Through lifelong learning I have discovered I am more drawn to functional arts and crafts than fine art, although the distinction is often blurred. I have been fascinated with fabric and textiles for a long time and when combined with an emerging interest in functional repurposing I have come upon weaving. Weaving is basically a way to produce cloth. The longitudinal threads are called the “warp” and the lateral threads are the “weft. There are many forms of weaving and the end result spans the continuum from simple practical function to fine art forms. I recently visited the Tilburg Textile Museum in The Netherlands which is an old modernized functional textile factory. In an exhibit was a simple woven hanging rug made from shiny blue Mylar balloons that gave new meaning to this juxtaposition.
Weavers have been valued craftspeople since the beginning of time. Weaving was and remains a simple yet complex process and a skill handed down from one generation to another or learned through working with a master or coach over many years. Few are self-taught but today the internet probably assists a few brave self-directed souls. The weaving process includes several stages including warping the loom then dressing the loom which includes beaming, winding on, threading the heddles, sleying the reed, tying on to the front tie on bar and tying up the treadles. All of this remains Greek to me and has to happen before you even start preparing your fabric for actual weaving.
I am drawn to functional rag rugs which, historically, were made using old used clothing and any kind of fabric, including flour sacks and burlap feed bags that could be found and/or salvaged. They were mostly made and used by the societal poor in both the city and the country who could not afford or did not have access to factory made fabrics. Today, the traditional rag rug has become a symbol of simple, down to earth cottage or farmhouse living where wood or whitewashed floorboards are adorned with cheerful colored rag rugs in assorted patterns/styles.
As a kid, I remember learning how to make simple woven potholders on a small square pegged metal device using some kind of stretchy polyester loops. As mentioned in a prior article, I spent a month working with a textile master in Thailand last year who taught me the basics of weaving using a very worn table loom on which I produced a set of placements and a table runner. I also mentioned being coached by a Big Stone local who taught me the basics on an old floor loom. I ripped up old sheets and table clothes and sewed the stripes together by hand as I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time and went armed with bags of fabric balls. Ever so slowly I produced two 3 foot rugs using a twill pattern. They are pretty loose and irregular but they were good practice on a floor loom. I smile every time I enter and exit my garage and sliding glass door where I have placed them at the lake house.
This November, I was finally able to take the Rag Rug Weaving Class at the Milan Village Arts School. The teacher, Diana, has been weaving a long time and is skilled in use of different looms, proper fabric selection/preparation and making good pattern choices taking both warp set up and weft color combinations into consideration. The creative choices are endless! I now have a sewing machine, cutting board and rotary cutter which made cutting symmetrical fabric stripes and assembling them much easier and faster. Oh, and Paul helped with the fabric cutting. The small class size was great and, through working with the teacher a few days both before and after the class, I was able to weave 6 nice sized rugs that are symmetrical (technique), tight (proper tension) and color coordinated (good eye). One will go to my historical friend, Christy, one to my niece in San Diego and I will keep the others for the lake house. This experience has made it clear I will need to work with a weaving coach for quite some time. If all goes as planned, I will “come home” and commute to the Milan Loom Room next spring to continue my rag rug weaving adventures. This is just as well as there is no room in the lake house for a loom unless I takeover Paul’s office or reading space…probably not a good idea! 2017