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September 12, 2023 newsletter

September’s Paint Box

Venne 22/2 Cottolin

From left to right: Deep Red, Raspberry, Mauve, Cassis, Bright Pink, Flaming Red, Rich Berry, Autumn Red, Orange, Jaffa, Golden Yellow, Yellow & Very Light Yellow

Opening up the yarn pages of any Venne yarn on our website is like opening a paint box. You get to choose the colours you want to see “playing” together. You can then design your unique tea towels, runners, or other household linens with the colours you choose. Venne Cottolin is our favourite yarn for tea towels because you can weave hard-wearing and absorbent towels that will last for years. Cottolin is made of 70% organic cotton and 30% linen. The linen in the combination has been used for centuries for household items. Our ancestors referred to them as “linens” and had a “linen” cupboard so they could store their kitchen and household textiles for a lifetime.

  • Plain weave 16-20 epi (ranging from a gossamer fabric at 16 epi to firm cloth at 20 epi)
  • Twill 20-24 epi (ranging from a nice drapey fabric at 20 epi to a firmer cloth at 24 epi)
Shop our 22/2 Cottolin

Venne Collection

Cottolin isn’t the only magical Venne yarn that we carry. We also carry their Organic Cotton, Eco Jeans recycled yarn, and Organic 16/2 Linen. The quality of these yarns makes them the go-to yarn for many weavers who want to create a lasting gift for cherished families and/or themselves.

Organic Cotton

Venne 8/2 Organic GOTS certified cotton is available on 100g cones with 710 yds/cone (3,230 yds/lb.).

Plain weave: 16-20 epi (ranging from gossamer cotton at 16 epi to firm cloth at 20 epi
Twill: 20-24 epi (ranging from a nice drapey fabric at 20 epi to a firmer cloth at 24 epi
Shop Organic Cotton

Eco Jeans Recycled Yarn

Are you aware that Venne’s Eco Jeans yarn is 100% recycled and is made from worn jeans, jackets and other articles of jeans fabric? Here’s your chance to create a wonderfully soft scarf, shawl or… as well as doing a tiny something for our tired planet. It’s made of 48% cotton, 47% polyester and 5% other material. This super soft yarn is a tad thicker than 8/2 cotton and slightly textured.

Shop Venne’s Eco Jeans

Organic Linen

This exquisite line of 16/2 linen comes in stunning colours and is just waiting for you to design a “one-of-a-kind” treasure. It’s available in 100g tubes – 600 yards per tube (2,700 yards/ lb). Both setts below give you a nice drapey fabric.

  • Plain weave: 15 epi & 15 ppi   
  • Twill: 18 epi & 15 ppi
Shop Venne’s Organic Linen

Inspiration

A few weeks ago we posted this photo on social media from one of our customers who purchased this wonderful pallet of autumn colours in Venne GOTS certified organic cottolin Olive, Brass, Golden Brown, Rich Berry, Autumn Red, Deep Red, Brick Red and Apricot. We just had to share it with all of you in case you are looking for a bit of inspiration for your next project. 

From Our Inbox

Our “From Our Inbox” this time comes to us from Austria where Brigitte Schweitzer created this stunning length of cloth after watching Jane’s School of Weaving episodes. She wove this treasure using Venne Organic cotton and we’re guessing from your photo Brigitte – that you have 8 shaft Turned Twill towels in your future 😉
Hallo Jane and Team,
I’m really happy of my last weaving. I love the colours and the material, it’s Venne Bio cotton. Thank you for your inspiration.
Best wishes from Austria,
Brigitte Schweitzer

All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the looms generally take 5 days to reach our customers!

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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September 6, 2023 newsletter

Brushed Mohair

September is here and we’re headed into a colourful fall – in more ways than one! You can add to the colour of your September by weaving a mohair throw – or shawl or scarf 😉 Check out the range of colourful mohair you can “dress” your loom with. Design your own project using one of your favourite graphics with Fibonacci as your guide.

Brushed 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon,
available in 100 g cones – 215 yds/cone (approx. 975 yds/lb).

Shop our Mohair Collection

We have a Reference Guide available for download for a scarf, shawl or throw.

Mohair Quick Reference Guide download here!

