Gather Textiles Project Blog

"A Tactile Notion"
A collaboration between
Kim McCollum and Brianna Tosswill

Being a maker around the holidays is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s the perfect opportunity to share your weaving with family and friends. Nothing beats a handmade gift. On the other hand, we often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make perfect, individual gifts and end up spending our Decembers in overdrive trying to get it all done.

I’m sure you have specific projects in mind for the holidays, and specific colour requests, wool allergies, and scarf preferences to work around. So I’m not going to tell you what to weave. What I will do, though, is offer some strategies for making it to your family gathering without weaving yourself into a repetitive strain injury.

One item, many variations. Save yourself time spent on loom dressing and project planning by making everyone variations on the same item. Giving everyone a different colour of the Spring Bloom Tea Towel, or using striping variations on the Seaside Tea Towels pattern lets each of your loved ones take something home knowing that the rest of the family is carrying a piece of the same thing. It’s a beautiful way to connect our homes when we can’t always open our doors to each other. For a smaller group--say, siblings or a few best friends--you might be able to make a more ambitious project like matching table runners. 

Business in the warp, party in the weft. If you have too many different tastes and styles on your list to give everyone the same item, you can still make your holiday weaving efficient by planning to make multiple items on the same warp. To pull this off, keep the warp simple (say, 26” wide of natural 8/2 cotton) and use a threading like straight draw or rosepath that gives you plenty of treadling options. Then use your weft choices to make each item stand out. A white bamboo throw for your minimalist vegan niece, a holiday table runner with cheerful contrasting stripes for your sister, a classic navy alpaca scarf for that father-in-law you never know what to buy for… with a blank canvas of a warp, the possibilities are endless.

Small projects, small loom. I can’t let a post go by without singing the praises of rigid heddle looms. A Flip or a Cricket lets you warp and get weaving within an hour or two, and produce a finished product in a weekend. If your floor loom is often tied up in long projects, a small secondary loom for quick gifts might be a fun investment. If your primary loom is a rigid heddle, count the remaining weeks and try to plan one gift per weekend until your list is covered. Changing up the colour scheme on our Fall Checks Scarf could give it an icy blue glow or a cheery holiday vibe.

Give the gift of choice. I know, I know. A lot of people are big on surprises. But if you know anyone who likes to call all the shots, why not give them a scarf gift certificate and get them involved in project planning? As a bonus, you can go yarn shopping together. Best of all, it frees up your pre-holiday time, and gives you a project to look forward to in January when your loom is naked.

Gather Gift Cards

Making holiday gifts with Gather yarn? Be sure to tag @gathertextiles on instagram so that we can share your creations in our stories

When you combine opposites, sometimes you get the best of both worlds. This scarf has a cottolin warp and an alpaca weft. Cottolin lends structure and sheen to the piece while light-as-air alpaca adds softness. The result is an elegant scarf with great drape that is surprisingly light for how much warmth it provides. Designed in soothing colours that remind us of dark sky over a quiet desert, this scarf adds a touch of grace and calm to your winter wardrobe. 

Finding unexpectedly perfect fibre combinations like this is part of what keeps us weaving. It’s always a bit of a surprise to see and feel the cloth that emerges after wet finishing. In this case, we hit the yarn combo jackpot. Light and warm, strong and soft… and absolutely delicious to wear.

Drape is one of those qualities that weavers obsess over, but that is hard to put into words. If you slowly lower a scarf onto a table, one with great drape folds into a slinky puddle. It melts around your neck and over your shoulders. To really know the drape of a piece you have to get your hands on it.  You know great drape when you feel it. And this scarf has great drape.

The Evening Sky Scarf is available as a kit, as well as a PDF pattern download. We also have pre-made warps available for this project!

There is so much to love about this scarf. Herringbone is an absolutely classic weave structure. Its clean, simple lines are perfect for showing off beautiful colours and textures in your weaving yarn. This scarf will make a perfect holiday gift for all genders and ages, or a perfect gift for yourself to stay cozy warm this winter.

This scarf kit features alpaca yarn. Alpaca is warm, durable, and (most importantly) luxuriously soft! If you haven’t woven with alpaca before, you are in for a treat. I have woven several alpaca projects this fall, and whenever I have the chance to hand a finished alpaca piece to someone in person, they immediately want to smoosh their face in it.  It still has a slight animal fibre tickle, but that comes along with incredible loft, a fuzzy halo, and really ridiculous touchable softness. Alpaca is like nothing else.

