This weaving challenge, due January 2027, is to produce the most diverse results from one warp. Whether you use 2, 4, 8 or more shafts: beam one warp, thread a selected draft, and sley a chosen sett. Use tie-up, treadling, and weft choices to make the most pattern, color, and texture differences possible. There is no size limit, and the finished weaving can be one or many pieces.
There are many ways to approach this challenge. Perhaps you’re an experienced and organized weaver who would like a reason to do a multi-shaft, multicolored gamp of a favorite weave structure. Use research and planning to make the grid squares as different as possible. Multi-shaft weavers might also consider blended drafts and parallel weaves as ways to thread a loom for maximum variations.
If you are new to 4 shaft weaving, you might choose to explore a draft from A Handweaver’s Pattern Book by Marguerite Porter Davison. Then, use that threaded warp to try a wide range of treadlings including twills, on opposites, monk’s belt, overshot, honey comb, waffle and lace. Try different wefts, too.
A rigid heddle weaver could thread their loom and dive into a bag of wonderful thrums and scraps for weft. Let color and texture work for you. Throw in some wedge weave, clasp warp, or soumak.
The January 2027 meeting will be for showing our completed projects and discussing how we approached the challenge and what we learned along the way.