Jessica Norris

Tablet weaving might be an option to weave diagonal lines, if that’s something you’d enjoy. Narrow wares (shoelaces, tape and hatbands etc.), but takes up no space in your house and the patterns leap off the bands!

I forgot tags! #weaving #12shafts #multishaftweaving #gebrochene #msandws #handwoven

This is “Earl’s Canvas” on twelve shafts, an example of a pattern in gebrochene or Ms and Ws twill. The white warp is narrow for sampling and so I just have one repeat woven here in a dark blue. I’ll make some table runners with this threading next.

I’ve been super busy but just lately I’ve been restocking my coasters for the upcoming Apple Day (Tallong festival). This is Ms and Ws twill with a historical pattern.

Three weaving samples in Diversified Plain Weave. I’ve used navy and green in the warp, with white in the weft. Thus weave structure is a block weave, and these designs use up to seven blocks, plus one for borders.

Another set of samples, each with a different tie up that changes the patterns with the blocks. I really love the colour texture with this weave structure.

Recently I’ve been exploring diversified plain weave. I love sampling! These explorations will lead to a new range of hand towels or possibly table runners. So many possibilities in this weave structure! #weaving #handwoven #diversifiedplainweave #artisancloth

Oh! Commiserations.

Handwoven sample in turned twill: a variety of stripes in hot colours (red, pink, orange) and blues with overlapping purple colours. The warp here is 20/2 silk and the weft is cotton. From this sample I designed a more careful gradient, increasing the size of each coloured section.

Weaving at the loom showing one colour (bright blue) which to my eye just didn’t look right. Too much, not enough contrast with the warp and the ratios in the block changes look wrong. So I’ve cut the weft out and will spend twenty minutes pulling the threads until I can start again. That’s weaving life!

Sometimes you sample, plan meticulously and then weave only to say, “Nope”! The gut feeling can’t be ignored and you just have to cut out and try again. #weaving #handwoven #turnedtwill #8shaft

Love these sheep! 🐏

Jillian, this was such as excellent video! I had a lump in my throat for most of it, thinking of those who’ve suffered in the past and those who suffer now to bring the West cheap disposable textiles. Where do we go from here?

Two bouts of 20/2 silk yarn, ready to beam onto the loom. I’ve not chained this warp as it’s only 6 metres, my husband helps me beam and we have a fair space to use in the process, plus I’ll beam it straight away. The colours are hand dyed by Elizabeth Calnan, and they are dark salmon, light salmon and pale yellow. Dreamy!

I’ve wound a pure silk warp for the first time. This is 20/2 silk, ready to become a pair of scarves. Expensive yarn, but delicious! #weaving #handwoven #warp #mastercraft

Here’s the final result from the warp that suffered a threading error setback: a lovely, drapey, deflected double weave scarf! #weaving #handwoven #8shafts #slowfashion

I hemstitch too except when I’m weaving cloth yardage for sewing or for tend that get hemmed.

I’m so sorry for your loss! Nothing really prepares you for the tiny casket. I hope your weaving can allow you space and mental quiet.

Me wearing a pure wool shawl woven in Twill and Basket weave, in Rust, green-gold and Grey. I'm standing on my back verandah and the colours really were this vibrant, I promise! The trees in the background are starting to change colour for autumn. #weaving #handwoven #twill #colourandweave #purewool

A closer view of the patterning on the shawl. With DDL colour and weave, the twill and basket weave yield different interesting patterns. The shawl has a stripe of green-gold running down the edge.

Another close-in shot of the colour and weave patterns on this shawl. This one is DDLL basket weave on top of DDL straight twill threading (for those who know what I mean!) This scarf was very heavily based on a piece by Linda Pickett as part of the Jane Stafford School of Weaving. Linda's piece has a stronger contrast in the red, but I'm using what I have in my stash, with a very autumnal effect.

Whilst I was deciding how to recover from a dire threading error on my Spring loom, I wove off a couple of lovely Harrisville Shetland scarves. One sold at market last weekend, but this shawl is freshly fulled and brushed and ready for the Goulburn Spinners and Weavers 50th anniversary exhibition.