I’ve sett this project at 14 ends per inch to provide a comforting weight without sacrificing loft and softness. This is a scarf that will absolutely stand up to a frigid prairie winter! This is a great project for beginner weavers looking for a “next step” project. The threading is somewhat more complicated than a straight draw, but once you have it set up and sleyed, the treadling is simple as can be. A little extra work in the threading gives a polished, beautiful end result. 

On a sunny Fall afternoon in Boyle-McCauley, new weavers showed off the fruit of their day’s labour. A mom and daughter had made matching placemats for their home, each in their own favourite colour. A young woman, away from her toddlers for the first time since the Covid lockdown in March, had woven a rainbow scarf. And best of all, the social butterfly of the group held up “Rascal’s Blanket”, a new sleeping mat for her beloved cat. 

Rascal's Blanket.

This was our first community weaving workshop. By partnering with anti-poverty organization E4C, we were able to make it free for participants. Social Work students from MacEwan ran around, assembling an outdoor tent and making sure that everyone had snacks, masks, and hand sanitizer. Community members drifted in and out. Some said hello, some stayed for a banana and a chat, and a few settled in and joined the weaving. 

In many ways, it was like any other workshop. Weavers made new friends. They drifted back and forth between periods of relaxed chatting and periods of intense focus. Frustrations surfaced; victories were celebrated. But in many ways our workshop was different. Across the alleyway at McCauley Apartments, MLA Janis Irwin was holding an informal town hall meeting to hear the neighbourhood’s concerns about potential cuts to AISH. Most of the weavers wrapped up their projects a bit early so that they could talk to her about their fears and their financial stresses. The windows of Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples looked over the scene, still blackened with smoke from a devastating fire. Our comfortable space of creative community was not separate from the hardships faced by so many Edmontonians.

E4C came up with the brilliant idea of using a tent to provide shelter while minimizing Covid risk.

The benefits of weaving feel particularly relevant to share in this setting. Weaving is therapeutic. It requires focus, and connection between your mind and your body. In an overwhelming time, it opens up a space of calm. It also gives us a chance to express our simplest and deepest loves--love for the cat who gets a new sleeping mat, for the home that will be decorated with our handiwork, or love for ourselves when we are too used to running ragged caring for everyone else. The pride and satisfaction that comes from making something tactile, useful, and beautiful is profound. You could see it beaming from everyone’s face.

Weaving is for everyone. It is a universal form of craft, but access to it is far from universal. Looms take up space. They cost money. And breaking into Edmonton’s weaving scene can feel daunting. A big part of why I’m excited to be the newest member of Gather’s team is the Gather’s welcoming vibe. Kim and Angela are always thinking about to help new weavers and sewists feel comfortable, confident, and supported in their creativity. By removing financial barriers to weaving through accessible workshops, together we can extend that welcome beyond the walls of our studio. 

Our first community workshop was such an uplifting experience that I am very certain it won’t be our last. We will keep building relationships and reaching out to new collaborators to find ways to really and truly make weaving for everyone. 

Introducing our latest rigid heddle pattern and kit: the Fall Checks Infinity Scarf! This scarf is perfect for days when the leaves are falling and the wind is starting to have a chill. Made from 100% cotton, it is comfortable and warm while still being light enough for sunny autumn walks. Slub cotton gives it a rustic, textured look and feel. You can sew your finished piece into an infinity scarf, as shown, or add fringe to the ends and make a conventional scarf. Either way, you’ll have a pop of colour and a comforting warmth to brighten up your days. 

When we started getting more into rigid heddle weaving, we looked around for beautiful yarn that weaves well on rigid heddle looms. We ended up bringing in two fabulous yarns from Gist Yarn and Fibre: Duet and Mallo. 

Mallo (right) has a slubby texture that contrasts beautifully with smooth 8/4 cotton (left).

This project features Mallo, which is a cotton yarn with “slubs”. So what are slubs, other than being a really fun weaving term to say? Slubs are wider sections of the yarn where it is plied together more loosely. Slubby yarn has a gentle thick-and-thin texture. And Mallo has just about the prettiest slubs you’ll ever see. 

