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Ancient mayan backstrap loom7/31/2023 I said no and asked if she had any thoughts about the heddle yarn. She saw pictures of my first weaving project politely asked me if I had chosen the heddle yarn myself. Marie Ekstedt Bjersing is a weaving teacher at Sätergläntan center for craft education. My first backstrap weaving project with the hideous nylon heddles. ![]() I accepted that and used the nylon for my heddles. The reason for the nylon material was that it was smooth and wouldn’t catch the warp yarn which would be good for a beginner like me. No, I’m talking about the material: Nylon. And I’m not talking about the bright pink colour, flown in directly from the -80’s. One of the balls of strings was truly hideous. When I got the loom in the mail I found all the things I needed – an array of sticks of different sizes, warping pegs, c-clamps and balls of string for different purposes. So learning backstrap weaving will essentially also teach me how to spin for weaving. In weaving with my handspun yarns I could find what level of fuzziness I could tolerate. The yarn was quite sticky and I didn’t have the flow I expect I would have had with less sticky yarn.Įarlier this year I had a band weaving period and there I realized how different levels of fuzz influence the weaving process. I used a handspun 3-ply from a Härjedal/Åsen crossbred. ![]() ![]() My first finished project woven with my backstrap loom. By trying different yarns I would be able to learn what works and what doesn’t work for a weaving technique where there is a lot of tension and abrasion on the warp threads. One important part of learning backstrap weaving was to use my handspun yarns and find out how to spin suitable yarns for weaving in general and backstrap weaving in particular. She also has instructions on how to make your own backstrap loom. I chose Kimberly Hamill’s course and I will also try one of Laverne Waddington’s for some extra techniques. The courses I have found are made and taught by Kimberly Hamill and Laverne Waddington. At first I didn’t plan to learn backstrap weaving, but when I saw that there were online courses available I realized that I really needed to learn this beautiful technique. The Andean way of spinning and weaving fascinates me, as is the rich textile history and culture in the Andes. I have many nights left of spinning before I’m out of fleece. I still spin every night on my Pushkas before I go to sleep. The fleece I started with was around 2 kilos and there is lots left of it. Simple and complexĪ year ago I started spinning as close as I could to Andean spinning on Peruvian Pushkas. The weaver ties her- or himself into the loom between the near loom bar and the backstrap. In the Andes most backstrap weaving is done warp-faced. ![]() The technique can be used with tablets, a rigid heddle or with string heddles and is still practiced in many parts of the world. I’m weaving a circular warp and the dovetail stick keeps the beginning and the end of the warp together. The thin stick at the top with red silicone bands is a dovetail stick. The beater/sword/machete is used to beat the weft. The heddle rod holds the heddles that lift the lower threads in the shed. These keep the cross in place and helps the weaver find both sheds. The two bars attached together with silicone bands are the rolling bars. The near loom bar is attached to the backstrap around the weaver’s hips and the far loom bar around a tree or post. The building of a Backstrap Loom: On the far ends (which you can’t see) are the near and far loom bars. The weaver builds the loom for every new project. Backstrap weavingīackstrap weaving is an ancient technique where the warp is attached in one end to a weaver and in the other to a solid object like a tree or a post. In this post I share my learning process, my thoughts and my woven projects in the online course in backstrap weaving that I’m taking. The simplicity of the tools together with the complex textiles you can make and the ubiquitous presence and history of textile making all warm my heart. For a long time I have been fascinated by the rich textural culture of the Andes.
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