Category: NewsLetter

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January 10, 2023 newsletter

JST Calendar!

Are you looking for a way to bring a bit of sunshine into your days? Our fabulous calendar, loaded with stunning photos, is enough to make any weaver dream of warmer days and a beautiful assortment of yarn to weave with. Our 2023 calendar is now on sale for $19.95 so buy one to hang as inspiration near your loom! But…order one while they are still available…having these fabulous photos nearby will open lots of “what if’s” as you design your own unique cloth.

Get yours now before they’re all done!

New Kit on our shelves!

Kiki’s Swedish Lace Tea Towels

Sometimes it’s just fun to feature a weave structure in a newsletter and see what can be created using that structure. That is the path that Kiki’s Swedish Lace Tea Towels lead us down…..as Kiki created another delightful pattern that we can now share with you in a kit. She created towels, as a member of Jane’s Dream Team, for our School of Weaving’s episode on Swedish Lace – Season 5 – Episode 5 – should you want to review the secrets behind Swedish Lace. Scroll down to see a description of what you could learn by watching this episode. Everyone who sees this pattern wants to make these towels and Kiki has graciously shared her pattern with you.

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Swedish Lace
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements

Shafts: 4

Reed: 10 dent

Weaving width: 24″

Finished Dimensions: 18.5″ X 26-30″ long

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SweDISH Tea Towels

The SweDISH Towels (get it 😉) were designed by another Dream Team member – Rebecca Logan. Enjoy weaving them in the colours of the Swedish Flag – blues and yellow. They blend Huck and Swedish Lace and are a lot of fun to weave using the treadling in the pattern provided with the kit or as you create your own design. 

Project Specs

Level of Difficulty: Advanced Beginner
Weave structure: Huck with Swedish Lace
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Towels

Loom requirements

Shafts: 4

Reed: 12 dent

Weaving width: 25″ ish

Finished dimensions: 21″ x 26″ ish, hemmed

Read More

First Time Weaving Swedish Lace?

We have another great episode on the School of Weaving that builds on everything we’ve learned about Huck. Swedish Lace is Huck’s cousin. They live on the same side of Lace Street. Swedish Lace units are the same as Huck’s but in Swedish Lace we are allowed to repeat those units as many times as we want. Ms. Swedish Lace is a little more lenient 🙂 When we understand how this works, it means we can use Swedish Lace and Huck in one piece….as you will see in our show and tell.

Things we will learn in this episode:

  • That Swedish Lace grows out of Huck
  • That our A units and B units can be repeated in our threading with the addition of a tie-down thread
  • That our A units and B units can be repeated in our treadling with the addition of an extra tabby pick
  • That we can use our Mother-of-all-tie-ups and weave it in weft spots, warp spots and lace
  • That we can overlay everything we played with from our Huck gamp and our Huck Colour and Weave gamp
  • That there just isn’t enough time to weave it all in one lifetime 🙂
Take me to the lesson!
Buy the lesson kit here!

Removing a warp from your loom to use later

We recently had a request for one of our School of Weaving members who wondered how she might be able to remove her dummy warp and keep it until she wanted to use it again. Well ….we had the answer for her on our Knowledge Base. We thought that this might be useful information for others – so here goes…….

Hi, 
Just finished weaving a second shadow weave scarf. The first one was my dummy warp in different colours. Now I want to start an all-new project. How can I save my dummy warp, which steps do I take best to take it off the loom and save my dummy warp for the next time I want to weave a shadow weave scarf?
Before you cut the cloth off your present loom, weave approx. 1 inch of good solid plain weave and then smother it in fray check or even white glue.  Wait until it is dry and very secure then make a plain weave shed and insert 1 lease stick beyond the glue line (in between your glue line and the reed), then make the other plain weave shed and insert the other lease stick.

Then you take the tension off at the front and squish it all together and tie up your cross. After you have your cross tied back into the warp you are ready to cut in front of the glue line.

Now you can take the warp off the loom. Release the tension from the back and pull your whole warp out the front. It is helpful to have a 2nd person if the warp is of any length. And you should put some cinch ties along the warp to secure it.

