Our Inbox

Here to help

Limited Edition!Beach Umbrella Tea Towel Kit

JST June Calendar Image

Last Chance for Kiki’s Swedish Lace Tea Towels

School of Weaving

Dena’s favourite placemats!

Join the School of Weaving

ALL-INCLUSIVE subscription

Unlimited access to 65 lessons130+ hours of instruction95+ downloadable PDFsA new lesson every 5 weeks during your subscriptionAND access to our forum!

Video Lessons

Season 1 – Foundation

Season 2 – Colour & Design

Season 3 – Pushing the Boundaries of Plain Weave

Season 4 – Twills on 4 Shafts

Season 5 – Laces!

Season 6 – Units, Blocks and Profiles

Season 7 – An Overlay of Colour, Weave and Texture on Units and Block Structure

Watch anywhere, anytime

Here to help

JST Dye Studio

JST Hand-dyed Silks

Ganges Sunrise Scarf Kit

Collapse Weave Pucker Up Scarf Kits

Jane’s virtual seminar at ANWG

Here to help

New Québécoise Colours

New JST Sample Cards

Schacht shuttles back in stock

From Our Inbox

Here to help

New Tea Towel Kit – Crisp & Classic in Linen

Comparing the David III and Spring II

Spring II

David III

Here to help

Did you know that Thursday is Towel Day?

All-Time Best-Selling Towel Kits

Granny Pam’s Inspiration in Bouclé

Tea Towel Time with Jane Towel Kit

Rustic Elegance in Cotton

Ocean in Bouclé

Abalone and Ebony Towel & Scarf

Inspiration from a Sari

Huck Lace – Mountain Views

Spring at the Cabin

From Our Inbox

Here to help

New Bambu 12 Colours

Limited Supply

Limited-time offer on Mandarin!

Our Bambu 12

We’ve been testing a new yarn!

And we’re back at it!

In Case You Missed It

Handwoven Magazine May/June Cover

Here to help

Here to help

Magical May

JST Pink Kits

English Rose Lace Scarf Kit

Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf

Tea Towel Time with Jane Towel Kit

English Rose

Back in Stock

Ruckle Beach Wrap

Limited Supply

Mohair Bolero Bouclé

Mother’s Day

Here to help

Limited Edition!
Beach Umbrella Tea Towel Kit

Unlimited access to 65 lessons

130+ hours of instruction
95+ downloadable PDFs
A new lesson every 5 weeks during your subscription
AND access to our forum!

New lower shipping rates
now you can order more yarn!

School of Weaving’s Halvdrall Episode
airing May 4th!