Weaving with Mohair – Season 1 Episode 9

Watch while Jane talks about mohair as she weaves a scarf and a throw.
Not a member of the School of Weaving – now’s the time to start with a 7-day free trial!
This is what you’ll learn in Season 1 Episode 9:

-Making the fuzziest warp ever
-Warping Front to Back
-Tying one warp onto an existing warp or a pseudo warp.
-Winding on the stickiest warp in the world…….easy, peasy
-Creating the perfect tie-up for a nice clean shed
-Beat sequence
-Winding bobbins with fuzzy yarns
-Hemstitching with mohair
Learn more about the School of Weaving
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial

All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the looms generally take 5 days to reach our customers!

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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August 29, 2023 newsletter

Weaver’s Tool Box

Those little tips and tricks you learn from Jane and weaving friends…..

We thought you might enjoy a few “handy hacks” using items that you might have just lying around waiting to be used in a new way. Some you might have around your home and others you can find at your local hardware store or another store in your neighbourhood.

Sticky Note

Weaving Twill? Grab a sticky note, fold it in half corner to corner and use it to double-check your ppi by making sure you are weaving a 45-degree angle.

Removeable Tape or Stickers

Anyone weaving through School of Weaving episodes and watching Jane weave, knows how important these removable labels are for keeping your treadling in order. Note in this specific example – Jane puts her plain weave on the outside treadles and her Twill pattern treadles in the middle. Easy peasy to learn the rhythm of the pattern you are weaving.

Graph Paper

Not sure whether you understand the draft for a project? Graph paper is the perfect way to look at your structure without having to get a warp on the loom. JST graph paper is included in so many School of Weaving PDFs – find one, scan copies and away you go!

You can also download a 4 and an 8 shaft Draft Design Sheets right here:
4 shaft Design Sheet
8 shaft Design Sheet

LED Lights

These little LED light strips work wonderfully when you are threading your loom or weaving. They shed light where you need it most while threading and weaving. And you can find them in a hardware store or online in your own community.

Making A Repair Heddle

We have many little videos that help you fix or understand an issue you are having – this one is on making a repair heddle! Check out our YouTube channel.

Handy, Must Have, Tools

Spools

Winding a long warp with 2 or more threads in your hand but only have 1 or 2 cones of the yarn you are using? Wind a part cone onto one or two of these spools and you are all set to wind. What’s left on your spool can be wound off on bobbins and will be ready to weave.

Shop All Spools

Fringe Twister

Every weaver needs one of these Fringe Twisters. They are so much faster and neater than twisting your fringes by hand!

Fringe Twisters - Double
Shop all Fringe Twisters

Traditional 11″ Brass Scissors

Jane’s favourite scissors! We all need one really great pair of scissors to be used only on fabric. Do you have one or more people in your life who don’t understand the necessity of keeping these away from paper? Label them with a sticker saying fabric only!

Check out the brass scissors here!

Harrisville Brass Heddle/Reed Hook

Any member of the School of Weaving knows how “attached” Jane is to her Harrisvile Heddle/Reed hook. 😉 It leads a busy life – threading heddles, sleying the reed AND last but certainly not last – as her pointer in so many School of Weaving episodes.

Add a Sley Hook to your next order!

Dr. Beckmann Colour and Dirt Collector

One sheet added to your wash water, whether you wash by machine or by hand, will grab any fugitive colour lurking around in your yarn. They are truly amazing!

Buy Dr. Beckmann Colour & Dirt Collector

Cone Holder

The photo for this cone holder – tells the story. It will hold up to 8 cones and/or tubes of yarn waiting for you to quickly wind your warp with up to 5 ends in your hand. We aren’t suggesting that winding 8 at once would be the way to wind a good warp 😂

Buy a Cone Holder
All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the looms generally take 5 days to reach our customers!

Summer and Winter with Colour and Weave is Live!

Learn more about the School of Weaving!

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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August 8, 2023 newsletter

JST Silk Bombay

Magic always happens in a dye pot – but sometimes in ways that surprise you. Our silk colour Favourite Wine came out of the dye pot in the deeper, richer colour of a Cabernet Sauvignon rather than the cheerful bright red of a Shiraz! A happy accident that is available while quantities last. Grab a skein or 2 of Bombay in 30/2 Bombyx or in 20/2 Tussah.

