Author: Karen (56 Articles)

Karen Rester's art comes from the world around her. Karen loves working in collage, acrylic, mixed media and weaving on her loom.

Webster defines a loom as “a frame or machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, the operation being performed by laying lengthwise a series called the warp and weaving in across this other threads called the weft, woof, or filling.” Another definition, which is more  to the point: “A loom is the framework across which threads are stretched for the weaving of cloth.” the warp is the backbone of the weaving structure, choosing a warp is very important to the weaving process, The warp yarns work best if they have certain characteristics. The warps should be fairly smooth and should not have too many slubs or bumps. The warps should be plied yarns with adequate tensile strength, strong enough to withstand a certain amount of weight. Types of warp yarns used in historic times varied depending upon what plants or animals were native to a particular region. Cotton, wool, linen, and silk were favorite warp yarns of our ancestors and are still some of the most popular choices of contemporary weavers. Today’s fiber artists use the same general principles as people during primitive times, for the fundamental aspects of hand weaving have remained unchanged.

It is thought that the first looms, called warp-weighted looms, were vertical structures. The weaver would suspend fibers from a tree branch, which was parallel to the ground, or he might fashion a vertical loom using tree limbs and branches. Warp ends were tied over the top branch and were then placed under tension with stones or weights made of baked clay. Initially, weaving was accomplished by walking back and forth in front of the loom, lifting one warp thread at a time, and passing the weft under and over the warps from side-to-side. Working against gravity, wefts were pushed up into place with the weaver’s hands or with a crude comb. Since every warp thread had to be lifted by hand, the process was slow and tedious. In time, a large tapered stick was introduced and was used to carry the weft across the warp and to push, or beat, the threads up into place. Early on, this stick resembled an over-sized needle, but ultimately, it became the shuttle, a tapered device on which weft yarn is wound and which passes between warp threads.

The foot-treadle loom came about after many years of development and exploration. This loom employed a pulley and lever system and the slot-and-eye heddle system giving a clear shed and freeing up the weaver’s hands. Generally, weavers today prefer floor looms containing foot treadles, which can rise and lower warp threads at will. With the creation of the floor loom, the shuttle carrying the weft threads could now be passed back and forth across the warp without interruption.

The looms used by weavers today have some “modern” adaptations but all in all they are very much like the looms of old.