This class is for weavers who wish to go beyond repetitive pattern drafts and explore personal imagery and design. Doubleweave is a weaving technique in which the weaver simultaneously weaves two layers of cloth. Reversible patterns and imagery are woven into the cloth, dark-on-light on one side, and light-on-dark on the reverse side. In this class, students will make and thread a linen warp and learn to weave imagery in double cloth. Each student will weave a beginning sampler, then go on to design and weave a small wall hanging.

Marie Westerman’s unique approach to pick-up doubleweave involves the use of a paper drawing, known as a cartoon, instead of graphs and pick-up sticks. Each student will receive individualized assistance to create their own personal designs and weave them into their linen hanging. At the end of the class, finishing options will be presented. Students must have weaving experience and be able to warp a floor loom with minimal supervision.

Although patterned double cloth is often associated with the Scandinavian countries, it is a weave structure used by different cultures around the world, including in Peru and China. One version, called Finnweave, was popular in Norway and used to weave various types of traditional items, both functional and decorative. A weaver must focus and concentrate on design as it’s created, row by row, but the finished work is worth the challenge.

Required Tools

• Paper
• Pencil
• Pen (Sharpie ultra-fine is perfect) 
• Straight pins, about 20, or so
• Scissors
• Large-eye needle
• Two SMALL boat shuttles, if at all possible. Short stick shuttles work, too, but if you have or can borrow SMALL (8”, or so) boat shuttles, please bring them. They work better with our narrow warps than bigger shuttles.

Optional Tools

• Notebook
• Colored pencils