30/2 Bombyx Silk – Bombay

20/2 Tussah Silk – Bombay

Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf

When I was creating the content for block analysis that we learned in Season 6 Episode 9 of the School of Weaving I had leftover warp and thought I’d play a bit more. Hearts popped off my graph paper and into the cloth. One version took 12 treadles and I kept playing around until I could get a heart using just 10 treadles which all 8 shaft looms have (I think)! If you look at the scarf, the hearts on the left hand side need 10 treadles so that is what this pattern has been written for.

We can make this kit in any silk colour you like! Simply, put the Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf kit into your cart, on the checkout screen in the “notes” section let us know what colour of 20/2 Bombyx silk you would like us to make the kit in.


Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: 8 Shaft Bronson Lace
Material: 20/2 Bombyx Silk & 8/2 cotton

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

Buy Sweetheart Bronson Lace Scarf Kit

Charlie’s Silk Scarf

This beautiful scarf was designed by Charlotte Holmes using two of our Tussah silk yarns. It is a simple two stripe design with log cabin patterning, half the warp is threaded dark/light and the other half light/dark. You can play with your stripes however you wish!

Warping is fast and easy because you get to warp with two ends in your hand 😉

Level of Difficulty: Beginner
Weave structure: Plain Weave
Material: 20/2 Tussah Silk in Chocolate Cherry & Natural
Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

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

Buy Charlie’s Silk Scarf Kit

From Our Knowledge Base

Wet finishing fine yarn fabrics

New to weaving with silk and/or other fine yarns? Wondering how to finish it after you have taken your precious item off the loom? We thought it was a good time to share the article from our Knowledge Base that covers your questions and/or concerns. 

I have recently woven a 20/2 silk scarf in a lace weave, which turned out beautifully. However, when I washed it, spun it for 30 seconds in the gentle spin, hung to dry and ironed it dampish, the fabric is still showing creases, which won’t iron out. The same thing happened with the last three bamboo scarves in plain weave. I cannot get the creases out. I rewashed them but it didn’t make a difference. Where have I gone wrong?

Silk loves to crease when it is wet. When I wash my silk, I never wring it out. I have always hand washed my silk scarves and stoles in the kitchen sink and I let them drip dry in my shower. Imagine taking your silk scarf and lowering it into your sink, lowering it down like an accordion. I then raise and lower the silk up and down to wash it. When I have finished the washing I accordion it into a lasagna pan sitting beside the sink. Rinse it the same way, always ‘accordioning’ it, never wringing it. I then take the lasagna pan up to the shower and drape the scarf over a broom handle stretched across the shower (I have a corner shower) and I let the scarf drip dry. Then I steam press it with a thin cloth over it. Same thing with any fine yarn, like the bamboo.

All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the looms generally take 5 days to reach our customers!

Learn more about the School of Weaving

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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August 1, 2023 newsletter

New Baby Alpaca Yarn

We are so excited to finally introduce you to our new Baby Alpaca yarn and the wonderful range of colours that you can choose when you weave with it. Just imagine the wonderful scarves you could create for both the men and women in your family as ……… presents. (we don’t want to use the “C” word in August – this year is already flying by too quickly ;

6/2 Peruvian baby alpaca is available in 100 g cones
with 984 yds/cone (4457yds/lb)

This stunning baby alpaca is sure to convert even the itchiest of people into alpaca lovers. This yarn can be used in the warp and the weft and blends absolutely beautifully with 40/2 linen, 30/2 and 20/2 silk and even 8/2 cotton! This is not a superwash yarn. Check out our Fulling Instructions on the JST Knowledge Base for tips on fulling!

Sett

  • plain weave: 16 epi
  • twill 18 epi
See the full line of Baby Alpaca colours here!

Free Pattern – Alpine Alpaca Scarf

Download your FREE pattern here!

Last Chance Kit

Sometimes we just have to say so long, farewell and goodbye to some of our kits due to lack of space 😔 So ….. it’s goodbye to Berry Bowl and Kiwi (both are different colourways for our Just Monk’n Around tea towel kit). There are only a few left in these colours and when they are gone – they’re gone!

Berry Bowl

Kiwi

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
Weave structure: Monk’s Belt with Plain Weave
Material: 8/2 cotton
Each kit makes: 8 Tea Towels

Loom requirements:
Shafts: 4
Reed: 10 dent
Weaving width: 22.7″

Shop Just Monk’n Around Kits

Share your weaving project!

We’ve been delighted to include so many wonderful examples of what our members have learned through our School of Weaving and how they have interpreted that knowledge into their own unique cloth. We’d love to see what YOU are creating – send us your photos, and the story behind what you have created on your loom as a member of the School of Weaving.