This warp is 16/2 bamboo and is actually two-tone, although the contrast is extremely low: Pale Grey and White. I'm weaving deflected double weave with two ends per unit, hoping for a luscious scarf. The borders are narrower than I planned because I made a threading error right at the beginning and couldn't face re-threading the entire piece in pale fine threads! This photo shows one repeat with three "roses" apparent. The "Stars" will appear as I weave the second repeat. The weft is "Cactus" (like a Sage green) with White. #deflecteddoubleweave #DDW #8shaft #multishaftweaving

Threading error dilemma solved: sacrifice the border to avoid re-threading! Finally I stopped procrastinating and now I'm weaving away on this deflected double weave design I call "Roses and stars". Looks great, but next time I'll use more contrast in the warp! #handwoven #weaving #colourandweave

Wow, this is gorgeous!

I’m a big believer in buying oneself a present. I bought a jigsaw puzzle from the Goulburn Show which seems exactly timed to celebrate my birthday 😉

Hehe, perfect! Thank you so much Mindy! I got so excited when my phone pinged to tell me. I hope you love it!

Handwoven tea towels make a fantastic Mothers' Day gift 🎁. Just saying! 😉

A pile of folded tea towels from my recently woven "Autumn" range. These towels are Swedish lace and feature hot colours: gold, rusty orange and red, medium brown and fuchsia. The top towel is swirled up to show the lovely drape. #handwoven #weaving #swedishlace #teatowels #4shaft

An arrangement of folded tea towels from my recently woven "Autumn" range. These towels are Swedish lace and feature hot colours: gold, rusty orange and red, medium brown and fuchsia. Each towel is unique and has a different way of incorporating the lace. #handwoven #weaving #swedishlace #teatowels #4shaft

A tea towel from my "Jungle" range with a swirl in the middle to show the drape. These towels are woven in an #8shaft point twill and feature jungle foliage colours with splashes of bright Jungle bird plumage. Peacock, pale green, olive, stone, dark blue and medium green are shown in this photo. #teatowels #handwoven #wovenart #8shaft #twill #weaving

A pile of seven folded tea towels from my "Jungle" range. These towels are woven in a point twill and feature jungle foliage colours with splashes of bright Jungle bird plumage. Peacock, pale green, olive, stone, dark blue and dark green are shown in this photo. The twill patterns here include diamonds, lattice and vines. #teatowels #handwoven #wovenart #8shaft #twill #weaving

Tomorrow (6 April) I will be selling my tea towels, scarves, wall hangings and other handwoven items at the Southern Highlands Wool Festival, at Mittagong RSL. Come and say hello! Take home a tea towel for your Mum. 😍

If you can't make it, my online shop is still taking orders. Link is in my bio!

You could also put a rod under the rest of the warp (which is getting looser) and position it behind the beam and weight the edges to approach a similar tension.

I have perhaps misunderstood, though, not having tried sectional beaming yet (I read this as tighter tension because you’d sorted twice the density but re-reading, that doesn’t make sense.

You can cut off and resley the reed, too don’t worry about how densely they were beamed. I’ve done this plenty of times. Once they are the same density you’ll have the same tension going forward. 😊

You really captured the colours! Lovely.

I haven’t decided yet, but I’m thinking of rethreading! I just had a full day out today and another tomorrow so I’m letting the idea simmer. It will be quite a measly border I think. 🤔

Did you get to see it? It will be in the exhibition in May, anyway. 😍

Thank you!

I was surprised when I started weft faced weaving, thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it. I was wrong! Enjoy playing at the loom!

I’m holding a bundle of threads at the left of the photo which are supposed to have been threaded like the heddles on the right. This means I made a threading error, which is a blow for any hand weaver. This is an eight shaft threading but you have see the lower bars for twelve shafts in the picture. Sigh.

Another photo of the loom being threaded, this time you can see all the heddles I have completed and at the right hand side my hand separates the warp where the threading error happened. In fact, this is twenty threads in, meaning I must rethread the other 370 threads or change my plan with the borders. This is a head desk moment. I don’t want narrower borders!! Argh!

That moment when you get to the end of your threading and ask “why do I have these extra ends?” and you realise you haven’t made the right border wide enough. Smaller border or rethread? (Time to have a cuppa and decide later.) #weaving #mistakeshappen #8shaft

I love your twill pattern! Beautiful diamonds with horizontally decoration forming up there. 😍

It is very beautiful! I wish I had done it on a treadle loom, though, rather than a table loom. I can’t recall now if it needed more than fourteen treadles! It was this book (and Stubenitsky’s) that made me wish for a dobby for the first time. 😊