Once you have it all pulled forward you cut the warp at the back of the loom, and carefully, very, very carefully pull all the ends out of the heddles and reed. Tie a knot at that end and you can chain it up to your cross.

When you are ready to put it back on the loom. You put the apron rod through the cross end of your warp at the glue line.

Ta da!

Check out JST’s Knowledge Base!
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.

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January 3rd, 2023 newsletter

Happy New Year!

It’s so hard to believe that we have quietly stepped into another year! It seems that I’m not the only one that can’t get my head around how quickly time flies by. My wish for you is to have a healthy, happy, 2023 that gets filled with good memories of time with family and friends. I wish you carefree times at your loom and feeling the joy of learning and creating, alongside our little School of Weaving family. I’ve enjoyed watching you develop friendships on the Forum as you weave and share your challenges and successes. I look forward to watching and hearing about your growth in your weaving whether you are a brand, spanking new weaver or are waiting to explore Season 7. Best wishes for a Happy New Year from me and my staff. 

Jane

In case you missed it

School of Weaving Season 7 trailer is out! We begin our new season with one more episode on Turned Twill on January 19th. Lots of time to binge-watch Season 6 before we dive into the extended Units, Blocks & Profiles for 2023! That’s right, we are layering colour sequences on what we learned in Season 6. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so with our 7-day free trial.

Start your 7-day free trial

Season 7 Episode 1

It is so much fun to start the year with another overlay idea. This year is about adding Colour and Weave sequences to units and blocks.

We’ll start with Turned Twill for the 3rd year in a row…adding my favourite Dark/Light sequence from Season 2 Episode 4, which was Dark/Light/Dark/Dark/Light. We’ll add it to units and then to blocks and make that cute little motif bigger and bigger and bigger. This should set your mind on fire. 

I also demonstrate how to wind 2 warps…a light one and a dark one and then beam both warps, at the same time, onto your warp beam. This method comes in really handy when you have a lot of colour changes in a warp.

Get ready to weave along with our next 8-shaft Turned Twill episode where we add Colour and Weave to the magic in the cloth. The kit for this episode is available now – should you want to have your loom ready and waiting to play along.

Things we will learn:

  • How to overlay C&W sequences from our C&W gamp S02E02 onto units and blocks, to make these motifs as big as we want.
  • We use D/L and D/D/L/D/L in the composition.
  • How to bring other sequences into the treadling.
  • We can also play with all those other tie-ups from S05E01 and S06E02.
  • How to warp with 2 warps, a dark warp and a light warp.
  • A discussion about whether we want to tie knots or warp with 2 warps.
  • One isn’t right, one isn’t wrong…they are just different ways to warp and it’s good to know.

Level of Difficulty: intermediate
Weave structure: 8-shaft Turned Twill
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Read More!

From our Inbox

We start 2023 with a bang and share the photos that Lindy Brown of Crescent Head, Australia, has sent us. She has been “playing” with Turned Twill and wrote “I enjoyed the turned twill and colour and weave lessons, here are some of my turned twill towels, many of which I have gifted to friends. So many great concepts and design ideas in these lessons. Thank you, Jane and team”

Lindy was inspired by our two Turned Twill episodes…so far 😉 – Season 5 Episode 1 and Season 6 Episode 2.

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.

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December 20, 2022 newsletter

❤️ A Christmas Story from our Archives ❤️

When my kids were little, I used to put a comic, or colouring book in their Christmas stockings….as they grew older, they became skateboarding or snowboarding magazines or whatever they were into at that moment….it became a wonderful tradition and it bought me a bit of time every Christmas morning.
 
When my eldest son was 16, he did something very special…he put a magazine in my Christmas stocking…it was called Organic Style. He knew how much I was going organic :), but the title “Organic Style” seemed rather odd….the ‘organic’ part was great…but ‘style’…how could organic be a style? 
 
Now….you have to imagine everyone sitting around, browsing through their magazines, sipping hot chocolate with me leafing through mine noticing that most of the stuff in the magazine wasn’t about organic anything and I made a comment…or two or three…this isn’t organic, how can they talk about ‘style’ when we’re talking organic…..blah blah blah…get the drift?
 