All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the looms generally take 5 days to reach our customers!

Learn more about the School of Weaving!

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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July 25, 2023 newsletter

Thick & Thin

Have you ever wondered how to weave with both thick and thin in your weft? The following is Jane’s answer to this question from our Knowledge Base.

How do I make different weft thicknesses all come out the same width on the final product if the warp is all the same thickness? Fulling helps it but it still looks odd.

This is always a tricky situation. Thick wefts will always push your warp out and thin wefts will always pull your warp in. So you can do 2 things. One… you can build a pattern into the design where you use those tendencies as a design element when creating your fabric.

The second thing you could do is to purposefully draw in more when you are using your thick yarn. Draw it into the width of your fine weft area. Or when you throw a pick of your fine weft you need to leave that yarn at a higher angle so that more weft can get into the shed, this will control the draw-in on the fine weft. It all comes down to selvedge control, but knowing that thick wefts and thin wefts will draw in differently, you can use it as a design feature.

One more thing………if you want, you could wind several ends of the fine to make a thicker weft – that would reduce the problem, but if you are after the thick/thin effect, that won’t work.

For more information and a video – head to School of Weaving Season 2 Episode 8 – Playing at the Loom and watch as Jane plays with thick and thin yarn and Bouclé! Endless possibilities …….

New Eco Jeans Colours!

Our shelves now have more colour options for you to design your cloth in our new range of Eco Jeans colours. Initially, we started with just the colours that were originally produced in this fabulous yarn which is created out of old jeans and pop bottles. We now have a total of 12 colours just waiting for you to play with! Check out our new colours Steam, Pelican Pink and Primavera available in 100g cones. Venne is in the process of discontinuing 50g cones and switching to 100g cones for their Eco Jeans yarn and these new colours are the first on our shelves!

Shop Venne Eco Jeans Recycled Yarn

Cramming & Denting Eco Jeans Scarf Kit

This Eco Jeans kit has proven to be a favourite amongst our JST shoppers. It’s a fun project to weave and would be a perfect accessory for all the students in your life heading off to university or school in the Fall.

This Eco Jeans kit has proven to be a favourite amongst our JST shoppers. It’s a fun project to weave and would be a perfect accessory for all the students in your life heading off to university or school in the Fall.

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″

Shop Cramming & Denting Kit

Cone Ends Sale Restocked!

Have you been wanting to play with different yarns to see if you like weaving with them? Have you wondered what yarns you aren’t familiar with would be like after you have finished it? Our cone ends packages give you a surprise choice of part cones in a variety of colours, Try one in the fibre of your choice so you can test out new-to-you yarns! The colours shown below and on the website may not be the same colours in your surprise order 🙂

Each bag weighs 200g of surprise colours!

40/2 Linen

Bambu 12

18/2 Merino

18/2 Zephyr

Shop our Yarn Page Sale!

Keeping you informed

As you may have heard on the news there is a pending UPS strike that may happen on August 1, 2023. We have lots of yarn in stock so this should not affect our inbound orders from suppliers but will affect our customers in the USA. We have made arrangements to ship with USPS should the strike happen but they will also be very busy with other companies shipping with them during this time. If you are needing yarn for your next project, it might be a good idea to order this week to ensure you get your parcel in a timely manner. We will do everything we can to minimize the interruption to our customers.

From Our Inbox

This letter from Leslie Strong, from Calgary, AB arrived in our InBox last November. We were waiting for just the right newsletter to share her ideas with you. 
Jane provided such a wonderful opportunity to take away from all the episodes on Twill and venture into making scarves for Christmas presents. I made a total of 6 Scarves, 3 in Merino/Tencel and 3 in just Tencel.

First Three: – A twill, ” Wall of Troy” design using Merino/Tencel 2/10. Pattern from Handwoven Loom Theory. The photo reflects Scarf 1 in Kaki Pale for the Weft and Natural for the Warp. I truly love this scarf. It has a 3″ twisted fringe, 67 1/2″ long, 8 3/4″ wide. Scarf 2 Warp: Natural and Weft Silver. This scarf did not show the design as much and the silver was a bit bluish instead of silver but still goes very nicely with a black outfit. Scarf 3: Warp: Acier(Grey) and Weft: Black – which is my favourite. All these scarves are so soft with wonderful drape.

