NEWS NEW ENGLAND WEAVERS SEMINAR Smith College, Northhampton, MA
INKLE LOOM WEAVING (1 Day)
No weaving experience necessary! The inkle loom is portable, easy to warp, easy to weave off, and makes beautiful belts and bands. Daryl uses it to trim her garments. Every weaver should own one. They are inexpensive and children as young as third grade can learn to use them. Schacht type Inkle Looms or Ashford Inklette Inkle Looms and yarn will be provided.
Starting with a PowerPoint presentation, participants will learn to make heddles for the loom, follow a draft and warp the inkle loom. Proper techniques for weaving a tight even band with good selvedges will be explained. A more intermediate technique of Inkle Loom Pick-up for interesting design options will also be demonstrated. Participants will be able to finish a small project by the end of the day. Materials Fee
PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR WORK: A CRITIQUE OF PARTICIPANT’S IMAGES
Often handweavers are rejected from exhibits because of the poor quality of their images. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Even if you use a professional photographer, knowing what jurors are looking for will help improve the quality of your final presentation. Using Power Point, the basics of photography, both film and digital will be discussed, as well as composition and lighting, and basic digital image manipulation using Photoshop Elements 4.0®. Lots of images illustrating what NOT to do! In addition, participants will be asked to send examples of their images in film or digital format ahead of the workshop, for critique.
COLOR PLAY AND WARP DESIGN
Through a series of creative exercises, participants will learn to confidently place yarns of different colors and textures together to make beautiful warp combination’s. This is a fun, hands-on class, and participants will be asked to bring a bag of assorted odds and ends of yarns to work with and to share with others. In addition, participants will learn to create palettes using Color-aid blocks and photographs. Based on the Color/Fabric Forecast Column from Handwoven Magazine, participants will experiment with palettes based on mood using photos for inspiration and see illustrations of how to translate them into handwoven fabrics and ultimately a garment.
A SEWER’S PERSPECTIVE: INSTRUCTIONAL TOUR OF THE JURIED FASHION SHOW
An interactive exploration behind the “seams” of the garments from the Fashion Show. You saw them on the runway, now see them up close and inside. Participants will experience a technical critique of garments on display, seeing the inside finishing techniques as well as the outside appearance, and fit. This kind of experience provides the participants with many ideas for finishing, what works and what doesn’t. A terrific “behind the seams” look allowing participants to view first hand, some of the choices used by experienced fiber artists.
WARP FAST: LEARN TO WARP MORE THAN ONE THREAD AT A TIME
Through a series of slides, students will learn about the fast method of sectional warping. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of this production technique. The AVL warping wheel will also be discussed. In addition, use of the inexpensive rigid heddle
warping paddle will be demonstrated. This device allows the weaver to chain warp up to 24 ends at a time. Calculating warps for repeats will also be covered if time permits.
Contact: www.newenglandweaversseminar.com