Once upon a time I wrote about how to spot a weaver in the wild. The gist of the post, which you can read here, is that the best way to find fellow weavers when out and about is to be visibly a weaver yourself; it offers 4 tips and tricks for doing so. While I didn’t have this article in mind when coming up with the theme and picking content for the Summer 2022 Easy Weaving with Little Looms, the travel-themed issue is the perfect companion to my original post.
Gabi van Tassell’s Summer Breeze Shawl.
As with every issue of Little Looms so far, you’ll find a lovely selection of scarves and shawls for both pin and rigid-heddle looms. What makes the scarves in this issue extra-special, though, is that they all command the knowledgeable viewer to take a closer look. Gabi van Tassell’s Summer Breeze Shawl, for example, features strategically placed 2-color elongated hexagons that will have pin-loom weavers asking about your technique.
Patricia Shaw’s Sunset Scarf.
Meanwhile, Patricia Shaw’s rigid-heddle-woven Sunset Scarf gets its dreamy color-change effect through strategic warping that at second glance makes you want to look closer. Meanwhile, both Anu Bhatia’s Cirrus Scarf and Nancy Peck’s Peekaboo Scarf feature beautiful hand-manipulated patterning (honeycomb and 3/1 lace, respectively) that will have multishaft weavers exclaiming, “You really wove that on a rigid-heddle loom?!”
Anu Bhatia’s Cirrus Scarf.
Adorning yourself in cloth means more than just wearing a wrap—there are also beautiful and useful handwoven bags. Deborah Jarchow’s BYO Bottle Bag (pictured at top) is the perfect bag to take a few bottles of something extra-special to the beach or a picnic, while Christine Jablonski’s Open-Air Market Bags will make you the envy of any fellow weavers at the farmers market.
Open Air Market Bags by Christine Jablonski.
Going beyond scarves and bags, we’ve got some other handwoven travel accessories sure to pique the interest of other weavers. Angela K. Schneider’s clever Road Trip Lanyards, one done with inkle weaving and the other with tablet weaving, are guaranteed to delight weavers and non-weavers alike. Rachel Simmons’ Walk in the Park Leash is a fabulous conversation starter as you explain to fellow weavers in the wild how bandweaving is absolutely possible on a rigid-heddle loom.
Angela K. Schneider’s Road Trip Lanyards. The lanyard on the left was woven using an inkle loom while the one on the right was tablet-woven.
Finally, the best way to make sure folks know that you’re a weaver when out and about is to weave while out and about. When it comes to portable weaving, Little Looms has you covered. In their article “Tapestry Weaving on the Go,” Claudia Chase and Elena Zuyok give tips and tricks for weaving just about anywhere while Jessica Ybarra describes her design process when weaving on frame looms.
There’s so much more to the issue—far more than I could ever hope to cover here—so I do hope you check it out. Whether you want to meet fellow weavers while on vacation, hope to impress at a weaving conference, or are just looking for some new projects to weave while staying close to home, we have got you covered in the Summer 2022 Easy Weaving with Little Looms.
Happy Weaving!
Christina