Yarn Guides
Cellulose, Protein, and Synthetic Fibers for Weaving
Throughout the years I have talked a lot about different weaving fibers and even gone as far as delving into specific fibers. Sometimes though, I will talk about multiple fiber types that fit under a specific “umbrella” – so I figured we should spend a little bit of time exploring weaving fibers in a more…
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Wet Finishing Your Weaving
There are so many important parts of the weaving process that go beyond the weaving itself. Picking the right yarn is essential to making the weaving you want. If you want to make sure your weaving weaves up correctly then you need to make sure your planning and set-up are correct. And if you want…
Yarn Ball Winding Options – Preparing Your Weaving Yarn
Depending on your yarn buying options you may never need any of these tools to wind yarn. This is because weaving yarn most often comes already wound onto a cone or tube ready to go. This makes setting up your loom or winding your shuttles simple! That being said, you may purchase yarn on a…
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Weaving With Alpaca Yarn – Material Spotlight
When you think of animal fibers for yarn then you may first think of sheep’s wool since it is one of the most common options for protein yarns. Wool is a great yarn for many reasons, but if you are looking for something a bit softer then you might want to consider alpaca yarn instead! …
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A Guide To Novelty Yarns For Weaving
Weaving yarn is usually smooth, strong, and easily threaded through the heddles of your floor loom or rigid heddle loom. These types of yarns can make a great choice for your warp (depending on what you are creating). Weft yarns, on the other hand, can be pretty much anything – even a material that is…
How To Make Paper Yarn
Creating yarn out of alternative materials has become sort of a tradition here at Warped Fibers because I am always looking at ways to upcycle materials and create something unique! I have also previously discussed weaving with paper as it pertains to paper strips (taking it beyond a “kids” craft.) If you are interested in…
Weaving With Wool – Material Spotlight
Weaving and wool go hand-in-hand. In fact, tapestry would not be as we know it today without the use of wool as a common material used in weaving. So what is it about wool that has made such a huge part of the history of weaving itself? How can we use it today to its…
Natural Synthetic Yarns – Tencel, Modal, Rayon, & Viscose
No, that is not a typo! Most of us have heard of the two main types of yarn: natural and synthetic. These two yarn types are characterized by not only what they are made of but also how they are made. These yarns also have subcategories that further characterize them (protein, cellulose, etc.) and help…
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Weaving With Hemp Yarn – Material Spotlight
Hemp is not a bad word – despite its unwarranted bad reputation. In fact, hemp can be a fantastic yarn and fabric! With sustainability on more and more weaver’s minds and the legalization of cannabis in many parts of the United States- hemp is making a comeback! Due to the surge in popularity, it seems…
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A Weaver’s Guide To Choosing Sustainable Yarn
Are you using sustainable yarn? There are a lot of different yarns that you can choose from that may meet your sustainability needs. But what is sustainable yarn? Also, if there is a such thing as sustainable yarn – what counts as unsustainable yarn…? For the record, I understand that sustainability might not be the…
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Weaving With Linen – Material Spotlight
I may be a bit biased when it comes to linen because much like my love for cotton, linen is a staple in my own studio. That being said, it has a permanent home in my own weaving studio for a reason. Aesthetically, linen’s natural colors and natural shine work perfectly in my tapestries as…
Material Spotlight: Weaving With Cotton
Cotton: the fabric of our lives… That’s their motto right? Either way, it is an extremely common but amazingly versatile material used in everything from clothing to currency. When it comes to weaving, it’s actually one of my favorite materials that I use all the time in my own studio! While most of us probably…
Let Your Yarn Determine Your Weaving Project
Yarn First – Project Second It happens to the best of us. Weaver sees yarn. Weaver buys yarn. Weaver has no idea what to do with yarn. We’ve all been there. In fact, if you’re like me you have quite a stash of yarn that is sitting and waiting to be used! Skeins and cones…
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The Difference Between Weaving and Knitting Yarn
Yarn is yarn, right? …right? Well, not necessarily. While knitting/crochet and weaving yarn can sometimes be used interchangeably – there are notable differences. I already did a blog post on decoding weaving yarn sizes that you should check out if you are in the market for weaving yarn. That being said, it can be oh…
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Common Yarn Treatments & Specialty Yarns
Buying yarn can be a little overwhelming at times, especially if you are buying online. It helps to know about some of the different treatments and types of yarn that you might come across. Some of these are superficial, but most have real benefits that you might want to consider for your next weaving project!…
Online Yarn Stores To Build Your Yarn Stash
Where to find the best places to purchase weaving yarn and other materials has been one of the most asked questions in every class and workshop that I have taught. Ideally, everyone would have a local yarn store (LYS as it is affectionately known) in their area, but some of us are not lucky enough…
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Your Guide To Decoding Weaving Yarn Sizes
Let’s imagine a scenario. You are planning a project and you need to buy new yarn (yay!) As you start browsing through your favorite yarn website – you see a lot of different yarns that look like they could be great for your project. Great except that yarn sizes range from 40/2 to 8/4. ……
Yarn Notebook – Organize Your Yarn Stash
One of the greatest lessons I have learned from having my own studio practice is that good organization can save you. Now that might seem a bit dramatic – but really it is one of those things that I figured out the hard way. Even if organization doesn’t come naturally to you (guilty) sometimes you…
Pick The Right Warp For Your Next Weaving
When you need to pick the right warp for your next project it isn’t as easy as just grabbing the first cone you can. It takes the right kind of yarn to be able to withstand the tension that the warp will be under. That’s not the only consideration though. So how do you pick…