Well…..the room went quiet and I looked up and there was my beautiful son Eben staring at me in disbelief…his mother was being a total utter jerk. I realized it the minute I looked at his face and said “oh my gosh Eben, I’m so sorry, it is a wonderful magazine, thank you so much”

Here’s the best part……You have to remember that he was 16…..and with all the sarcasm that a 16-year-old could muster, he glared at me and said…”Well, gee Mom, I couldn’t find an old ladies with string digest”……I burst out laughing and thought it was the best response ever…he nailed it and I told him right then and there that if our little business grew enough for me to have a newsletter, I would call it “The Old Ladies With String Digest”.
 
Every Christmas we still laugh at that story and I still use the name for my newsletter. It is even more appropriate for me now that I have officially become an OAP’er, something I’m very proud of. I have survived and plan to keep on working and creating, being inspired and trying to inspire. The learning will never end and I hope that you will all be getting the Old Ladies With String Digest for many more years to come.

I’m thinking about changing the newsletter’s name to “From an Old Lady with String” or maybe I’ll just let it be, I still haven’t decided. BUT…..I want everyone reading to know that I love all weavers, toddlers, teenagers, under 40, over 50 and I especially love our weavers in their 80’s and 90’s and yes, we have a lot of them. They are my greatest inspiration. 

I also want to take a moment to thank you all for supporting our little business. We wouldn’t be here without you. Your generosity this year has allowed us to send another $12,000 donation to the Maiwa Foundation supporting textile artisans in India. These donations are greatly appreciated as you can imagine. 

Last but not least I want to wish you all a safe, loving holiday season. May 2023 bring more Peace and Love to this world.

❤️
Jane 

We will be closed for the holidays from December 24th to January 1st.
Last orders for shipping before the holidays is December 23rd.
Orders placed during our closed days will be processed on January 2nd, 2023.

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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December 13 , 2022 newsletter

The magic of Colour and Weave 

can’t help but be excited about sharing what we’ll be doing in Season 7! There are so many possibilities using “what if”…. and magic can really happen. Early in 2023 we’ll add to our knowledge of Fiberworks PCW and learn about some tools that I wasn’t even aware of.  You’ll have so much fun learning more about this amazing software.

December is the time we get to sort out the Studio, take a wee break and get ready for another exciting year ahead of us. In the meantime – check out the Episode 1 kit below if you want to be ready and waiting for Turned Twill with layers in Season 7, Episode 1! Episode 2 is Fiberworks and Episode 3 is Colour and Weave on Monk’s Belt.


Happy Weaving
Jane

Season 7 New Kits

Episode 1 Turned Twill With Colour & Weave

You’ve hung out with me long enough to know that I love Colour and Weave – and now I’m adding even more layers to Turned Twill. In the first episode of Season 7, we get to see what happens when you let C&W play in Turned Twills garden 😉 

Things we will learn:

  • How to overlay C&W sequences from our C&W gamp S02E02 onto units and blocks, to make these motifs as big as we want.
  • We use D/L and D/D/L/D/L in the composition.
  • How to bring other sequences into the treadling.
  • We can also play with all those other tie-ups from S05E01 and S06E02.
  • How to warp with 2 warps, a dark warp and a light warp.
  • A discussion about whether we want to tie knots or warp with 2 warps.
  • One isn’t right, one isn’t wrong…they are just different ways to warp and it’s good to know.
Shop Now

Monk’s Belt With Colour & Weave

The Monk’s Belt placemats were a hit last year and we loved seeing photos of what you wove on our School of Weaving Forum as well as our Ravelry Group. Now – we are adding new design layers to a fresh set of placemats (and we’re still able to weave a lovely scarf on the same warp). Oh … the endless possibilities of C&W……

Things we will learn:

  • How to overlay C&W sequences on Monk’s Belt.
  • How we can challenge our ideas around Monk’s Belt treadling and balance.
  • How to weave super thick placemats with only 2 shuttles.
  • How we can get lovely drapey scarves on the same warp without changing the sett.
Shop Now

A few other things title……

Gift Certificates

Gift certificates are the perfect gift choice which gives the weavers in your world a way to plan a project and choose the yarn they want to use to create their own unique “kit”. We have a selection of patterns available for purchase which could be the starting point of their next project 😉 Or – if you are the only weaver in your family circle – you could drop hints, print out this newsletter and accidentally leave it lying on the coffee table, or plant the idea with a family member who might share that information with others 😉 If you are hoping for the gift of a month or a year for the School of Weaving – these gift options can be purchased on the same page.

