Basket Weave - the Shrinkage is REAL

 

The Basket Weave That Shrank, and Learning to Love Negative Space

I'm involved in self-study for the Ontario Handweavers Guild Unit 1. I'm learning a ton, mostly via mistakes. I think this is how I learn in general, but also, how I just learn best. Unit 1 is comprised on the basic weaves including plain weave, basket weave and various twill structures.


The third basic weave is a 2×2 basket weave, and it taught me the most so far.


The first time I tried this sample, I beat it too hard - again...and I didn't fully understand the consequence until I washed it. It shrank the most out of any of my first four weaves. That's the thing about overbeating: the loom doesn't punish you immediately. The wash does. So, this round, I'm paying close attention to the negative space. The negative space is the space between the weave. This time with this sample, I am making sure there actually is some, and, harder still, making sure it's even. That sounds simple written down. It is not. Even negative space across a whole sample is a discipline. I'm slower on the beat, I'm watching my selvedges like a hawk, and I am not the least bit afraid to go back and re-weave a section. I know exactly what happens if I don't.


Before:




After:




Another lesson I had to learn the hard way from my sample-samples, was that looking at them again, I noticed my selvedges were terrible. That is something that will get me bad marks. What was I thinking? Probably just that I really enjoyed the process of weaving. That's all well and good. But I also want fabric that is appealing, not something that looks all chewed up by a puppy on the edges.


Then there is the fiber itself. This is the first time I am weaving with wool. I have been weaving with cotton this entire time. Cotton can be challenging sometimes. But this wool is a whole different level.


I am referring to wool's stickiness which earns its own warning. Wool is grabby — it matters when you warp, obviously, but it bites you mid-weave too. One of my early samples had a small loop on the wrong side where the sticky yarn had snagged during weaving and I hadn't noticed. No bueno. Slowing down is how you catch that before it's woven in for good.


Beginner takeaway: Overbeating hides until the wash, then shows up as shrinkage. Build in even negative space, check the wrong side of your cloth, and respect how sticky wool can be. And the real reward of slowing down: you finally see how beautiful your own weaving can be. You're not a machine, and you were never meant to be one. Quality matters.


Location: Pine, CO 80470, USA

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