Fabric&Fibers:Weaving

Weavingismakingfabricbybringingonesetofthreadscalledthewe)throughanothersetcalledthewarp.

Warp

We<

Warp

ThisisasimpleRigidHeddleLoom

Wheredoyouthinktheheddleis?

WeavingisdoneonaLoom

Weavingthetwosetsofthreadsclosetogethermakesstrongfabricthatisgoodforblankets,coatsorbags.

Weavingthetwosetsofthreadsfurtherapartmakesso<erfabricwhichcandrapeandisgoodforscarvesorcurtains.

Basket

ThisisabasketmadebyJoeHoganinGalway.Basketmakersalsoweaveexcepttheyusewillow.

Wearegoingtolearnfournewthingstohelpusweaveaminifield

howtomaketheloomhowtostarttoweavehowtochangecoloursoraddmorewoolhowtoadddecoraIon

Thinkaboutfields

Thinkaboutfields!

Whatdoweusuallyseeinandaroundfields?Whatdoweusuallyseeinandaroundfields?

Animals Crops Houses

Flowers Hedges Rivers

Whatwillyourminifieldlooklike?RecordyourideasthroughdrawingandwriIngWhatcolourswillyouuse?Willyouusewoolorfabricstripsorsomethingelse?WhatdecoraIonscanyoufindathometoinclude?

CollectMaterials

CrochetthreadEmbroiderythread

FeathersSequinsBeads

SparklystringCutupfabricPiecesoffelt

Woolfibers(fluffy)Paper

Foundobjects

Materials

wool(tomakethewarp)

strongcardboard

ruler

pencilorpen

scissorsforkorwidecomb

largetapestryneedle

MakeyourownLoom

Step1 Step2

Howtomaketheloom

Step3 Step4

Step1 Step2

Howtostarttoweave

Step3

Remember

TakeyourIme,cra<speoplespendyearslearningtheircra<.

ThisisyourfirstIme!

ThemoreyoupracIcetheeasierinbecomes.

Couldyoushowsomeoneathomehowtoweave?

Howtochangecolours

Step1 Step2

Howtochangecolours

Step3 Step4

Feathers PomPoms

HowtoadddecoraIon

Sequins Fabricorribbon

Finishinganddisplayingyourweaving

Takingtheweavingofftheloom

Finishinglooseends

Whatcanyouseeinmyminifield?

Thisloomcanbeusedagain.Istheresomethingelseyoucouldweave?Howwouldyoumakeabiggerproject?Whatwillyoumakenext?Don’tforgettokeeparecordofyourideas!

Reflect&Respond

WorkshopDesign:DorindaMcCormackEditedby:CarrieLynamProgrammeofCCoIEducaIonDept.2012/13www.learncra<design.ie

Slide1OverviewThistutorialwillprovideyourclasswiththebasicsinweavingusingacardboardloom.Notonlywilltheylearnhowtomakealoombuttheskillslearnedcanbebuiltuponinfutureprojects.Theywilllearnhowtosettheloom,howtodosimpleweaving,howtochangecolourandhowtoadddecoraIonwithintheweaving.ThelessonisveryusefulfordevelopingfinemotorskillswithoutbeingtoodelicateorfineandtheloomcanbeadaptedtohavemorespacebetweenthethreadsforyoungerchildrenorthosewhoyouknowmayencounterdifficulIes.Dura?onThislessonshouldtaketwohoursbutthereisflexibilitywithinthat.ThestudentswillhavetousetheweavingskillstheylearntocreateaminifieldsothisprovidesyouwithtwoopIons.a)  talkaboutthethemeofdesigningaminifieldbeforelearningtheskillsandthengoingthrougheachstepwiththem(youdoinga

demonstraIonandthepupilsfollowingbuttotheirowndesign)b)  splitthelessonintotwoparts,lessononebeingtheskillsandlessontwomakingyourowndesigni.e.minifield.

