Traditional Loom Weaving Club - TUESDAYS at 10 a.m

The Loom Weaving Club meets every Tuesday from May 1st through September 31st 10 a.m - 12 p.m. in the Kitchen/Dining Area.

Textile crafts are integral to Finnish culture, both traditionally and in the design-oriented Finland of today. Though long winters, activities such as weaving provided ways to stay productive and active indoors, and traditions of rag-rug weaving ensured that no material went to waste. Rag-rugs were created using scraps of fabric and yarn that often had elaborate symbolic designs. The most notable cultural use of these rugs was to be placed under where the bride and groom stood during a wedding ceremony. This tradition persists even today in some areas of Finland.

Our first year was in 2022, learning to weave with Peggy Church, thanks to a SNEAP grant (Southern New England Apprenticeship Program), we started weaving with Poppana, a 3/8" bias cut cotton fabric strips, a Finnish weaving tradition. We have also done Finn Weave, also known as double weave or Takana in Finnish. Our designs were woven using two high contrast colors, weaving two separate layers at the same time on a loom. The two layers are connected where the image occurs so the finished product is reversible, with each side showing opposite/mirror image color schemes. The second year, again with a SNEAP grant and Peggy Church, we learned a Norwegian technique called Krokbragd, meaning crooked path. With this style of weaving we were able to achieve colorful stripes, dots, dashes, shapes, motifs and undulating rows of color.

Weaving was once a sacred art in Finland, associated with the act of creating the world itself, as depicted in the Finnish National Epic, the Kalevala. You, too, can tap into this engaging and beautiful art form by attending our weekly Weaving Club.

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; FREE to Members.

The Loom Weaving Club meets every Tuesday from May 1st through September 31st 10 a.m - 12 p.m. in the Kitchen/Dining Area.