Purchase an EGift

Michelle’s Zephyr Scarf Kit

There is something soft, warm, and delightful about Michelle’s scarf. With Zephyr yarn in both the warp and weft woven in Turned Twill, the resulting scarves are beautiful and cozy to wear on a winter’s day. 

The thing I like about Turned Twill is that you can put your colours in the warp and weave with just one colour in the weft, and yet you achieve multi-coloured blocks.  You can weave your profile square or change the height of your blocks by changing the number of times you treadle them.  This system allows for many different graphic possibilities on one warp.

Turned Twill requires an 8-shaft loom and is recommended for an intermediate weaver. 

Shop Now

Eco Jeans Cramming & Denting Scarf

This Eco Jean yarn is lovely to weave and uses Cramming and Denting in the design, and because this yarn grabs onto itself it happily stays in place. Should you want to weave this scarf in a different colourway – simply, put the Cramming and Denting Eco Jeans Scarves kit into your cart, then on the checkout screen in the “notes” section, let us know what colours you would like us to put in your kit. These scarves are light, airy, casual and warm. A perfect addition to jeans and a T-shirt!

Shop Now

Double-Ended Electric Bobbin Winder

This is a handy tool to have on hand that will make your weaving life easier. It holds bobbins and pirns in place while you quickly wind them as you prepare to weave. It also will hold the large Leclerc Styrene Spools that will easily hold a skein of silk. Once the silk is on the spool – it’s ready to be wound onto bobbins. Easy peasy!

Shop Now

Schacht Umbrella Swift – no counter

The Ultra Umbrella Swift is ingeniously designed with features you will love. It can be used with your bobbin winder to quickly move skeins of silk and other skeined yarn onto a large Leclerc spool for weaving or onto your ball winder if you also happen to be a knitter!

Please note this swift does not have a counter.

Features:

Ball bearings for exceptionally smooth turning.
Pushes down to open and will not flare out after the skein is emptied.
Stable slat pivots with solid steel pins.
Ingenious clamp mounts on most tables, even those with thick edges.
Built-in winding handle.
Holds skeins up to 93″ in circumference.
Can be used in either a vertical or horizontal position.
Tube and button slat assembling.

Shop Now

From Our Inbox

We love hearing from our weavers around the world… Hannie Derks from the Netherlands shared her interpretation of denting. She wove this beautiful scarf using 16/2 cotton in red and yellow colour gradients for the warp and added the luxury of natural silk by using it for her weft. It’s stunning Hannie – I wish we could feel its drape 😉 

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.

School of Weaving

Watch anywhere, anytime!

iPhone   Apple TV   Android   Android TV  Fire TV  Roku ® Website

Not subscribed yet?

Sign up for your 7-day 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 on Ravelry.

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December 6, 2022 newsletter

Season 7, yay!

An Overlay of Colour & Weave Sequences and Texture on Units and Block Weave

Hello there my darling kidlets….so many of you have been waiting for this newsletter…so here we go!

As always, 2023 will build on all previous years with special emphasis on the Colour and Weave gamp we did in Season 2 Episode 4. We are going to take those Colour and Weave sequences and overlay them onto units and blocks. You’ll be amazed how you can take a sequence that may have been 5 ends and blow it up to be 20 ends or 40 ends. The motif stays the same, it’s just much bigger. We can also use those end-on-end sequences in so many unit and block weaves to add incredible depth and complexity to these structures. AND….we can add texture to so many of them, thick and thin in both the warp and weft. 

This is all being done on 4 shafts, with the exception of Episode 1 which is more on Turned Twill…I know…how can there be more….well, we’re only getting started. 😉

So far we’ve filmed the first 3 episodes…..Turned Twill, Fiberworks and Monk’s Belt. I can hardly wait to get the hundreds of yards woven for the next 6 episodes, it’ll keep me busy and off the streets. 🤣

I hope you enjoy the Promo…it gives you a lot of detail and some sneak peeks at what’s coming your way.