HealthandSafetyThestudentswillbeusingscissors,tapestryneedles(whicharequiteblunt)andafork.Thestandardhealthandsafetyproceduresthatyouusewithanyartlessonwillbesufficientbutaswithanygroupofchildrentherewillalwaysbesomewhoneedalialeextrasupervision.Curriculum/Integra?onThislessonwillIeinnicelywithhistory(howclothwasmadeinthepast,theindustrialrevoluIon),geography(theshapeoffieldsandecology)andmaths(calculaIngthesizeoftheloomandmeasuringthespacesbetweenthethreads).Orallanguageskillscanbedevelopedbyaskingthechildrentodescribetheirfinishedpieces,theirinspiraIonandhowtheythinktheirworkshouldbedisplayedorused.

AgeRangeThelessonshouldbesuitableforchildrenfromthirdclassandolder.Agoodsecondclassmaybeabletomanageitiftheloomisadaptedtohavewiderspacesbetweenthethreads.TheweavingcanbemademorecomplicatedforacompetentgroupofolderchildrenanditisanexcellentacIvitytohaveonstand‐bya<erwardsforearlyfinishers.MaterialsNeededThematerialsneededmaybeinyourartboxalready.Ifnottheyareeasilysourcedandthechildrenmayhavesomeofthemathome.Strongcardboard(Iusedthecardenvelopesforphotos.Theycanbeusedagainiftheweavingisremovedcarefullyattheendoftheproject)WoolTapestryneedle(thesecanbemetalorplasIc)Ruler,pen/pencilandscissorsFork(topackdowntheweaving)Extramaterialstodecoratetheweaving:embroiderythread,sequins,feathers,pompoms,fabricstripsorribbon,woolfibre,wrappingstringetc

Slide2Fabric–thiscanalsobecalledmaterialorclothWe<–thesearethethreadsthatgofromsidetosideWarp–thesethreadsgofromtoptoboaomandareusuallyalialestrongerthanthewe<threads.Loom–thisisthemachine/toolusedtoweave.Theycanvaryinsizefromsmallenoughtoholdinyourhandtobigenoughtofillaroom.Mostnonindustrial/largescalehandweaverswillhaveeitherarigidheddleloomoraloomwith4to8sha<s.Thesearesmallenoughtouseathomewithoutneedingaroomoftheirown!PegloomsandweavingsIcksareotheropIonsforweavinglessonswithchildren.Asimpleweaveiscalledatabbyweaveanditmeansthatthethreadsgounder,over,under,overfromonesidetothenextandthendotheoppositeonthewayback.Becauseitissosimple,varietycanbeaddedbychangingcoloursorusingdifferenttexturesofwoole.g.Achunky/bobblywoolandasmooth,finewool

Slide3Warp,We<

Slide4Loom–thisisthemachine/toolusedtoweave.Theycanvaryinsizefromsmallenoughtoholdinyourhandtobigenoughtofillaroom.Mostnonindustrial/largescalehandweaverswillhaveeitherarigidheddleloomoraloomwith4to8sha<s.Thesearesmallenoughtouseathomewithoutneedingaroomoftheirown!Theheddleisthepieceatthebackofthepicturewiththethreadsgoingthroughit.ItisdividedbyplasIcstripswith‘gaps’betweenthestripsand‘holes’inthestrips.Whenyouli<theheddlethethreadsintheholesareraisedupandwhenyoulowertheheddlethesethreadsgodown.Thiscreatesspace(calledashed)fortheshualetopassthrough.Theshualeisthepieceofwoodinthecentreofthepicturewiththewoolwoundaroundit.A<ereachrowisdone,theheddleisusedtopushthewoolintoplace(justasyouwillusetheforklaterinthelesson).

Slide5Whenthewarpthreadsareclosetogetherandthewe<threadsarecloselypackedin.Therearenogapsandthefabricisstronger.Inthisexamplethewarpthreadsarenavyandthewe<threadisvariegated,causingastripeeffect.AskingQues?onsAsktheclasswhyitisimportanttohavestrongfabricforcoatsandbagsandblankets?

