Learning the art and craft of weaving

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/03/2018 (3069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On March 6, I attended a sold-out workshop at the Transcona Museum called The Art of Weaving, presented by Kendra Hobbs Manness of Black Thistle Creative.

The evening was relaxing, with participants offered a complimentary glass of wine and good tunes playing in the background.

Weaving has been around since at least 5000 BC. In those days, people used plant fibres, later progressing to cotton, wools, and silks. With the advent of the industrial revolution, weaving evolved from a home-based, labour-intensive activity into a factory process. These days there are craftspeople who have revived the simple forms of weaving to create decorative art.

Weaving is essentially a method of fabric-making in which sets of yarn are interlaced at right angles. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral the weft. The device that holds these yarns is called a loom.

Kendra taught us how to create a woven wall hanging. The loom we used was a simple device made from a picture frame with 20 nails evenly spaced on the top and 20 on the bottom. We used a thin yarn as the basis for the warp, wrapping around the top nail, then around the corresponding bottom nail, and back to the top until we had 20 lengths on both sides of the frame.

First we tried the most basic weave, where you simply take a yarn and pull it horizontally across the warp over one yarn and then under the next. We also learned a few slightly more complicated techniques, such as the double soumak, which gives a braided look. 

For added texture, we tried a technique that gave the effect of raised bubbles using thicker yarns. To finish off the piece, we tied rya knots with lengths of yarn to form a fringed bottom. As a group, we produced some really nice pieces of art. 

The varieties of yarn textures and colours are limitless, and there are many more techniques that can be learned.

Check out Kendra’s Instagram, @blackthistlecreative, or her Facebook page. Kendra will be showing her work at the Moms and Mimosas craft sale at Club Regent on May 5.

Alanna Horejda and Jennifer Maxwell, curator and assistant curator of the Transcona Museum, were on hand to help the participants.

After the success of a recent wreath-making workshop, Alanna brought Kendra on board after seeing her work. Any profits from workshops are funneled back into the museum and the activities bring a new audience to the museum.

The museum will be sponsoring other upcoming events. The next one will be a week-long set of spring break activities for kids, March 26 – 29, featuring a scavenger hunt, games and more.
Still in the planning stages is the 2018 Amazing Race Transcona. Last year 11 teams participated, following clues to locations around Transcona.  

Suzanne Hunter is a community correspondent for Transcona.