Where you can learn to weave in the UK

18 May 2021

Hone your skills at one of these nine studios

18 May 2021

Contemporary scarf workshop at The Oxford Weaving Studio

Looms are not the friendliest craft kits for small spaces or your bank balance, but luckily there are classes, studios and communities up and down the country where you can learn your warp from your weft or deepen your skills. If you’re a budding textile artist, here’s where you can learn to weave.

The Oxford Weaving Studio
Location: Jericho, Oxford
Prices: £75 for a two-hour private weaving workshop, to £225 for a two-day course on contemporary hand-weaving

The Oxford Weaving Studio is a community-based weaving hub set up to provide affordable access to weaving equipment for textiles students, hobby weavers and, more recently, school kids. Founded by former engineer and Central Saint Martins graduate Cassandra Smith, it offers a rich selection of courses for beginners and improvers. In the two-day introduction course you’ll learn how to wind a warp, dress a loom, thread heddles, reed and tie on a warp, as well as experimenting with how different materials (including the studio’s own sustainable art yarns hand-spun from waste fibres) can change the feel of a woven sample. If you prefer to learn with an end goal in mind, check out the cushion weaving course, where you will play with architecture of thick, merino wool roving and fine yarns to create something for the sofa. More experienced weavers can apply for studio membership and hire a variety of floor, table and frame looms. If you’re stuck setting up your own loom or struggling to nail a new technique, Cassandra also offers one-on-one Zoom, in-studio or at home problem-solving sessions.

Student on a tapestry weaving course at West Dean College. Photo: Chris Ison
Tapestry weaving samples and materials. Courtesy: West Dean College. Photo: Chris Ison

West Dean College
Location: West Sussex

This South Downs country estate-cum-arts and conservation college offers a range of short courses for those just starting out on their weaving journey and those hoping to hone their skills. It’s home to the West Dean Tapestry Studio, which has created artworks for artists like John Piper, Tracy Emin and Martin Creed – not to mention the biggest weaving project undertaken in the UK for 100 years, where 18 weavers took 13 years to create a series of seven tapestries for Historic Scotland based on 15th-century originals. Assuming your ambitions might be a little smaller to start, there are weekend courses in the basics behind tapestry weaving or an introduction to working with a traditional rigid heddle backstrap loom. West Dean is also a good option for anyone that wants to go much deeper into the subject, as it offers a two-year, part-time foundation diploma in tapestry weaving, which covers translating an image into a tapestry, dyeing and experimental weaving techniques.

Weaving Space
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Prices: from £75 for a one-day ‘taster’ course

Weaving Space is located in a refurbished Dundee jute mill, where weaver Cally Booker runs courses for beginners right through to those who really know their way around a loom, with the added bonus of small class sizes of just four. The one-day taster session will allow you to come away with a custom sample without having to do the fiddly work of setting up the loom yourself, or if it’s those dressing skills you desire, Cally offers a two-day introduction course that takes in set up, project planning and then making whatever you’ve dreamt up. Once you’ve got the bug, you can attend more focused technique classes, learning new structures like overshot (a versatile pattern base created using just four shafts), lace or double weave. Those with more experience might want to try a parallel threadings class, which allows you to create multi-layered undulating designs by threading multiple warp layers.

Scarves woven at the Learn, Make & Take workshop. Courtesy: The Handweavers Studio & Gallery
At the Introduction to Weaving workshop, a new weaver had China’s bustling cities in mind as she wove her first samples. Courtesy: The Handweavers Studio & Gallery

The Handweavers Studio & Gallery
Location: Islington, London
Prices: £45 for an afternoon class on modern tapestry to £325 for a four-day introductory weaving workshop

Handweavers is a stalwart of the London weaving scene, consisting of a Tardis of a shop, gallery and a studio that teaches beginners’ classes right through to a two-year diploma. It was set up by four friends in Walthamstow in the early 1970s and moved to Islington in 2009, where it is now headed up by weavers Dawn and Alan Willey. There’s a huge variety of courses on offer: the four-day-long Introduction to Weaving is a good place to start for those that want to really get to grips with a shaft loom. Over two weekends you can learn how to prepare the loom, explore creating different weave structures and even read weave notation. For those wanting a gentler intro, there are classes on a simpler rigid heddle loom, but you’ll still come away with a scarf. If you’re after longer-term teaching, Handweavers runs mixed ability classes throughout the year. Improvers and more experienced weavers can get their heads down, but there’s a tutor on hand to help out and provide more structured training for those just starting out. Check the website for specialist technique-focused classes, from spinning and dying, through to macrame, tassel making and other textile arts, at a variety of skill levels.

