Yesterday I had my first ever weaving class! It was held in Seibu department store in Ikebukero, on a floor devoted almost entirely to crafty things of everything you can imagine. My friend Chikage had organised the class and we trotted along at 10.30 to learn the gentle art of weaving. The teacher was lovely, but couldn't speak English, so Chikage kindly interpreted and once we'd been shown the ropes, as it were, we were off, weaving away to the piped muzak of the department store, vaguely aware of the shoppers pootling around us.
The loom was very compact and I felt like a giant as I sat hunched over it - in fact I think I have cultivated my hunch a little more since doing the class!
We had an amazing choice of yarns and were allowed to use whatever we wanted. First of all the yarn is loaded onto a bobbin and this would become the weft.
The bobbin is then slotted into the shuttle, and the shuttle is passed through the warp threads that are pulled tight and attached to the loom. It all sounds rather complicated and there was definitely some heavy concentration going on, mainly because you had to use your feet as well as your hands to alternate the warp threads. The hand/foot co-rdintaion took some time to master, but it was very therapeutic once a rhythm was established.
There were some wonderful coloured wools to choose from, but I went for the more subdued tones.
I'm rather pleased with the finished result!
The loom was very compact and I felt like a giant as I sat hunched over it - in fact I think I have cultivated my hunch a little more since doing the class!
We had an amazing choice of yarns and were allowed to use whatever we wanted. First of all the yarn is loaded onto a bobbin and this would become the weft.
The bobbin is then slotted into the shuttle, and the shuttle is passed through the warp threads that are pulled tight and attached to the loom. It all sounds rather complicated and there was definitely some heavy concentration going on, mainly because you had to use your feet as well as your hands to alternate the warp threads. The hand/foot co-rdintaion took some time to master, but it was very therapeutic once a rhythm was established.
There were some wonderful coloured wools to choose from, but I went for the more subdued tones.
I'm rather pleased with the finished result!