The last Three: – A plaited twill in Tencel. Tencel is pretty tricky to work with but I love the drape and feel of these scarves. I live in Calgary right now and have found out to work with Tencel in a dry climate requires some preparations such as a humidifier in the room, a water spritzer bottle, silver thread copolymer fishing line, and patience. Sounds intimidating but rewarding. An important thing to remember, is if you make a longer warp, and you walk away from your project for any length of time, ensure you release the tension until you return. Tencel has a tendency to break. I had a much straighter selvedge with the silver thread as a separate selvedge along with the required selvedge. I put both in different reed slots, separated with light weights attached to each. It worked perfectly. I pulled the silver threading out before washing, it easily pulls out and leaves a beautiful straight edge. I used a pattern from Handwoven Magazine which followed one of Carol Stickler’s 8 shaft patterns, page 103.

Scarf 1: A variegated tencel in the Warp and a Wine Colour tencel in the Weft. The Variegated warp hid the design a little but still turned out so nice.

Scarf 2: I used solid colours for the warp and weft in these two scarves. Weft in Brown and Warp in Havana. I love the shine and the drape.

Thanks to Jane, I just love weaving so much! Can’t wait for next year. I have made numerous towels, scarves, and placemats through her teachings. I only became a weaver through Jane’s On-Line learning. Never woven before.

I love quotes which could relate to weaving: “Life experiences are all woven together” and the other: “Don’t allow fear to limit you”. I follow both of these.

Leslie Strong

All David and Spring looms are in stock and ready to ship. Once ordered the loom generally takes 5 days to reach our customers!

Learn more about the School of Weaving!

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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July 18, 2023 newsletter

New Linen Colours

Now comes the fun part of clearing off our shelves to make room for new colours – we’ve just added 4 stunning shades to our 40/2 Linen. Imagine what you can create using one or two new colours and mixing them with the 40/2 Linen we already have on our shelves. If you haven’t woven with this linen – you are in for a treat! And, If you are new to weaving with linen – you can check out the School of Weaving – Season 3 Episode 2 where the magic happens by combining Cramming and Denting and 40/2 Linen.

40/2 Linen Wine

40/2 Linen Ginger

40/2 Linen Blue Fin

40/2 Linen Emperor

40/2 Linen Setts

Plain weave: 24 epi and 24 ppi to create a crisp but still drapey fabric
30 epi and 30 ppi to create a little crisper fabric which will still be soft.

Combined with 30/2 Bombyx silk in the warp and weft:
Plain weave: 24 epi and 24 ppi for a beautiful, stable and drapey fabric.

Using 30/2 silk as the warp and 40/2 linen as the weft:
Plain weave: 30 epi and 30 ppi for a fabulous, drapey fabric that is a little firmer than above.

Lavender Lace Kit in any colour!

Have you been admiring the beautiful Lavender Lace Kits in the JST Online shop but the colours offered – just don’t quite appeal to you? Did you know that you can order the kits in any colour of 40/2 Linen you want? 

When you have put the kit into your cart and you proceed to Checkout – go to the bottom of the page and you’ll see an “Order notes (optional)” box. Let us know in that box that you would like to weave the Lavender Lace kit in Emperor blue – for instance – or choose any colour from our rainbow of 40/2 Linen that calls to you.

English Rose Kit

Lavender Kit

A Few More Linen Kits

Fulford Mist Linen & Silk Scarves
 
For the Advanced Beginner
2/2 Twill Weave

30/2 Bombyx Silk & 40/2 linen

Each kit makes: 2 Scarves

Ganges Sunrise Scarves

1/3, 3/1 Twill Weave

We offer 2 options for this kit!

with 2 JST Exclusive hand-dyed silks
or for more colour options,
with 4 JST Exclusive hand-dyed silks

8/2 cotton in Khaki

We will be discontinuing 8/2 cotton in Khaki shortly as we continue to add new colours to the yarns we carry. If you have a project in mind where you would use Khaki – now is the time to grab the few we have left to add to your stash!

School of Weaving Linen Episodes

We have two lessons where the projects are woven in Linen. If you are new to weaving with linen – those two episodes are certainly worth watching.

