Handwoven

Each issue offers a stunning collection of enticing weaving projects. But the magazine is more than that: it's a pattern book, and weave structure textbook, it's a place to discover original designs, and find solutions to weaving challenges. For over 20 years Handwoven has been an indispensable resource for weavers.

FUTURE THEMES

Handwoven

Letters • Stories, tips, tricks, and questions from Handwoven readers

Favorite Finds • Clever and creative tools to help you warp, weave, and add some whimsy to your studio

To Weave—The Swedish Way

Nature’s Colorways: Conjuring the Chemistry and Culture of Natural Dyes

Traditional Clothing Saved by Love • The creators and original owners of the exquisite Maya clothing on display at Museo Sergio Castro—an unassuming but surprising museum in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico—may well have been early fashionistas of the Americas. Though the traditional Maya clothing, labeled with yellowed and curling paper signs, hangs on rudimentary wood mannequins in a room of cracked and crumbling corn-colored stucco, it’s all part of the charm. The outfits are stunning in their intricacy.

String Yarn • From time to time writers admit to experiencing writer’s block, a condition that leaves them without inspiration and prevents them from putting words to paper. I have known weavers to say that they have sometimes been in a rut and don’t feel motivated to take on a new project. Could this be described as “weaver’s block”? My friend Annie told me the other day that she has two empty looms and shelves of thread but not an inspiring idea in her head. I handed her the latest issue of Handwoven and encouraged her to find something to get her jump-started. I have found that to be the cure that always works.

Best Practices • Many of the problems you encounter while weaving don’t start with the weaving; their origins lie in how you warp the loom. Uneven tension leads to broken threads, among other headaches, and beaming correctly is your chance to get the tension right.

William • If you have visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (or browsed the website), you have probably run across one of the most popular artifacts in its collection, an 8-inch faience hippo from ancient Egypt named William. William was created around 1961–1878 BCE and was unearthed from an Egyptian tomb in 1910. He was donated to the museum in 1917 and has spent the last one-hundred-plus years as one of the Met’s cutest, most beloved exhibits. After admiring William, I had to ask, “What makes William so universally loved, and how can I capture that in pin-loom weaving?”

Pricing Your Handwovens for Sale • Occasionally, I see the question “How much do you sell your [fill in the blank] for?” posed on Facebook weaving group pages. Great question, but I am discouraged by the responses I’ve seen. The disappointing answers range from “I’m just doing this for fun, so I charge what I paid for the yarn” to “I just charge a price that I think will sell.”

Tips from the Pros for Entering Juried Shows • I remember watching the fashion show at the Handweavers Guild of America’s (HGA) Convergence 2012 like it was yesterday. A model walked out wearing my handwoven jacket. As runway lights hit the white silk, it glowed, and I felt that glow all the way down to my toes.

Grand Prismatic Scarf

Mesa Verde Mats

Dunes Scarf

Grand Canyon Ruana

Bulbs in Bloom Shawl

Camper’s Service Cloth

Adventurer’s Sling Bag

Travel Tote

Chicago Classic Table Runner

Threads to the Past

Sister Parish

Ticking-Inspired Linen Towels

Collapse Effects with Energized Yarns • The saying goes that you’re either a color person or a structure person—but I’d like to propose a third category: How about a...