Latest Tablet-Woven Band

Some history here…

So tablet weaving is the first form of weaving I ever learned. It was a class I took at a medical camping event outside the tiny town of Clinton, BC. One of those places that sprang up in the gold rush and still hasn’t changed much. I really enjoy this form of weaving - it has been a popular form of weaving all over the world for over two millennia and a few of us keep it going. Peter Collingwood once referred to tablet weavers as those in an “almost willful pursuit of complexity”. I don’t think he’s wrong.

But having said that, I’ve never tried to reach more than one day of it so the idea of teaching five is a little daunting. The first day will be indigo dyeing for the silk, next day is 5-6th Century Anglo Saxon metal brocade and then I’ve decided to zing a little and do two pieces from the Finnish Iron Age (one 11th and the other 13th Century). Both these bands will teach slightly different techniques but should be a solid basis for the students to explore different types of tablet weaving.

Finnish Iron Age Band

This band I cut off the loom tonight looks a little like historical weaving meets late 1980s airport carpeting but it uses double turns (where some cards are turned 180° while the rest are only turned 90°). I wanted to show the students that these turns give you the option for sharp ends to different angles. Pattern is from the historical Tablet-Woven Treasures book, available here. Great book!

Future Planning

I also booked my flights tonight and mailed off a treasure of dye mushrooms on Thursday so everything is pretty much set. Last thing is I’ll need to weave some brocade samples and then that’s about it. Hard to believe! If the class is a hit I’ll definitely think about coming to teach it again. It’s been many, many hours to develop it, would hate to waste all that effort.