Cramming & Denting Season 3 Episode 2

Canvas Weave Season 5 Episode 2

From Our Inbox

We have a real treat for you this week – music and beautiful cloth. Helen Deighan of Hindhead, in the UK, sent this delightful email to From Our Inbox. It’s been a treat to read her email and listen to the song she writes about, as we looked at the stunning Name Draft pieces she has shared with us.

Hi Jane and team,

I thought you might like to see my Name Drafting pieces and also to thank you for a wonderful programme. I have been weaving for a number of years, really just following patterns. I now understand enough to design my own pieces – thanks

In 1969 my husband wrote a song ‘Champs Elysee ‘ It became a huge hit in France and is still very popular today even used by the French football team when they won a big trophy. This song has been part of our lives for over 50 years so I thought I would use it for my Name Drafting exercise, Season 6 episode 5. I just took the letters of the song title. Red, white and blue were not my usual colours of choice but thought they were right for this work. I created three little blocks which will be displayed together for my husband to hang in his studio.

A little bit about the history of the song. It was first written by my husband Michael Deighan with his partner Mike Welsh in 1969. It was called Waterloo Road. It was then taken to France and translated and was recorded by Joe Dassin and became a big hit. If you Google ‘Champs Elysee song’ lots of recordings come up including the original version by Joe Dassin.

Hope you enjoy it.
Helen Deighan

Want to learn more about Name Drafting on Overshot? We have an episode at School of Weaving!

Take me to the episode!
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.
Learn more about the School of Weaving

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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July 11, 2023 newsletter

Limited Edition
Popsicle Tea Towel Kit in Bouclé

We’ve had so much fun designing tea towels using the photos in our current calendar. The colours in the July photo reminded us of popsicles. You start to realize that summer is really here when you see the brightly coloured popsicles lined up in the freezer. You can’t help smiling when you see the children enjoying them with all their drips and happy faces. Some of us have never grown up and we look forward to popsicle season too 😉

Here’s your chance to grab a Limited Edition tea towel kit woven in plain weave with Bouclé cotton as your warp and weft. You’ll discover that Bouclé towels are a “workhorse” in your kitchen and quickly dry anything you “throw” their way. The kit comes with a basic Bouclé Tea Towel PDF, (which was designed with a different colourway). It has all the information you’ll need to create your towels using the colours provided in the Popsicle kit. You’ll also get the information for your warp colour sequence as well as the instructions for weaving 5 towels. The warp will be long enough to weave 9 towels so you’ll have enough left to go crazy designing creations of your own!

Grab a kit now because when they are sold out – they are gone…….

Buy Popsicle Bouclé Kit

JST July Calendar Image

July’s calendar photo gives us a “riot” of colours to choose from to create and weave a stunning summer scarf or ……. let your imagination run away with you 😉 Just picture a few of the colours and yarns below dressing your loom and cheering you on to the finish line 😉
  Starting at the top from left to right:

30/2 Silk Sweet Potato Pie
Venne 8/2 organic cotton Bright Pink
8/2 cotton Fuchsia
8/2 cotton Salmon
8/2 cotton Bleached
8/2 cotton Orange
Zephyr Wool/Silk blend Mythical Pink
Bouclé cotton Hot Pink
Bouclé cotton Lemon

A few more favourite Bouclé kits

We have quite a selection of Bouclé tea towel kits – some woven with only Bouclé like the one featured above or with 8/2 cotton in the warp and Bouclé in the weft. They are fun to weave and handy as appreciated gifts should you need one at the last minute. 

Choose from the always favourite – Granny Pam’s Inspiration Tea Towel Kit or picture a tea towel called Ocean, Country Renaissance or Not Enough Green for Grant – but wait ….. there are more, check them out!

Bouclé Tea Towel Kit – Granny Pam’s Inspiration

Bouclé Tea Towel Kit – Ocean

Bouclé Tea Towel Kit – Country Renaissance Kit

Bouclé Tea Towel Kit – Not Enough Green for Grant

From Our Inbox

PK in New Zealand sent this to us when we asked for submissions to our From Our Inbox. Yes – the same PK that you’ve already seen in this space – we love how she has taken what she’s learned from the School of Weaving and said “What if” …. What she has created with the Parrot sample from Season 2 Episode 5 – Parrot and Fibonacci blows us away!
 
Finished S2 Sample 3 Parrot. As you will see, I really enjoyed this colourway. I kind of went to town with it. Not only did I do two 6 yd warps for both colour way napkins/tea towels, I also opened up the sett and made myself a cotton scarf – this time long enough!

