As well as the mechanisms for adding tension, you will want to think about what other mechanisms your loom will have to make rug weaving faster or easier. These mechanisms include shed sticks, heddle rods, shafts and beaters. My rug looms have a shed stick and heddle rod, which helps raise and lower the alternating […]
Elsewhere in the UK you can find craft shops like George Weil, which stocks weaving supplies along with other crafts. We really recommend visiting a specialist store if you ever happen to be near one! It’s a great way to find out exactly what you need for the type of weaving that you want to […]
Downsizing is not a word most people want to hear when it comes to their small business. After all, our modern day consumer culture prioritises shiny and new, bigger and better, with the result that businesses large and small feel the pressure to be always growing. Scaling back and doing less sounds like an admission […]
December 30, 2020 Christabel Balfour Happy (almost) new year guys! I spent the Christmas period sleeping & eating & going on long walks. Next week I’m heading back into the studio to start packing up orders & figuring out whatever the new Brexit guidelines have to say about shipping rug looms… Speaking of rug looms, […]
Like any craft, learning to weave can be expensive. When you add up the cost of looms, tools and all that yarn, it can feel inaccessible, especially if your budget is tight. Here in the UK we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis with soaring energy bills and high inflation (our […]
This post is the second in my series about Looms For Rug Weaving! In my previous post, I talked about the qualities you’re looking for in a good rug loom. You can read that one here. In today’s post, I’m going to walk you through the different types of looms available and the pros and […]
Loom & tools from my Tapestry Weaving Kit There are many things I love about being a weaver, but among them is that I get to work each day with such wonderful tools. And I also spend far, far too much time hunting down new additions to my ever-expanding collection of weaving tools and paraphernalia! […]
Once you’ve found the right fibre, you then want to ensure that your yarn has been spun to the correct weight and twist. And the yarns to avoid are yarns that are too fine or too loose. A thin, fine yarn will be very slow to weave with, and will put a lot of strain […]
Once you’re confident weaving on a simple upright loom, you could explore a more advanced loom. For tapestry or rug weaving, I recommend Mirrix looms. If you want to try weaving cloth, I recommend rigid heddle or table looms. All of these are compact looms don’t take up too much space, but they also allow […]
When I first set up Balfour & Co in Summer 2020, the world was a very different place. Here in London we were still socially distancing and non-essential shops were just starting to tentatively re-open. The threat of another lockdown was hovering over us- and it seemed like the perfect time to learn to weave. […]
Before the class we’ll be in touch via email to help you prepare and plan your design. During the class you’ll choose your colour scheme and begin transforming your design into woven tapestry. The class will cover correct weaving technique, creating geometric shapes, adding texture with soumak & rya knotting and how to take your […]
One of the most common questions I’ve had over the years as a weaver and teacher is “so… what’s actually the difference between weaving a tapestry and weaving a rug?” At first glance, it seems fairly obvious. One goes on the wall, the other on the floor, right? However, when you dig into how tapestries […]
the horizontal weft is threaded through the vertical warp – and this grid forms the basis of the woven design geometric motifs can be found in weavings from around the world, spanning centuries and traditions my own early experiments in geometric weaving often went disastrously wrong – but I persevered and I’ve created a series […]
But when I began teaching, first in person and then online, I realised I was going to have to get better at explaining things. Fortunately my students rarely ask me searching questions about the conceptual meaning of my weaving! A lot of the time they just want to know how to stop their selvedges curving […]