And, thank you so much for belonging to the School of Weaving….it is your subscription that allows me to keep making these episodes, taking things further and I have the honour to share it all with you. ❤️

Love ya tons,
Jane

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Available today are Seasons 1 through 6
An all-access subscription to Jane Stafford School of Weaving. You get 61 weaving lessons from the previous 6 years of instructions with your subscription plus all pattern PDF drafts needed to follow along.

You can subscribe between 1 to 12 months!
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December 1, 2022 newsletter

Louet Octado & Megado Looms
ON SALE NOW until December 20th, 2022!

Are you a weaver who is tired of crawling under your loom to create or change your tie-up? Do you weave a yard or 2 and then decide you would really like to change the structure in your cloth by changing your tie-up a wee bit? It’s those “what-ifs” that are magic but can be hard on your knees and back. So … you shrug your shoulders and say “I just can’t get under there again” and stop exploring the possibilities. Does this sound familiar??

For the first time since 2019 – the Octado and the Megado – Louet’s Dobby looms – are on sale!!!

The ease of complex weaving on these looms often comes as a surprise to even the most experienced weaver! The Megado and Octado are simple, easy to operate, and robust enough to handle all your projects.

Dobby looms have a dobby system, which is used to program the lift combinations for your weave structure. The dobby mechanism replaces the treadle/lam combination of traditional floor looms. The pattern capability of a multi-shaft loom is vastly increased by using a dobby mechanism because it gives you an almost limitless number of treadles. The Octado is an 8-shaft loom and the Megado comes with either 16 shafts or 32. Once you decide on your loom, you then decide on the dobby system, either mechanical or electronic. 

Jane

Please note that the loom and dobby are sold separately.

If you wish to pay a deposit and/or installments, please contact info@janestaffordtextiles.com with the loom, width, and shaft number you are interested in and we will send you an invoice for the $1000.00 CAD deposit with the balance due when the loom ships.

Octado Loom

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Octado Loom Electronic Interface

The electronic interface is also on sale until December 20th, 2022! It will give you almost unlimited shaft combinations using a computer and software. The following weaving software programs work with the Louet electronic interface – Fiberworks PCW, Weavemaker, WeaveIt, WeavePoint, Winweef or ProWeave.

Check it out!

Megado Loom

There are a few Megado left in the March 2023 shipment.

Next series of Megado looms is scheduled for June 2023 delivery.

Read More

Megado Electronic Interface

Megado electronic interface is available for both 16 shafts or 32 shafts and on sale now!

We also offer FREE shipping on all Louet looms within Continental North America.

Here to help

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

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November 29 2022, newsletter

Units, Blocks & Profiles – What a year!

None of us can believe that another year has flown by and we are getting ready to launch Season 7, the sequel to Units, Blocks and Profiles. We have covered so much ground and given you so much to absorb but…that’s the beauty of the School of Weaving format. I know that many of my students who have taken “in-house” workshops in the past are delighted that they can now go through everything we learned this year, at a pace that gives them time to absorb all the information.

We started our first project of the year with a bang by taking 8-shaft Twill to another level by playing with blocks and tie-up quadrants. We watched the magic happen! We took what we learned about Monk’s Belt and pushed it up a notch. We learned how to use the unit system for Overshot and how to adapt our designs using Twill shapes in the mix. We learned how to do name drafting, which is so much fun. We finally got to know and play with Crackle Weave, learning how to add layers to this eye-popping structure. Next came M’s & O’s with all the treadling elements you could incorporate in the structure to create a beautiful cloth. We took our first steps into the almost endless possibilities of weaving using Summer and Winter. Before we knew it – we were blowing our minds learning to analyze blocks and then weaving the fabulous Block Analysis/Bronson Lace scarves.