Slubby yarn like Mallo is a great option to add to your rigid heddle toolkit. It gives plain weave pieces body and texture. This adds visual interest, and also makes pieces that are snuggly to wear and feel amazing. 

Different textures play together in the finished piece.

I designed this pattern with the beginner in mind. If you’ve never woven with slubby yarn before, the check pattern will let you see how it looks in the warp, in the weft, and when both cross. Hopefully this builds your confidence to experiment with adding texture to your own designs. 

The Fall Checks Scarf is also part of Gather’s love of combining weaving and sewing. (To hear Kim and Angela talk more about this, check out the Weave Podcast!) By connecting the scarf with a flat-felled seam, you can up your sewing game and learn a new finishing technique. Or you can find a sewist in your network and collaborate on the project--I weave, you sew. Combining skills and working together makes craft more fun. 

As fall settles in, we hope you stay warm and keep creating!

Dani has been doing lots of sewing 1:1 teaching lately. Here these two sewed the cutest little cardigan for a special photo shoot. 

Weaving and sewing are often seen as solitary pursuits--we sit alone at the loom or the sewing machine, working quietly and intently on the textile work in our hands. While we do love our quiet crafting time, anyone who weaves or sews also knows how important our connections with other people are. We look back at the people who have built our textile traditions over the generations, and we share our excitement with newcomers to our crafts. We gather together in workshops and guilds, consult friends and experts, and gleefully share the fruits of our labour with other people. Collaboration is at the heart of craft.

Collaboration is also at the heart of Gather. We were founded when Kim, a weaver, and Angela, a sewist, joined forces to create a place where they could combine their expertise and share love and knowledge of both their passions. This is seen most clearly in our Weave and Sew workshops, where Kim helps participants weave their own cloth and Angela shows them how to incorporate that weaving into a sewing project. They also work together on intricate textile projects, like the stunning handwoven coat they co-created for the Alberta Craft Council. Collaboration runs through all of Gather from projects and workshops down to the details of running a business. If you haven’t already heard the story of Kim and Angela’s partnership, check out their recent episode of the Weave Podcast! Working together on the business makes it both more resilient and more fun.

Sarah is cutting into her handwoven fabric with the encouragement of Angela

One of the benefits of collaboration is that it gives us courage to take creative risks. Cutting into a handwoven piece of fabric to sew with it is terrifying, but knowing that Angela has taken the time to do test runs, make a muslin, and tweak the pattern to perfection takes (most of) the fear out of putting scissors to fabric. Collaboration also encourages us to keep learning and stay open-minded. Weaving might feel overwhelming to a master sewist, and vice versa. When we stretch ourselves to incorporate other skills and the input of other people, we spark our creative fire.

Now, in some ways 2020 is a terrible year to emphasize collaboration. How do we collaborate when we can’t be within six feet of each other? But in other ways, 2020 is the perfect year to focus on how we can work together, lift each other up, and grow as a community. Now more than ever, we know that we can’t do this alone.

So how is Gather rising to the challenge of collaboration during Covid? We are working on creative ways to connect across distance, like our brand new online course. We are making sure our workshops are small and safe, so that in-person collaboration can continue to thrive. We are building a staff of enthusiastic collaborators who each bring their own superpowers to the table. And of course we are still hearing from all of you about your ideas and schemes, and supporting you as you bring them to life!

We’re also reaching outside of our doors to connect with other inspirational collaborators. We recently began stocking Duet and Mallo, two beautiful yarns developed by Gist Yarn and Fibres in collaboration with people working in the North American textile supply chain. We are connecting with community organizations like E4C to provide accessible weaving workshops to residents of the Boyle-McCauley neighbourhood. I am sure by 2021 we will have even more exciting new projects to share with you!

Darlene (with book) has been working 1:1 with Shannon for the past several months. Together they design drafts, wind warps and weave. Shannon brings a wealth of weaving expertise and Darlene brings a great eye for colour and an infectious enthusiasm!

So thank you for being our collaborators. Thank you for being part of our community of crafty people, and for sharing your joy and creativity. We’ll be telling our stories of collaboration on the blog over the next few months. We’d also love to hear how collaboration is part of your own craft practice! If you have a story to share, drop us a line any time at info@gather.com. We are so grateful that none of us has to do this alone.

