Learning to Weave Shuttle-Free

 

A Five-Color Repeat and Abandoning the Shuttle

I am engaging in a course of self-study for the Ontario Handweavers Guild, Unit 1. Here's a humbling one: I misread the instructions. Was not the first time and probably won't be the last.


The project was plain weave with a five-color repeat. I read "five colors" and ran with it — picked five, wove each one in 3×3 blocks, and felt quite pleased. Except a repeat is a different beast. The point isn't five colors sitting next to each other; it's a repeating sequence that builds a rhythm across the cloth. Lesson one, before any weaving lesson: read the whole instruction, then read it again.


The surprise of this one was a happy one. Carrying five colors meant managing the selvedge, and I made peace with going bobbin-only for three of the five — no shuttle. On an 11-inch warp that's no hardship at all, and I found I didn't miss the shuttle one bit. In fact, it was freeing in a way, to know that I was not tethered to the shuttle after all.

However, I did have to slow down to carry the colors cleanly up the selvedge, but by now you'll notice a theme.


Before:




After:





Beginner takeaway: Read the draft completely before you touch the loom — "five colors" and "five-color repeat" are not the same project. And don't be precious about your tools; sometimes a bare bobbin is the right call.
Location: Pine, CO 80470, USA

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