After each lesson I use what I have learned so far to create something in merino (my go-to fibre). So I dyed merino in the 5 similar colours and made a shawl (that I actually sold at the market!!). I called the shawl Amazonia. It has elements of stripes and asymmetry.

I also wove an inlay for a jeans jacket gift I made for a 3 year old. Her fav colours are pink/purple (pinkle) and this gives the jacket its pièce de résistance.

Thanks for the fun and permission granted!

PK
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.
Learn more about the School of Weaving!

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July 4, 2023 newsletter

Celebrating

This has been a busy long weekend in the Northern Hemisphere with a variety of celebrations. Canadians celebrated last Saturday, and our neighbours to the south are celebrating today. However, if that’s not enough celebration, you missed the chance for World UFO Day on Sunday and Plastic Bag Free Day yesterday. 

Since we aren’t sure what colours UFOs are nor do we know what colour to use for the absence of plastic bags…we decided to feature the colours that represent the celebrations in our part of the world.

And therefore – from the photo above – we have featured red, white and blue…

The yarns going clockwise around the photo are:

We’ve also just added 8/2 cotton Blue to our inventory!

Shop Blue 8/2 Cotton

Holly Berry Tea Towel Kit

The Holly Berry Tea Towels are a fun, relaxing project for summer. There are two versions of this kit – one with cotton and the other with cottolin (a 70% cotton/30% linen blend), which, by the way, is a wonderful yarn to weave with. We can also make the kits in any colour, even make it in our new 8/2 cotton ‘blue’. At checkout, add your colours to your order note.

The structures you would weave into these towels are plain weave and Atwater Bronson Lace. 

There is even a bonus hidden inside this pattern – a mini-lesson from Jane on how to design with Bronson Lace that you’ll be able to use when you design your own lace project.

Buy Holly Berry Tea Towel kit in cotton!

Kiki’s Bambu Scarf

While focusing on red in this newsletter – we thought that Kiki’s Bambu Scarf kit would also be a fun red scarf to weave.

Christel Knoth is another talented weaver from Salt Spring – known to all as Kiki. One of her favourite weave structures is Turned Twill, which she used to design these three scarves, woven on the same warp with different weft colours and treadlings.

Buy Kiki’s Bambu Scarf kit

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

This week we are featuring another weaver from the southern hemisphere – an Aussie. Jessica Norris lives in a magical place In Australia called the Southern Highlands. She wanted to share with us the project she took on to reproduce a medieval cloth stored at the V&A Museum in London, England. Enjoy reading about her amazing journey of discovery and the help she was able to find through the School of Weaving that made it possible for her to create this remarkable towel.

Dear Jane and the JST team,

I recently sampled for a project way outside my comfort zone that drew on a bunch of your lessons. I wanted to reproduce a “Perugia towel” (a medieval cloth like the ones in the V and A museum. (e.g. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O123093/towel-unknown/ )

These towels are woven on a linen warp, with cotton pattern weft. The body of the towel is typically point twill or broken diamond twill. After doing the Huck and Twills project (season 5 episode 9) this felt like a familiar idea!

I wound my warp with 2/8 cotton (what I had in stash in white) and used all 12 shafts with a point threading. I watched the Monk’s Belt and Overshot episodes (season 6 episodes 3 and 4) to understand how to do the pattern sections (this is also called Opphämta I think, but I’m still researching the history of the weave to understand how it’s woven on a draw loom).

I used the episode on Block Analysis (season 6 episode 9) to draft some 6-unit block designs and interpreted each unit with two shafts as a simple float. Then I got to weaving!

Discovering how to reproduce the blue repp weave sections on the same warp took experimenting with sett. I ended up opening to 15 epi and using 2/8 cotton over three and four ends to be able to pack the weft down to cover the warp.

The end result looks exactly like the historical towels, and I’m over the moon! This project used so much knowledge I’ve acquired from the online school of weaving that I thought you’d love to know how I’ve applied it!

Attached are pictures of the finished towel sample showing the amazing drape, details of each pattern band, and the cloth from the “good side”. One final note: the middle section with lettering was done with a pick up stick, since I don’t have a draw loom. It was laborious!

Kind regards,
Jess

Jessica Norris | Living Simply in the Southern Highlands
W: simplecraftylife.com

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.
Learn more about the School of Weaving here!

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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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.