We’re just about a month away from our Fab 50 celebration here at the Schacht factory. We are so excited to share this special day with all of you!
Whether you’re a weaver, spinner, or curious onlooker, there will be something for you to participate in and enjoy.
We’ll start the day with factory tours that will run every half hour, beginning at 10 and ending at 2. You’ll see where everything is done; from manufacturing and assembly to shipping. The try-it tent and demo barn will be open all day, and volunteers will be available to show you how things work and answer questions.
If you start feeling peckish, you can stop by any or all three of the food trucks that will be on site. If you’re just looking for an afternoon snack, we’ll be popping corn and spinning sugar.
For the kids (and adults) in your life, we’ll be hosting the shuttle races again this year! This ever-popular event brings out serious contenders in both the racing and decorative categories. Build your own shuttle racer ahead of time and bring it to the event. We have shuttle blanks available on our website, or come in to the factory and pick one up. We will have shuttles on site for kids to decorate for their own race.
We’ll have a community weaving station, where you can play on our giant frame loom, or if you’re more of a spinner, bring your Schacht spinning wheel or drop spindle, and hang out during the spin in. We hope you enter our contest “who can spin the longest yarn in 3 minutes.” $200 Schacht bucks will be awarded to the winner.
A full schedule of events and further details of the day can be found on our anniversary page.
If you can’t be here in person, we’ll be live streaming many of the events on our Facebook Page, and will post photos and video throughout the day on our Instagram channel as well.
Jane Patrick’s Top 10 Weaving Tips
- Sample. This is my number one tip for achieving the idea you have in your mind. If you are changing the yarns used in a pattern, or are not using a published pattern, sampling will not only save you time, but disappointment, too.
- Dedicate a space to weaving. Having to set up and take down every time you want to weave will discourage you from going to the loom.
- When you’re working to a deadline (such as a gift for a birthday), double the time you think it will take and start before you think you need to. Something could go wrong or life might get in the way of weaving.
- Always double check your calculations for warp length, width, and yarn amounts. Over the years, I have made more mistakes by not doing this than I care to admit.
- Keep records. You think you will remember, but you won’t. Create a form to use and store your project notes in your computer, or create a folder of project notes. I like to make notes about all of my samples and then the final project so that I can refer to it later. I tape a sample of the yarn on the yarn label and store this with the project information. All the notes and samples go into a plastic sleeve.
- For rigid heddle weaving, master the direct warping method (with a warping peg) for solid warps or warps with stripes in even numbers. Use the indirect method if you are alternating colors or threading warps with many single ends of a color. I also like to use the indirect method when warping for 2-heddle weaving.
- Whenever you warp with the indirect method, protect your cross. If you’re called away during threading the reed or heddle, tie the cross to avoid losing it through some mishap.
- Any time you’re doing something with thread, put it under tension of some kind—it will be easier to control.
- Hemstitch your weaving at the beginning and the end every time you weave a project. When you take the fabric off the loom, the weft is secured and ready to be finished.
- For tidy selvedges, always insert the shuttle and pass it through the shed at an angle. Be sure the weft snugs up to the selvedge without pulling it in or leaving a loop at the edge. Beat straight back. Now evaluate and adjust your angle until the selvedge looks smooth and consistent.
