#PlainWeaveChallenge

The first weave I ever learned was plain-weave. One yarn up. One yarn down. Repeat. It seemed so simple. I moved on quickly to baskets, twills, ottomans, satins, pocket weaves, and eventually to jacquards where the rules and limits of the harness no longer applied and weave structures were unlimited. I eagerly zoomed into the complexity and infinite interlockings of jacquard structures.

But in doing so, I lost sight of the actual component parts. Weaving isn't just a structure. It's about how the yarns mix and match. By changing density, scale, texture, rhythm, and color, the same weave structure can look very different. It's weaving 101, and to get back to that, I realized I had to jettison the structures that were distracting me. I needed to go back to the beginning.

So, I've challenged myself to see what I can do with only one structure: plain-weave. By using small boards instead of a loom, I can quickly experiment with warps and wefts using any yarn or material I scrounge up. My "mini-samples" take anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to make, and some are duds... and some are beauts.

I haven't had so much fun weaving in years. To see the results, check out my #plainweavechallenge on Instagram!