Syllabus

Weaving
Albertus Magnus College
Jerry Nevins, Instructor
773-8546, office
Office: 203 Aquinas Hall
www.jnevins.com
Fall Semester, 2004
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Introduction:

Weaving Is an introductory course using the four harness floor loom. You will learn about various materials and techniques of this most ancient of arts. You will learn loom terminology and anatomy, weaving vocabulary and techniques, project planning, designing drafts for the loom, weaving structures, choosing yarns, understanding fiber structure, and problem solving.

By the end of the course you will be able to plan and execute complete projects from start to finish. You will come to appreciate weaving and the fiber arts in its historical context. You will know how to analyze the structure and method of construction of all woven objects and you will do all this with confidence.

This is a working studio course. Regular attendance is expected.

Topics to be covered include:

Getting familiar with the loom
Choosing yarn
Project planning
Creating a warp
Dressing the loom
Problem solving
Warp and weft calculations
Reading weaving drafts, threading, tie-up, treadling and drawdown
Plain weave and its variations
Twill weaves and variations
Block theory
Overshot patterns

Projects:

10- 12” wide X 1.5 yard sampler in wool or cotton, exploring tabby and twill weaving

A unified wool scarf or shawl, appropriately planned and expertly executed

Set of place mats

Wall hanging, table runner, etc

Academic Expectations:

Attend all classes, care about your work, make progress in the medium, help and cooperate with your classmates, take risks, make mistakes. Your grade will be based on the care you bring to your work and the successful completion of each assignment. As this is a workshop class, good attendance is assumed. Missing class will lower your grade.

Materials:

The instructor will provide the materials for this class, thus a lab fee of $50 is assessed to cover the costs of the materials used in the class.

Tradition of Honor:

As a member of the Albertus Magnus College Community, each student taking this course agrees to uphold the principles of honor set forth by this community, to defend these principles against abuse or misuse and to abide by the regulations of the College. To this end, every student must write and sign the following statement at the end of each examination: "I declare the Honor Pledge."

Special Needs and Accommodations:

Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester or mod. Those students seeking accommodation based on disabilities should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through the Academic Development Center in Aquinas Hall, (203) 773-8590.

Suggested Reading:

Deborah Chandler, Learning to Weave, Interweave Press, 1995

Black, Mary, The New Key to Weaving, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1957

Atwater, Mary Meigs, The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Handweaving, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1951

Davison, Marguerite, A Handweaver’s Pattern Book, Swarthmore, PA, Marguerite Davison, Publisher, 1944

Held, Shirly, A Handbook of Fiber Arts, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978

Magazines:

Handwoven, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO

Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot, Handweaver’s Guild of America, W. Hartford, CT 06107

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