Sarah and Elisabeth….
that was then,
….and this is now!
Sarah and I are convinced we were born with a shuttle in our hands! We met in 1984 at a spinning class and discovered that we had both been weaving on a Weavemaster table loom for many years and were passionate about weaving exciting fabrics to make unique and interesting clothing. Our shared interest led to our first book, Simply Woven, self published in 1986 and then our second book, Creative Weaving, published by Gaia in 2007 which explores woven textures on the rigid heddle loom. Our love for rigid heddle looms is not misplaced as they are so versatile, easy to use and very portable. All the major weaving companies are now making rigid heddle looms so do look out for them as they can get you up and weaving in a matter of hours. We weave everyday and could not live without the pleasure of the yarns, colours and textures. We hope to inspire everyone to enjoy our love of weaving.
Creative Weaving 
Glad I found your blog!! I lov my rigid hedde loom and hav been looking for inspiration beyond scarves! Your book amazing, btw. I bought it a few years ago and refer to it often.
Thank you for your comment. Yours was our first one as we are very new to this blogging thing so a special thank you. So glad you liked the book and hope it continues to inspire.
Hi just found your site, your friend from essex! Just taken new weaving off loom yesterday, really excited about making it into garment from your first book, its all red and green and some jam jar dyeing, all homespun from my own sheep.
Hi Sue, Thanks for looking us up. Your weaving sounds great and jam jar dyeing too, I think that would make a good blog page. Sarah and I are off to Fibre East tomorrow to stock up on more lovely woolly things as if Woolfest had not been exciting enough. Hope to see you on August 11th at Ashman’s Farm.
Hi Elisabeth, just met you at the National Exhibition of the Guild at Norwich Cathedral. You had a ‘go’ on my 28″ Knitters Loom. I just wanted to say a big thank you for the advice you gave me. As a new weaver it is fantastic to have advice from someone with such great experience. I loved your jacket and can’t wait to see it in the new book! I have today ordered your Creative Weaving book, I would have loved to have also had a copy of Simply Woven but I guess it is out of print as, sadly, I can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
Hi Lorraine, It was nice to meet you on Thursday and a big thank you for letting me try your loom which I was most impressed with. I am often asked what loom people should buy when they first start weaving and although I like making things from narrow widths I know it does not suit everyone so to be able to recommend the 28″ is great. I thought the exhibition was so inspiring with such a variety of skills. I did go and find Rebecca’s shop in the new location. She certainly looked very happy to have so much more space. It would be fun to do another workshop there when the new book comes out. Thank you for buying Creative Weaving. I still have a few copies of Simply Woven so I could send you one for the princely price of £5.00 if you would like one. I think that Sarah and I are booked to come and talk to the Norfolk and Suffolk Guild in Beccles in May 2015 when we will have book three to flog! Have you ever been to Woolfest in Cumbria? It takes place at the end of June for two days and is everything woolly! http://www.woolfest.co.uk You might like to try it. There is also a two day event in Bedford in July called Fibre-East which is a sort of mini version of Woolfest but closer to home. A book I would recommend is The Ideas Book by Jane Patrick. She is the wife of the guy who started the Schachts company in Boulder USA and make wonderful spinning and weaving equipment. The book has lots of ideas for using the rigid heddle. Happy weaving
Great to have your new book GET WEAVING, you must be so pleased with it, the printing is really good, and the colours have come out well, (I used to work in printing, years ago) I love the photos and all the contents,I must not go on, its full of great ideas and clear instructions, you are both so good at what you do with weaving, giving us beginners such inspiration, best wishes Sue from essex.
Thanks Sue for those wonderful comments, high praise indeed. We certainly had great fun writing the book, weaving and making all the garments and taking the photos. A big thanks to Leiston Press in Suffolk who were so open to all our ideas. Happy weaving
Hello, very inspired by your blog. I’m a knitter and sewer and I’m interested in producing fabrics to create garments with, but using a loom that is portable and straightforward. What would you recommend for a beginner wit some stash to bust? Would a 12″ be too limiting in terms of fabric produced? And would an integral warping board be an advantage? Thanks!
So glad you like the Blog. We always recommend the Ashford 20″ (50cm) Knitters loom for the following reasons. It folds with the warp on the loom. This can be really useful if you travel a lot or have limited space at home. It is the perfect width for making clothing. Any wider and you waste your handwoven fabric when the pattern goes on. Any narrower and you are rather limited to the garments you can make although it does work well and you just have to weave a longer length. The loom comes with a 7.5dpi (30/10cm) reed which is perfect for all sorts of yarns and great with handspun. You don’t need a warping board at all as you can follow the quick threading method instructions that will come with the loom or you can watch a demonstration on the Ashford web site. All rigid heddle looms can be threaded up this way, whatever their make or dimensions so you should able to start weaving very quickly. Hope this will help you to get started and have lots of fun with the rigid heddle loom.
I’m trying to find you booklet cutting without fear etsy says it’s sold. How can I order one please ?
So sorry I did not pick up on your message before now. Try again with the etsy shop or contact Sarah direct with her email address which is getweavingwithsarah@gmail.com I hope you have success.
I edit the newsletter for Oxfordshire Guild of Weavers, spinners & dyers and have just discovered your blog. I was wondering if you would mind if I include your super blogroll in our next issue. The newsletter is only circulate to our members with a few copies to nearby guilds for their info. I would , of course, accredit your blog.
Of course, that would be fine with us. We hope you all enjoy the blog. Happy weaving
Your patterns and blog are so inspiring! How do I subscribe to see future blog posts? Thank you.
So glad you are enjoying the blog and Sarah’s wonderful patterns. We try to bring out a new post at the end of every month so just keep looking. You can also follow us on Instagram where I always announce a new update. You will find us as womenwhoweave and Sarah as getweavingwithsarah. Happy weaving!
I just started weaving with an ashford rigid heddle knitting loom. I am loving it. And this blog is so inspiring. I have 2 questions. Are some threads easier to warp than others? I find linen very difficult to get a good tension.
I am going through too many tie sticks, they keep coming off? What am I doing wrong?
Thank you!
Eukene
Hello Eukene, Yes, you are so right. Some threads are much easier to use than others Linen is difficult and not easy to use as a beginner. (Even professional weavers find linen tricky!) Try a cotton warp with a wool or acrylic weft to start with. This should behave well and give you a chance to get use to weaving and getting a balanced fabric. Not sure what you mean by “tie sticks” so can’t help there. Have you tried reading the Ashford web site http://www.ashford.co.nz They have lots of tutorials and good information for all their equipment. Happy weaving and glad you have enjoyed the blog.