Susan Conover

4-Shaft Weaving with Linen - Susan Conover

Skill level: Beginner to Advanced. It is assumed that newer weavers would be familiar with their equipment and be able to dress their looms.

Class Limit: 16

Materials Fee: $42 Student Supplies:

4-Shaft Floor or table loom with 10-dent or 12-dent reed with a minimum of 10” weaving width; A total of 171 heddles. Shaft 1(56); Shaft 2(53); Shaft 3(30); and Shaft 4(32). The shaft nearest the weaver is Shaft 1. (Please do not mix heddle types per shaft. You may put one type of heddle on one shaft and another type of heddle on another shaft, but the heddle eye height should be the same on all shafts)

• Pair of lease sticks
• 2 dowel rods measuring ½” x 36”
• Wooden temple for 8-1/2” weaving width. Metal temples and clip-on temples are not appropriate for linen weaving
• A linen tester is optional
• Bobbins, quills, or pirns specific to your shuttle (two at most)
• Closed bottom shuttle
• Threading & sleying hooks
• Scissors, tape measure and notebook

This three-day hands-on workshop will bring clarity to weaving linen and understanding the basics of huck lace. Susan will provide participants with a pre-wound Bockens 16/2 Line Linen 3-yard warp, plenty of weft material, and a grosgrain pre-marked ribbon. The project contains 171 warp ends and is 8-1/2” wide on-the-loom. The result being sachet yardage or a sampler woven in eleven huck lace treadling variations.

And yes weavers, we are beaming our warps from back to front on day one! All three days of this engaging class include lectures, PowerPoint shows, and short videos with ample time for questions and plenty of Susan’s handwoven linen goods.

Day One

A 20-minute video on flax processing created by Ernie & Susan Conover; Winding a linen warp via a warping mill video; Beaming a jack loom from back to front, including a video of a trapeze in use; Threading and sleying tips; and Tying on a linen warp.

Day Two

Boat shuttles – why a closed bottom shuttle; Winding a pirn or bobbin successfully (cardboard, plastic, wood, paper); Using a wooden temple; Beating techniques for linen; Creating a guide for consistent weaving; Fixing threading/sleying errors; and an overview on Huck Lace and its many variants.

Day Three

Finish weaving of sampler; Suggested yarn setts for Line Linen Yarns; Laundering linen and storage; Hemming linen; Finishing techniques for sachets; and Bibliography.