Dobby Weavers
Why do we call ourselves the dobby weavers? That’s because our interest is in weaving on dobby looms: multi shaft looms that are controlled by a computer. The computer is connected to something called a dobby box. On the computer is a weaving software program with the desired draft displayed. The computer tells the loom which shafts should be selected to raise when the weaver pushes down the treadle. There is only one treadle on a dobby loom that raises the shafts. So the weaving is very easy, just keep pressing the treadle, throwing the shuttle and watch the beautiful design unfold.
What does our group do? We are very fortunate at the guild to have one of these beautiful looms at our disposal, the Megado, made by Louet. We meet monthly, the second Wednesday at 1PM, and plan group projects to put on this loom. We all participate in the warping, usually after agonizing over what colors to use, and then we each weave our own piece with our own weft. Mostly we weave towels. We communicate via groups.io, share opinions, ideas, drafts, weaving schedules etc. Then we take off the warp when finished, usually at a meeting called the big reveal, and ooh and aah at all the different pieces. It’s always amazing to see how different they all are from the same warp. Then we start the process all over again.
Anyone can join our group. It helps to have some familiarity with weaving software but not necessary. We did a joint project with the Scandinavian weavers last year, a monk’s belt runner. Many from that group wove beautiful pieces with just a little basic training. So come and try us out and get a little different weaving experience.
