BOUNDWEAVE with Tom Knisely

 I recently completed a 3 day workshop with Tom Knisely on Boundweave.  It was a great workshop, primarily because Tom is such an entertaining teacher and also because I will definitely weave a rug or two using the techniques learned during the workshop.



For the class, we each brought our own loom to the Folk Art Center, warped with doubled carpet warp at 6 working epi in a rosepath threading.  We used either rug wool or mop cotton yarns for the weft in a variety of treadling sequences.  I ended up with a sample piece that is about 70 inches long and thick and sturdy enough for a rug using rug wool as weft.  The weft yarns were mill ends from R & M Yarns in Tennessee and some beautiful wool yarns picked up during my recent trip to New Mexico at Tapetes de Lana.

Exercise 1, shown in the top photo in cream and camel, is a two color treadling woven on opposites.

Exercise 2, 3 color with the treadling reversed to create "eyeballs".

Exercise 3, with 4 colors, resulting in a flame stctch look.  

Exercise 4 with 3 colors

Exercise 5 with 4 colors and the treadling reversed to create diamonds

Exercise 6, 2 colors

Tom Knisely Boundweave Workshop

My weaving guild, Western North Carolina Fiber/Handweavers Guild (WNCFHG), is having a 3 day workshop next week in Asheville.  The instructor is Tom Knisely, teaching us techniques in Boundweave.  Tom was chosen Weaving Teacher of the Year by the readers of Handwoven magazine a few years ago.  He is the author of several books and videos and is a frequent contributor to Handwoven.  I am excited about the session and looking forward to learning new tools that will help with rug weaving.

I weave primarily with cottons, and plant based synthetics like tencel and bamboo, but we will be using a heavy weight wool yarn (800-1000 yds/lb.) for the weft for the workshop.  I didn't have any wool yarn so that required adding more yarn to my stash.  I ordered some from R & M Yarns in Tennessee, mostly in neutrals and browns.  To liven things up a bit, I found a few more colors in New Mexico last week along the New Mexico Fiber Trail.