Slide6Herethewarpandwe<threadsarelotsofdifferentcolours.Therearelargespacesbetweenthem.DrapemeansthatthefabricisnotsIff,itwillhanginnicefolds(likeascarfwould)andcanbeabit‘floaty’.AskingQues?onsAskthechildrentoimagingascarfmadefromdenimandwhetherithasgooddrape.

Slide7BasketMakingAskingQues?onsDoyouhavebasketsathome?Whataretheymadefrom?AretheyfuncIonalordecoraIve?

Slide8Thechildrenwillneedtoknowthesebasicsofweavingbeforetheymaketheirownfield.Youmaywanttotreatthislessonasawaytolearnthebasicsbeforelejngthemoffontheirowndesigns.Ifnot,theeasiestthingtodoislookoverthebasicsfirstyourselfbeforepresenIngthelessonandthenhelp/advisethechildrenonhowtousethetechniquestocreateaneffecte.g.Changingcolourcanbeusedtomakeastreaminthefield,toshowthestripedeffectofaploughedfieldetcAddingdecoraIoncanalsobeusedthiswaye.g.addingablueribboncouldbeariver,addingafeathercouldshowchickens,addingwoolfibrecouldmeansheep.

Slide9GivethechildrenImetothinkaboutthefieldstheyknowortheirideaofwhatafieldmight/shouldhave.

Theycanjotitdown,do‘think,pair,share’orageneralbrainstormwithyou.Slide10TheseareonlysuggesIons.Lettheclasscomeupwithideasfirst.ThenrevealthedifferentsuggesIonshereonebyone.ShowvisualsHaveatablewithwools,threads,etcatthetopoftheclasssostudentscanstarttovisualizethematerialtheywillbeusing.(SeeSlide13)Exampleofabrainstormsession.Astudentsuggeststheysee‘’animals’’inafield,askthemwhatkind,iftheysay‘’sheep’’forexapmle,askthemwhatkindofmaterial,colour,texturewouldtheyusetorepresentsheep.

Slide11Encouragethestudentstodesign.Itisimportanttopromotethatchildrenkeeparecordoftheirideasandtheprocess.Thismeansthattheycanreferbackandseehowtheymadetheirdecisionsandthinkaboutwaystochangeorimprovetheirdesigninthefuture.Theplanningstagealsohelpsthemtothinkaboutthematerialstheywillneedandhowtheywanttousetheminadvance.

Slide12MaterialscrochetthreadembroiderythreadFeatherspompomssequinsChristmassparklystringcutupfabric(youcoulduseribbonorrecycleclothesespeciallyt‐shirts)oldfeltshapesandwoolfibreYoucouldalsousebeadsorfoundobjectse.g.acorncups(punch/drillaholeinthem),Issuepaperetc.Letthechildrenexploredifferentmaterialsthatmaybeintheartboxanddiscussiftheythinkitcouldbeused.Theymayalsosuggestthingtheyhaveathomeforfurtherprojects.

Slide13Iusedasmallcardboardenvelopandthencutitdownfurthertosize.Haveanideaaboutthefinishedsizeofyourpiece.Minewas7cmby12cmwhenfinished(offtheloom).Theworkingareaontheloomwas8cmx13cmsoyoucanseetherewillbealialebitofshrinkagewhentheworkcomesofftheloom.

Slide14Loom–thisisthemachine/toolusedtoweave.Theycanvaryinsizefromsmallenoughtoholdinyourhandtobigenoughtofillaroom.Mostnonindustrial/largescalehandweaverswillhaveeitherarigidheddleloomoraloomwith4to8sha<s.Thesearesmallenoughtouseathomewithoutneedingaroomoftheirown!

