Handwoven September/October 2008

This issue is dedicated to the color blue, with projects and stories about how weavers have used it around the world and across time.

Get tips and tricks for organizing your studio. Indigo dyeing is easier than you think—you can even weave first and dye later! Plus, check out the winners of FiberHearts. Our city spotlight focuses on Amsterdam and its weavers, Karen Piegorsch writes about warping board ergonomics, and Debra Sharpee teaches three ways to prepare fabric strips for use as weft. We have inkle bands in colors inspired by Guatemalan Jaspe cloth, a rag rug that uses Indonesian batik woven in a Swedish technique, a centerpiece fringed with pineapple yarn, a Japanese rag-weaving technique used to repurpose an old kimono into weft for a new vest, a twill woven in bamboo and sewn up into a Hippari kimono, an overshot runner woven and then dyed using instant indigo, and a turned broken twill (aka false damask) bedspread design shared with us from Toika’s weaving magazine. And Linda Ligon considers whether (and what) to weave with some lovely skeins of yarn, and asks for reader ideas.

Highlights of this issue include:

• Indigo in an instant rather than from a vat
• A rag rug using Indonesian batik, woven in a Swedish technique
• A city spotlight focusing on Amsterdam, its textiles, and its weavers
• 11 projects in beautiful shades of blue
• A survey of new cotton yarns labeled as “eco-friendly”

Projects include:

• Pineapple Yarn Centerpiece by Jane Patrick
• A Shaggy Bag Story by Linda Ligon
• An Instant Indigo Overshot Runner by Tracey Kaestner
• A Pair of 1771 Runners by Suzie Liles and Madelyn van der Hoogt
• Waffle Weave Towels and Washcloths by Karen Tenney
• and many more!