One of the coolest things about weaving is that it is generally understood to have emerged at similar times in many different geographical locations around the world. People weave in different ways, for different purposes, and in different conditions. Learning from other weavers has been one of the most valuable experiences to my weaving practice. Since I expect most of us won't be traveling much in the near future, I figured it was a good time to share some of my most meaningful travel experiences.

I've had the opportunity to go to to Mexico, India, Morocco, Europe, and many places in the US and Canada to learn from weaving experts. I’m going to share what I’ve learned along the way.

1. The best way to learn (and remember) is by doing. 

When you don't speak the language, it's really tempting to just stare at all the amazing weavers. The problem is, there is a certain amount of time that feels reasonable to watch, and after that is over (I start feeling a bit awkward after about 5 minutes) it seems the only reasonable thing to do is move along. 
I found one of the best ways to extend a visit and learn more was to jump in as an assistant. In Morocco, there was a group of weavers that were working on fly shuttle looms at an alarming pace. I didn’t feel right interupting them to ask questions, but I wanted to watch and see how they did things. In terrible french I offered to help wind pirns (their version of bobbins) using their huge (but amazingly efficient) bike wheel mock up. Turns out I wind a pretty decent pirn and they let me stay and try out their looms too. Unfortunately I don’t throw a great fly shuttle so I was kept on the pirns!

2. Weavers Like Weavers.

At first I was hesitant to take up the time of busy weavers. I felt like just another tourist distracting them from their work. Turns out, most of the weavers were really excited to meet a Canadian weaver! After a few interactions, I realized that it wasn't all take, I had something to GIVE too. It can be tricky trying to communicate with a language barrier, but it isn't impossible. In many situations in Morocco, I had no Arabic, and most of the weavers had little-no English, so we were both trying to communicate in French which was not great for either of us. The good thing about weaving is that so much of it can be communicated without any language at all. In the above image, I am learning a special weaving knot from Youseph that he learned as a child. After he taught me, I shared with him how I tie on the loom with a surgeons knot. I also helped him to lower his bench so it was more ergonomic. Even though Youseph is a lifelong weaver who drills holes in cards himself to make the patterns on his handmade Jacquard-like loom, I still had a little something to contribute.  

3. Creativity is more important than fancy tools.

Many weavers in North America are fortunate enough to have access to the weaving tools that they need. This isn't always the case in many of the places I visited. Most of the looms I saw in India, and all of the looms I saw in Morocco were handmade, often by the weaver themselves. Popular scrap materials include toothpicks, bike parts, string, and sticks of all kinds.
In the image below you can see a smooth and efficient bobbin winder made from an old bench turned upside down, a bike wheel, and some leather scraps tied together. The bobbin winder was made by the weaver Mustapha. Since the bobbin winder needed his loom bench,  he moved him loom back and now weaves perched on the window sill. 

I remember once for a project making about 30 string heddles because I had not planned well. I got very grumpy. My perspective is different now for sure. Have you ever been in a weaving situation where necessity was the mother of invention?

I was lucky enough to have a translator in the small town of Sefrou, where I had the opportunity to speak with Mustapha (see above image). He was excited to talk to another weaver and we shared weaving knowledge and stories. He told me that in Arabic, the warping mill is called the “heart,” because without a good warp, the weaving has no life. I think about that now when I use my mill. The translator told me that Mustapha was difficult to translate because he speaks in so many metaphors. Weaving is full of metaphors! How could he not?

I'll share a couple of my favourite quotes from that conversation:

"We are all from the same warp, we all breath the same air."

"Visiting with another weaver is like a small piece of delicious cheese"

"You have to eat sheep to operate this loom!" (referring to how heavy the beater was)

Have you seen weaving at all in your travels? If money/time/coronavirus were no object, where would you go? Angela and I would love to hear about your weaving-travel adventures!

-Kim

Hi there! 

I want to share with you a little bit about myself as a weaver, and I'm hoping you will share your story with me too.

Weaving seems to draw different people in for different reasons. For me, I first became interested in weaving when I saw a floor loom demonstration at a farmers market. The intricate patterns and endless possibilities of the loom fascinated me. I knew I needed to learn.