Now it’s time to just enjoy the holiday season and weave with all the knowledge you’ve gained this past year!
Thank you for coming on this journey with me : )
Jane

School of Weaving In-Stock Kits

8 Shaft Twill Block & Tie-up Quadrants

Level of Difficulty: intermediate
Weave structure: Twill Blocks & Tie-up Quadrants
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Tea Towels

Things we learn:

  • ways to manipulate the tie-up box
  • we consider it in quadrants
  • how to frame Lace with Twill
  • how to frame Basket Weave with Twill
  • how to frame Plain Weave with Twill
  • we don’t fret about clean cut lines
  • how to play with graphic and colour.
Shop Now

Monk’s Belt

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Monk’s belt
Material: 8/2 cotton & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 Placemats

Things we learn:

  • Monk’s Belt uses 2 opposite twill units. A is 1&2 and B is 3&4
  • the number of times a unit is repeated lengthens the pattern float
  • the number of times a unit can be repeated is also dependent on the EPI of the warp
  • it is woven with alternating tabby picks between pattern picks
  • it can be woven on other threadings ie. point twill for a 3-end unit and Huck for a 5-end unit.
Shop Now

Overshot

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Overshot
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes a warp for 3 Scarves

Things we learn:

  • the unit system for Overshot
  • how understanding Twill shapes will help us identify those shapes in Overshot
  • Tromp as Writ, Rose Fashion, treadling on opposites
  • using contemporary graphics in the threading
  • adding other Plain Weave elements to the overall design.

Shop Now

Crackle Weave

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Crackle Weave
Material: 8/2 & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 9 Towels


Things we learn:

     • Crackle weave is a twill-derivative structure
     • it can be woven with or without alternating tabby picks
     • how to interpret a Twill threading as a profile draft
     • doubling the units to double the size of the pattern
     • Overshot style treadling
     • on opposites treadling
     • classic Crackle threading, 3 wefts, (no tabby)
     • Bronson Lace treadling
     • Summer and Winter treadling
     • composition of graphic.

Shop Now

M’s & O’s

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: M’s & O’s
Material: 8/2 organic cotton & 8/4 cotton
Each kit makes: 12 guest towels or 12 placemats


Things we learn:

  • traditional threading for M’s & O’s
  • that we can thread Plain Weave selvedges and we can weave a version of Plain Weave selvedge… BUT, not both… you have to pick which one you want.
  • if you go for the version of Plain Weave we can use floating selvedges to spiff up the selvedge (we are using 4 per side)
  • that we have 2 units that can be repeated with care… I’ll explain in the video
  • that we can treadle: almost Plain Weave, traditional M’s & O’s, honeycomb, a version of Monk’s Belt, a version of Bronson Lace & repetitive sequences playing with all those things.
Shop Now

Summer and Winter

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Summer & Winter
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 1 sampler and 8 placemats

Things we learn:

  • the unit system of Summer and Winter
  • what a two-tie structure means
  • how to make your hem exactly like the pattern in reverse
  • how to treadle in pairs X style
  • how to treadle in pars O style
  • how to treadle in singles alternate style (bricks)
  • how to treadle in Dukagang style (columns)
  • how to change your ground patterning by changing your tabbies
  • having neutral warp allows us to bring in any colour we want.
Shop Now

School of Weaving

Watch anywhere, anytime!

iPhone   Apple TV   Android   Android TV  Fire TV  Roku ® Website
Sign up for your 7-day FREE trial

JST 2023 Calendar

You now have the option to have the calendar shipped letter-mail to save on shipping. These images will inspire you all year long. Why not give them to your favourite weaving friends 🙂

$5 to ship in Canada and $7 CAD to ship to the USA.
Just click the “letter-mail” shipping option at checkout.

From Our Inbox

We were delighted to see Jacqueline Hitchen’s beautiful sample towels using what she learned in Season 6 – Episode 6 – Crackle Weave. Jacqueline wove them with Overshot and Summer & Winter treadling and we were pleased to see her results woven in her own choice of colours.

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 on Ravelry.

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November 15 2022, newsletter

Look what we have to make 2023 brighter in your world!

We are so excited to share our latest project with you! It has been so much fun working with Sophia on our photography for the past year. Many of her images were crying out to become something new…and so the idea of the calendar was born. 12 gorgeous images pairing the beauty of our natural world with the beauty of yarns that bring our weaving to reality.  

Jane

Shop our new calendar!