Slide15Step1:Measurein1cmfromtheedgeatthetopandboTomofthecardboardanddrawaline.Step2:Decideonthewidthofyourpieceandcentreitonthecard.(Ichoose8cm).MarkoffthelineatthetopandboTomin0.5cmintervals.Cutstraightlinesdowntothesemarks.

Slide16Step3:Chooseyourwool(donotcutityet)andwinditoncearoundthefirstlargetab.Thenbringthewooldownfromthetop(atfrontofloom)andwrapitaroundthefirstsmallboaomtab(goingfromthefronttotheback,aroundthetabandthenouttothefrontagain).Bringthewooluptothetopandwrapitaroundthefirstsmalltabinthesameway.ConInueinthiswayunIlyougettothelastlargetabattheboaom.Wrapthewoolaroundthisonceandnowyoucancutthewool.Becarefulnottopullthewooltoo?ghtandtomakesureitgoesrightdownintothelinesyouhavecutStep4:Tocheckifyourwooliswrappedtherightway,lookattheback.Itshouldlooklikethis.

Slide16Step1:Cutapieceofwoolaslongasyourarmspan.(Forbeginnersifyouuseapiecelongerthanthisit’sinclinedtogetknoaed).Threadthewoolthroughtheneedleandbegintoweaveitthroughtheloomgoingunder,over,under,over,pulltheneedle,under,over,under,over,pulltheneedlerighttotheend.Ifyoudon’tpulltheneedlethrougheverynowandthenitwontbelongenoughtogofromonesidetotheother.Step2:Onceyouhavegonetotheotherside,pullthewoolgentlyunIlthereisanendofapprox5cmle<andthenstop.Usetheprongsoftheforktogentlypushthewooldowntotheline.

Slide17Step3:Youcanuseyourfingerstoweaveinthe5cmlooseendmakingsurethisImetogoover,under.Thiswillmakeyourworksecure.It’soktogoonethreadataImeConInueweavingeachlinemakingsuretousetheoppositepaaernforeachline.Whenyougettotheendofaline.PullthewoolthroughunIlitlookslikethepicturethenusetheforktopushitdown.Usingtheoppositepaaernmeansthatifyouwentoverathreadoneline,yougounderitinthenextline.It’sreallyimportanttodothis.

NotesBecarefulnottopullthewooltooIghtlyorworkwillgetskinnier!Alsoifyouleaveittoolooseitwon’thaveaniceshapeattheedgeswhenyou’refinished.It’soktounpickalineanddoitagainifyoumakeamistake.Encourageandreasurestudentsiftheyarefindingithardtomasteritatfirst.RecallaImewhentherewassomethingtheycouldnotdothattheynowfindsimple.

Slide16NoteWhenyouneedtochangeacolourorwhenyourunoutofwoolandneedtoaddmore–thesameprocedureapplies.Step1:Itseasiertochangeoraddattheendofaline.InthispictureIhadjustenoughtofinishthepreviouslinebutnotenoughtodoanother.Step2:Takethewooloutoftheneedleanduseyourfingerstoweavetheendthrough.It’soktogoonethreadataIme(butremembertoweaveintheoppositewayagain!)

Slide17Step3:Cutanewpieceofwoolandthreadyourneedle.BegintoweaveatthestartofthelinefollowingthesamepaaernasthelialeendandpullthewoolthroughunIlitoverlapsyourlastpiecebyatleast3to4cm.Step4:ConInueweavingasnormal,pushingthewoolintoplacewiththeforka<ereachrow/line.Youcanseehowtheendsoftheoldandnewcolourwillblendinnicely.

Slide18Feathers:Thesearegreatforweavingin–usethe‘quill’endasifitwereyourneedle,weavingfromonesidetothenext.Whenyougettotheend,conInuethenextlinewithyourwoolandneedlemakingsuretofollowthe‘oppositepaaern’.PomPoms:Whenyougettotheplaceyouwanttoputyourpompomstop,threadthewoolthroughit,pullthewoolrightthroughthepompomandthenconInuetheweaving.