Textile designer Margo Selby in her Whistable studio

Margo Selby
Location: Whitstable

Star textile designer Margo Selby runs weaving classes from the Whitstable studio where she creates her eponymous fabric range and home accessories. In the two-day Creative Weaving Workshop, complete beginners or those with more advanced skills will benefit from Margo’s expertise in the morning and individual tuition from two members of the studio production team in the afternoon. What’s slightly different about this course to others (that often focus on producing just one piece of fabric), is that it’s set up to offer a broad experience of different techniques. The studio looms are prepared in a variety of ways prior to the session, meaning you can scoot between them to create a range of different samples. Those with their own table top loom (or wanting to buy one from the studio) can attend workshops on setting up a loom from scratch.

Wayward Weaves
Location: Stroud

‘In Saori, there are no rules and no mistakes,’ writes Stroud-based studio Wayward Weaves on the freestyle weaving philosophy it teaches in its West Country classes. Founded by late Japanese weaver Misao Jo in the late 1960s, Saori breaks with the majority of weaving traditions that centre on creating pattern through repetition, instead prioritising irregularity, individual expression and the human touch. If this approach sounds like your bag, Wayward Weaves offers a year-round programme of Discovery Days that introduce you to the basics while encouraging you to play with texture and colour. Saori looms are purposefully incredibly portable, so the team at Wayward Weaves often hosts workshops at craft meet-ups and festivals around the country

Courtesy: Katherine Fraser
Courtesy: Katherine Fraser

Katherine Fraser
Location: Bath
Price: £70 for a half-day introduction to weaving to £100 for a one-day workshop

Based in her Bath studio and shop, designer-weaver Katherine Fraser offers a range of classes from half day introduction sessions (either one-on-one or in groups) to two-day tutorials where weavers with more experience can set out exactly what they want to achieve. Katherine herself specialises in using natural fibres and traditional techniques to create modern, pared-back designs, so would-be-weavers can choose from a palette of equally eloquent yarns. For those with a larger project in mind, and some prior know-how, the studio offers a loom rental service where you can use one of the four or eight shaft table looms for half a day, a full day or two days, unassisted but with a pro weaver upstairs if you come unstuck.

PickOne weaving workshop. Photo: James Donald

PickOne
Location: Leith, Edinburgh
Prices: £40 for mentoring services to £700 for a 10-day mark-making and weaving workshop

PickOne is a bright and airy open access studio space for weavers situated in Coburg House Art Studios in Leith. Its main focus is on recent graduates who want to kickstart their weaving career (the studio offers mentoring and business support too), but more experienced weavers are also welcome to book a stint there. Inside the 24-hour-access studio, you’ll find four and eight-shaft Ashford table looms, a 32-shaft Louet computerised Megado and a 16-shaft Harris loom, plus tonnes of books and other essential equipment like a sewing machine and overlocker. Textile designer and PickOne owner James Donald, who was recently awarded a Lifelong Contribution to Weaving by The Incorporation of Weavers of Glasgow, runs weekend workshops, where you can learn how to dress a tabletop loom and then weave a sample, and evening classes for beginners and those that want to brush up on their skills.

Tea towel taquete on loom. Courtesy: Devon Weavers Workshop

Devon Weavers Workshop
Location: Totnes, Devon

Set up in 2005 to counteract the disappearance of traditional handweaving in the county, Devon Weavers Workshop is a studio of around 50 weavers run entirely by its dedicated members. Over the past 16 years it has become known as a hotspot for weaving in the west and attracts international names to give workshops and talk about their work. As well as offering a beginners class (which currently takes place over three consecutive weekends), there’s a rich tapestry of other classes for beginners and old hats alike, which allow you to go deep into new techniques and unconventional approaches. Past classes have included block weaving, lace-making, weaving with silk, the intricate inkle weaving, reimagining shibori dyeing for weave, and an intriguing ‘rule-breaking’ workshop. For those that want to take their weaving to the next level, membership provides loom hire and library access, as well as a host of other benefits from this friendly community.

Where you can learn to weave in the UK

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