We have placemats and towels for you to weave to help give your home a festive air with the big holiday about to arrive for our neighbours to the south. The rest of us have a bit more time to weave special items for decorating our homes or have them ready as gifts for the other holidays and events we will be celebrating before the end of this year!

Twill and Grace Placemats

Buy Now

Christmas Crackle Placemat & Runner

Buy Now

Huck Lace Cotton Tea Towel Kit – Falling Leaves

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Bouclé Tea Towel Kit – Country Renaissance Kit

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Some Festive Inspiration!

Here is a photo of a festive version of Season 6’s Monk’s Belt placemats woven by Saskatchewan’s Susanna Miller. (School of Weaving – Season 6 Episode 3) Susanna created a version that would brighten anyone’s Christmas table, along with the addition of her cheery coordinating napkins. With this as inspiration – It’s a great time to catch up on our Monk’s Belt lesson and interpret your own cheerful design!

From Our Inbox

Brigitte Schweitzer sent in this photo for us to see and we thought we’d share it with you. Jane was delighted to see a beautiful example of Turned Twill hanging in Brigitte’s garden.

School of Weaving

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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 on Ravelry.

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November 8, 2022 newsletter

It’s the little things that make our weaving lives easier and the weaving fun!

It’s that time of year when you can start dropping hints for the items that will make your weaving life a tad easier. We now have the Harrisville Cone Holder in stock – it can hold up to 4 cones while you are winding your warp or bobbins -making winding easy peasy. Wishing for an extra Schacht shuttle so you don’t have to keep changing your bobbins while you weave?? We have them in stock! Or…do you really want to make your bobbin winding faster and more efficient (including being able to wind those luscious silk skeins onto Leclerc’s large Styrene Spools) – using your brand new double-ended bobbin winder? We’ve got all these items and more….even lots of my handy-dandy JST pointer, which is actually the Harrisville Brass Heddle/Reed Hook, that is often found in my hand in the videos 😉

Jane

Shuttles

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Bobbins

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Fringe Twiters

Shoop Fringe Twisters

Double Ended Bobbin Winder

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Dr. Beckmann Colour & Dirt Collector

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Harrisvillle Cone Holder – NEW PRODUCT!

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Harrisville Brass Heddle/Reed Hook

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JST Hand dyed Silk

Add some colour to your Christmas wish list – nothing is more wonderful that receiving beautiful silk that you will have a delightful time designing and weaving into your own unique cloth.

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Wish List

Since we’ve mentioned Christmas gifts – and I know Christmas is still 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, find something perfect for you OR possibly give you a JST Gift Certificate towards something that you are really wishing for.

Get these lucious “one-off” colours while they last!

At the moment we have some “Limited Edition” silk skeins that are available at a reduced price – lovely 20/2 Blue Mist or Dusty Rose. Get them while you can! The cones of yarn are sold out – sorry 🙁

Check out our Yarn Sale page

JST Pattern Page

After having a lot of requests – we have decided to create a Pattern page where our wonderful weavers could purchase a selection of our most loved patterns. There are 11 patterns available to download and add to your weaving wish list for $10.00 each. And – listen for the drum roll ……

Autumn Orchard Wrap

Burgoyne Berry Wrap

Ruckle Beach Wrap

Cornucopia Towels

Harvest Splendour Towels

Heavenly Check Scarf

Jane’s Favourite Towels

Undulating Towels

Spring Stripes Mohair Blanket

Three Stripe Mohair Blanket 

Whole Lotta Huggin Blanket

View all our downloadable PDF patterns for sale!

Merino & Silk Scarves – Chocolate & Vanilla

This supremely beautiful scarf ticks all the boxes! Since it is made with silk on merino, it is super soft and warm with silky drape, and has that magic sheen we all love. The design is simple and classic with two stripes on the warp and design options for the weft. This is one of those life-time scarves. It just won’t go out of fashion or favour. The cosy colours you will use in this scarf are Suede and Vanilla merino in the warp with silk in Violet Ice and Double Chocolate for weft. Delicious!

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From Our Inbox

PK Maracin has reached out to us from Cromwell, OT on the beautiful South Island of New Zealand – about as far south as you can get on our planet before reaching Antarctica! PK – your adventure in weaving was a delight to read and I can’t get the smile off my face after reading your saga with your Fanny loom. How wonderful to know that we are reaching out to weavers everywhere through our School of Weaving – it makes it all worthwhile.
 
