November 2021 Newsletter

Making Merry Holiday Stockings

Designed by Constance Hall
red stocking woven on rigid heddle loom by Constance Hall
blue stocking woven on floor loom by Deb Gerish

The Scandinavian weave structure called krokbragd makes a thick, sturdy fabric that is perfect for this festive holiday stocking. It’s a weft-faced variation on twill. Traditionally, krokbragd is woven on a 3-shaft floor loom. Constance

Finished stockings ready for the holidays

used a rigid heddle loom and two pick-up sticks for her red, white, and green stocking. Deb wanted to try krokbragd on her Baby Wolf with blue, white, and yellow yarn.

• You’ll weave fabric panels for the front and back of the stocking, then you’ll seam and cut out the stocking shape. Experiment with different techniques to perfect your selvedges, because they’ll never be seen.
• Knitting yarns and handspun yarns work beautifully for the weft. Dive into your stash and have fun! Choose smooth, high-twist yarns without a halo to keep the patterns crisp—fuzzy mohair, for instance, will “blur” the top border. All three colors should be the same weight, and handspun yarns need to be fairly consistent, or krokbragd will look unbalanced. The lighter the yarn, the more you’ll need to create weft-faced fabric. If you want to use very skinny yarn, try doubling or tripling it. If you want to use bulky yarn, you may need a wider sett. Constance and Deb used the same sett of 8 EPI for their worsted-weight and fingering-weight stockings.
• Go for high-contrast colors, and choose bright (saturated) hues for a traditional Scandinavian look. White plus two medium- or dark-value colors will work very well. Or try white for the background color with a variegated accent yarn in the allover pattern.

It’s easy to fall in love with krokbragd, especially when you start seeing a color pattern develop. You can use the same warp for multiple stockings, changing the color combinations or color patterns for each one. See The Weaver’s Idea Book for more patterns—Constance used the zigzag border from this book (p. 162) for the top band.

Get complete project instructions here!

All the Strands Come Together: A Life in Fiber Arts

An interview with Nora Schacht, daughter of Jane Patrick and Barry Schacht and collaborator on our Dye & Weave Craft Kits.

Nora Schacht grew up making textiles and has launched her own dye kits to help other people enjoy the same crafts. This path was probably inevitable—since she’s the daughter of Jane Patrick and Barry Schacht, she dove into spinning and weaving from a young age. Now she’s added natural dyeing, and her new kid-friendly kit introduces makers of all ages to dyeing and simple weaving. Schacht Spindle Company packaged her kit, their Easel Weaver, and an online course. We interviewed Nora about her childhood at Schacht, her crafting, and her passion for outreach—providing an opportunity for people to enjoy fiber and textiles, as she has done all her life.

Get the whole family into textile crafts this holiday season with the Dye and Weave Craft Kit & Course. This kit & course combo ships quickly and makes a great gift!

Read the interview with Nora Schacht

The Arras Tapestry Loom & Explore Tapestry Weave-along

Not sure yet if the Arras Tapestry Loom is right for you? We’ve pulled together some research for you! Check out what weavers are saying about this beautiful loom. We’ve assembled some great reviews and information on the Arras Tapestry Loom from Rebecca Mezoff and Felicia Lo.

Read the reviews!

Our popular Explore Tapestry Weave-along from 2020 is now in an easy-to-follow format on our learning site.

Save your Sidekick Footmen!

This helpful article explains how to prevent damage to your Sidekick footmen.

Read the article

Featured Products

Beginner Dye Kit With Course

$26.00 $19.50

Indigo Dyed Scarf Kit & Course

$89.00 $66.75

Cricket Rigid Heddle Loom

$218.00 – $240.00

Flip the Folding Rigid Heddle Loom

$350.00 – $469.00

Arras Tapestry Loom

$454.00

Sidekick Folding Spinning Wheel

$1,117.00