Five Fantastic Reasons to Learn Weaving

Weaving is all the rage in Broward County because of Sheep Thrills Yarn Shop and our popular weaving classes.  In fact, my crafting buddy has taken up weaving on the rigid heddle loom and she learned the craft during a class at Sheep Thrills.  She absolutely loves it and it’s so exciting to see her finished objects.  Personally, I love seeing how the yarns we use every day for knitting and crochet are combined differently to create an entirely different textile through weaving.

Since Sheep Thrills loves weaving classes and has so much to offer, I thought I would share five fantastic reasons to learn weaving.

1. You’ve probably done it before.  A lot of children learn weaving in school or camp as an easy craft that develops their fine motor skills.  I certainly remember making many of those as a child and I have even made one more recently!  🙂

Have ewe ever woven before?

2. You’re making a different kind of fabric.  As opposed to knitting and crocheting, weaving creates a different kind of fabric with different qualities.  Most of us are familiar with the look of woven fabric.  Perhaps it is most obvious to the eye when you’re looking at a plaid pattern.  Many times the threads cross one another at a 90 degree angle, instead of being looped through one another. This means that weaving creates a fabric with different properties, notably much less stretch if any.  This different type of fabric can be leveraged with your projects.  Hand woven place mats and coasters lie really flat.  Hand woven shawls and scarves can have amazing drape.

3. You can easily combine fibers in unexpected ways.  I have been researching different types of weaving using different looms.  Some examples of looms are cardboard looms, frame looms, and rigid heddle looms.   Depending upon the equipment you choose and the techniques you employ, you can “paint” with yarn.  Think about the ornate woven rugs of various cultures.

4. You’re using different muscles for this craft.  Because I recently had an issue with some wrist pain, I was pleased to know that the craft of weaving uses muscles that are different from the muscles used for knitting and the muscles used for crocheting.  It is great to know that there is yet another fiber craft that I can love and will be a possibility for me if I ever have problems crocheting.

5. You can learn right in Broward County at Sheep Thrills!  The weaving classes are exciting and always full.  We are pleased to have Tamara Poff of Poff Studio as an instructor.  Weaving classes vary in length and Tamara teaches different techniques & different projects in each one.  There is no experience required to take our Introduction to Weaving class and you can use one of our looms for free.  If you love it, you can purchase it at a discount!

So what about you, my friends?  Are you convinced that you’d like to try weaving yet?  What is your weaving experience?  Please leave your thoughts, ideas and questions in the comment section below.