Welcome to Week Five of our Weaving Inspiration Newsletter. We hope you're all well and enjoying some new creative projects to get stuck into. This week, we're chatting all about joining in tapestry- giving you the tools you need to approach each weaving project a little differently and bring together a few of the techniques which we've already learnt.
We'll also be taking a look at the loom, and seeing what we've been up to this week. Our samples will be available to peruse when we open, but until then, keep an eye on our blog for our weekly At The Loom post. As always, we'll be looking to other weavers for inspiration, and a new recipe awaits you too!
Weaving Inspiration | Joining
This week we're focusing on joining in your tapestry. There's so many different techniques, so we'll introduce you to the fundamental three, and then we can build on them in the weeks to come. Our favourite is the kilim technique!
Kilim is one of the most commonly used joining techniques. It is most effective when you want to weave a geometric shape, with clean edges. The slit can be left open, or sewn up once off the tapestry frame.
Interlocking is a great way to join your colours if you don't want a gap between two rows. It lends itself well to colours which you want to join over a long straight vertical. The join will sit between two warp threads.
Dovetailing involves taking your yarn around the same warp thread every time. It will give you a really strong join, and a slightly serrated effect.
As Spring is upon us, what better way to celebrate than with a luxurious lemon loaf? This is a great recipe as you could swap in lime or orange if you don't have lemons. You could also add poppy seeds, or even a sprinkle of desiccated coconut. This recipe uses sour cream, but we just add a little milk or yoghurt. It's also got lemon thyme in, but we've never used it.
This week, we're inspired by Barbara Rae Peel Sound Ice (detail), a tapestry made by Dovecot Studios. They responded to Rae’s body of work, The Northwest Passage. See more of her work here.
At the loom this week, we've been working with colour and weave, another variant of plain weave, but using alternating colours to give a log cabin pattern. Take a closer look via our blog.
Thank you so much for reading. To stay in touch, you can follow along on Instagram and Facebook, or read our blog throughout the week.
Stay creative, stay safe and stay in touch,
The Loom Room x