Before I was a weaver, I was a runner. I went to university in North Carolina to run track and field. I ran every day and raced most weekends during track season. You would think weaving would be the furthest thing from running, but I find it has a lot in common. The calming cadence of right-left-right-left-right-left of running is similar to the passing of the shuttle. It requires similar focus and endurance, a willingness to keep coming back after failure. It is this same balance of meditative calm and challenge that keeps me coming back to the loom. 

I am also a total nerd. Want to talk about weaving history? I’m your girl. I’m always finding stories, folklore, and mythology that references weaving and I eat it all up. One of my favourites is a story about a weaver who emerges from an anthill and uses her teeth as a loom to “speak cloth.”

Weaving is a practice that is at once very old and very new. The computer or phone on which  you are reading this email was developed largely because of advancements in weaving technology. Ask me more about this if you want to chat for a long while :)

I weave because I feel connected to generations of weavers before me, because weaving feels like a quiet resistance to mass production, and because I’m addicted to the tactile process and rhythm of working at the loom.

I would love to hear your weaving story! Send me an email or message us via instagram or facebook.

-Kim

Burnt orange and teal are a proven combination. The fiery oranges and reds pair perfectly with the cool teal to create a feeling of fused opposites: land and sea, earth and sky. The thick and thin nature of the cotton slub gives these tea towels an organic feel and adds some textural interest.

This classic palette will allow you the freedom to play with striping combinations. You can't go wrong. Follow our examples or go off on your own.  The all natural warp gives you the freedom to experiment!

This kit creates three 20" x 30" tea towels.

To use this kit you will need access to a loom with four shafts and a reed width of at least 24".  

Soft, absorbent, and quick to weave!

View Seaside Tea Towel Kit

Warp: 2/8 Cotton Natural

Threading: Straight Draw (4, 3, 2, 1)

Weft: 2/8 Cotton Natural, 2/8 Cotton Slub, 2/8 Cotton in Turquoise, Orange Brule, Orange Pale, and Cayenne

Sett: 18 EPI

Finishing Techniques: Hand wash in hot water with Dawn soap, rinse hot, lay flat to dry. Press hard with an iron on cotton setting. Sew a hem.

Everything you need to create three 20 x 30 inch tea towels is included in our kit. You will even have left overs of this Seaside colour palette to get you started on your next project!

View Seaside Tea Towels Kit

Reminiscent of antique grain sacks used in the 1800s, these stripes never get old. These towels are a treat for your hands and only get better with age. 

Linen is a sustainable fibre that has been used for thousands of years. It is known for its ability to withstand rubbing and repeated washings. With this blend of yarns you will get the durability and strength of linen along with the softness of cotton. These towels will continue to soften with each wash. 

Working with linen can be challenging at first and this pattern is a great way to dip your toes in!

View Classic Red Striped Tea Towels Kit

Warp: 2/8 Cottolin in Natural and Cerise

Threading: Straight Draw (4, 3, 2, 1)

Weft: Organic Linen

Sett: 20 EPI

Finishing Techniques: Hand wash in warm water with Dawn soap, rinse warm, lay flat to dry. Press hard with an iron on linen setting. Sew a hem. You may choose to mangle these towels for a more "worn in" look.

Everything you need to create two 20 x 25" tea towels is included in our kit! 

View our Classic Red Striped Tea Towels Kit

These towels were designed and woven in collaboration with Edmonton's North Side Girls

These towels are inspired by tubs of pastel sorbet on a hot day. This subdued pastel palette pairs refreshing minty greens with warm peach, blush, and a pop of yellow. The cream backdrop allows these hues to shine. 

Soft, absorbent, and quick to weave!

View Sorbet Stripes Tea Towel Kit

Warp: 2/8 Cotton in Natural, Seaton, Melon, Bleu, Veil Or, Saumon, Gris Pale, Jaune Pale, and Periwinkle

Threading: Straight Draw (4, 3, 2, 1)

Weft: 2/8 Cotton Natural

Sett: 18 EPI

Finishing Techniques: Hand wash in hot water with Dawn soap, rinse hot, lay flat to dry. Press hard with an iron on cotton setting. Sew a hem.

Everything you need to create two 16 x 25" tea towels is included in our kit. You will even have left overs of this Sorbet colour palette to get you started on your next project!

View Sorbet Stripes Tea Towel Kit