Slide19Slide20

Slide19Sequins:Theseareputinthesamewayasthepompoms.Whenyougettotheplaceyouwanttoputyoursequinstop,threadthewoolthroughit,pullthewoolrightthroughthesequinandthenconInuetheweaving.Ribbon/Fabricstrips:Ifinditeasiesttotakethewooloutoftheneedle,threadtheribbon/fabricthroughitandthenweavetheline.Thenre‐threadyourneedleandconInueweavingwiththewool,rememberingtofollowthe’oppositepaaern’.

Slide20Finishingofftheweavingisjustasimportantastheweavingitselfanditneedstobedonecarefullysothatallyourhardworkwilllastandlooklovely!

Slide21Onceyouhavewoveninasmuchwoolasyoucan,itisImetotaketheworkofftheloom.Tidyoffyourfinalendaswedidwhenwewerechangingcolours.Itwillbeeasiertotaketheworkoffifyouputaveryslightcurve/bendinthecard.Youngerchildrenmayneedassistance.Gentlyli<thewoolloopsoffthecardboardtabs.Dothisslowlyandcarefullyandyou’llbeabletousetheloomagain.Whentheworkisofftheloomcompletely,therewillbelialewoolloopsle<atthetopandboaombutifyousmooththeweavingoutgently,theseloopswillbefilled.

Slide22Nowyouwillhavetheendsatthestartandfinishoftheloomle<andtheseneedtobetakencareofcarefullysothatourworkdoesn’tunravel.NoteTakeyour?mewiththisnextstep.Threadtheendthroughtheneedleandworkingfromoneendtothenext,bringtheneedlethrougheachloopfromtoptoboaom.Whenyougettotheendtherewillbesomewool.

Slide23LookingAc?vityIhaveariverwithaswaninit,aploughedpartwithsomeseedsandsomeivyinthehedgeattheend.Thechildrenmayseeotherthings–they’refreetoputanyinterpretaIononit–it’sintheeyeofthebeholderastheysay!

Slide24DisplayIdeas•  IthoughtthatmyweavinglookednicestonitssideandIcouldputitinapictureframeinthisposiIon.•  AnotheropIonistomakealialewallhangingoutofitbyaaachingittoalollipopsIckoratwig.•  Ifyourchildrenmakelotsofdifferentfieldsyoucouldarrangethem/pinthemonthenoIceboardtolooklikeahugelandscapeor

likethecloakfromthestoryofSt.Brigid

Slide25Someideasforthefuture:Remembertogetthechildrentothinkthroughthedesignprocess,tokeeprecordsandtouseathemeorsomethingforinspiraIon.SomeImes(forahardchallengeonceinawhile)it’sinteresIngtoseewhattheycancomeupwithwhentheyarelimitede.g.What’sthemostinteresIng/adventurousyoucanbewhenyoucanonlyusetwocoloursandtwotypesofdecoraIon?BookmarkersCoastersMiniWallhangingsorlargewallhangings(usealargerpieceofcard)Sewpiecestogethertomakeacushion

Slide26ItisimportanttoallocateImeattheendofthemakingprocesstoreflectonwhathasbeenaccomplished.Createatemporaryclassroomgallerybylayingalltheworkoutonatableandgatheringtheclassaround.AskthemquesIonsabouttheprocess.Suchas..Ifyouhadtodescribetosomeonewhowasabsenttodayhowyoumadethiscouldyou?Askthemtodemonstrate.Wasthereapartoftheprocessyoufoundmoredifficult?Didanyonefindithardatfirstthengetthehangofit?Howdidyoufigureitout?Whatelsecouldyoumakefromwire?Thechildrenwilldirectthediscussionwiththeirresponses.Discusshowcra<makersspendyearspracIcingtobecomehighlyskilled.Explaintothemthattheyaretryingcra<swithnewmaterialsforthefirstImeandtobeproudoftheiraccomplishments!