My name is Rosa and I'm a textile designer and today I'm gonna show you
how to weave like Anni Albers. Anni Albers was a German artist and textile
designer. She became a key figure at the Bauhaus school until 1933 when it was
forced to close following pressure from the Nazis.
She then emigrated to America to teach at the experimental Black Mountain
College. Albers was known for combining traditional and ancient weaving
techniques with modern materials and modernist design. Her weavings often
featured patterns and neutral colors based on repeating and interlocking
stripes and blocks. Today I'm going to draw inspiration from her many wall
hangings. To weave like Annie Albers you will need a loom, a warping mill, a raddle,
a reed, cross sticks, string, cardboard, a selection of thread, a threading tool, a
reeding tool and some scissors. First I'm going to sketch out my ideas using some
of the key themes in Albers work. Next I create my threading plan. This will be
the base for my pattern. Then I prepare my threads on the warping mill. This is
a tool used to get all the threads to the right length and in the right order
ready for the loom.
Now I have my threads in order I'm ready to dress the loom. This is a raddle which
is used to space out the threads so that they're the right width for when you
start weaving. This will form the warp the threads that stretch vertically down
the loom. The warp is one of the two base components in a piece of fabric. I wind
the warp around the back beam to keep them neat and tidy. I place a sheet of
paper in between each layer of the threads to keep them from tangling. Now I
get my cross sticks. These are essential for keeping the threads in the right
order.
Once that's ready, I bring the warp threads up to the back of the loom and
hang them up. The next stage is to thread the loom.
So take all the threads through these small metal things which are called heddles.
This is a reed and it's used to space out the threads while you weave your
fabric so that it's the right width.
Once I finish reeding the warp I tie it onto the stick at the front of the loom.
Now that I've finished tying on, I'm ready to start weaving and this is the
box where I'm going to program in my pattern. First I put the yarn into the
shuttle. This piece of yarn is called the weft and will be woven horizontally
through the vertical warp threads. This along with the warp form the two base
components of a piece of fabric. Next I pass the shuttle through the shed. The
shed is the temporary space between the upper and lower warp threads. After the
shuttle has gone through, the shed is closed and opened again with the foot
pedals. Each time the shuttle is passed through I pull the reed to secure the
weft. I wind the warp on to create more space for the weaving as it grows.
This is repeated over and over until we have a fabric. It would have probably
taken Anni Albers between a few weeks and a month to create one of her wall
hangings. Slowness was a virtue to her and a key ingredient in allowing for the
experimentation which defines her work. Anni would have used the large counter
march floor loom for her larger wall hangings. Today I'm using a computerized
dobby loom. This is also a hand loom that has some computerized features. Once your
weave is complete, remove it by cutting it off the loom.
Finally, cut away any stray threads. I
hope you feel as inspired as I am by Anni Albers and now have a better
understanding of the craft and effort it takes to make a fabric. That was how to
weave like Anni Albers.