Hi team Jane!

Weaving toddler here. I just finished Sample 1 – Season 2: Asymmetry.

From my local weaving guild I was able to purchase a 1950s Fanny loom in very good condition some months ago. Hardly used from the dear old lady. But, of course, zero directions on how to use (though LeClerc sent me some). You can imagine how happy I was when Jane used her Fanny to show some warping techniques!

So off I went learning to use my warping board, chaining up and then putting the warp on the Fanny. I am quite proud that I was able to change out the zinger mid stride. Well not really mid, but after 1 napkin and 4 tea towels. Then came the tea towel and napkin sans red.

Then I thought I would try the resleying at 12epi. Even though I didn’t really want to, I am in Weaving School for a reason = to learn. You never know when it may come in handy. I admit that was quite difficult. I think I left the process too late in the piece. My back beam would not hold any tension, I guess it was too short. I resleyed with no tension and then tried to wind the warp back on the back beam to get things tight. Therefore I lost warp length as my tie on was too long. And my “new” zinger grey threads all fell back on the floor because I forgot about them! So I had to rethread those. I persevered over hours, determined not to give up. All that for a dinky winky boucle wash rag! It could have been wider but I ran out of boucle. I only dyed so much. Really don’t see why I would do this in the future, but I did it here.

The 12 dent reed that came with the loom is very narrow (probably for a table loom). Only 2 1/2″. So it was sometimes difficult for wee me to get a nice shed. And I only had 2 narrow boat shuttles to fit through the shed! I have since ordered a new 12 dent reed from LeClerc and am waiting for that to arrive.

Anywho… I learned heaps from this first section of the course. Your teaching style is very similar to how I teach sewing. So an obvious big like!

I cannot continue right now as I am waiting for your yarns to arrive. Here in NZ there is a limited amount of cotton yarns, and if they do sell Brassard half of the colours are out of stock (hence no white). And Ashford, for some odd reason, sells 10/2 and not 8/2. I decided to purchase the rest of the Season 2 kits from you as 1) I like your colours and 2) I know I will have enough of what I need.

Cheers and thanks for the journey
PK

School of Weaving

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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.
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November 1, 2022 newsletter

Scarves to keep you and your loved ones warm!

Fall has arrived in full force on the “wet” coast, bringing the rain we have all been wishing for after months of very little. We’re back to saying, “If you can see the mountains – it’s going to rain! If you can’t see the mountains – it’s raining!” Along with the rain come cooler, damp weather and the need to wear something warm. This newsletter we thought was a good chance to feature some fabulous, warm scarves to have ready to wear or give this winter. Our Melting Ice Scarf is woven with luscious merino and silk. Both Linda’s 4 Shaft 2/2 Twill scarf and her 8 Shaft Turned Twill scarf are woven with Zephyr and Bambu and are both so beautiful and warm. Kiki’s scarf is also woven with Bambu for warp and weft and is designed in warm, winter colours. And, last but certainly not least, is Michelle’s wonderfully elegant scarf woven in Zephyr in both warp and weft.

With so many different scarves to choose from – we hope you can find the perfect one for you this winter! Keep warm and dry …….
Jane

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Melting Ice Scarf Kit

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Linda’s Scarf in 4 Shaft Kit

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Linda’s Scarf in 8 Shaft Kit

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Kiki’s Scarf Kit

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Michelle’s Scarf Kit

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From Our Inbox

Jadie from California has sent us photos of these striking towels that she designed after being inspired by what she had learned in Season 4 Episode 7 – Twill & Basket Weave go on a Date. We love seeing what you have learned from the School of Weaving and how you’ve created something uniquely yours with that knowledge.

I’m really enjoying Season 4. I was inspired by it to make a set of towels using alternating stripes of twill and basket weave based on the colors of the Ukrainian flag. While I was weaving I wasn’t sure how I felt about them, but once I washed them the flowery patterns bloomed, so I called them “Flowers for Ukraine”. Thanks so much for the classes.

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 on Ravelry.