THE INTERLACE PROJECT

For Portland Textile Month we are doing a weaving project as a collaboration between Gather:Make:Shelter, C(3)PO, and the greater Portland community. At the end of the month, we’ll put everyone’s weavings together to create one big community tapestry!

THE RULES • Your final weaving must be (roughly) 5 ” x 5”. You can mark the dimensions on your cardboard or directly on top of your warp with a Sharpie as a guide. You can also draw a pattern to follow. • Since this is a community tapestry, we’d like you to think of your weaving as an expression of what you want to contribute to the community, or what your wishes for the community are. “Community” could mean your neighbors, or the whole city, or the whole world. • Please p ut your name on your piece with a piece of tape to help us keep track of whose piece is whose! If your piece has a top and bottom, you can write that on the tape too. Otherwise it might get rotated when we sew it into the tapestry. :O • HAVE FUN!

If you’re the kind of person who hates a blank canvas, here are some simple geometric patterns for inspiration: Plain Weave

Plain weave is the basic weaving structure formed by alternating w eft threads (the horizontal threads that you weave into the warp) over-under-over-under. 1. Use your shuttle tips to help you pick up the warp thread. Move your shuttle over the first thread, under the second, over the third, etc. When you pull your shuttle through the warp for the first time, leave a tail at the end.

2. Using your fingers, weave the tail in underneath your weft thread so that it covers three or four warp threads. You can leave a little extra dangling at the back if you want. 3. Now pull your weft thread and tail taut to create a nice tension. You can use your fingers or a fork to tamp down the weft threads so that they lie flat. 4. Congratulations, you’re weaving!

Changing Colors 1. When you’re ready to switch colors, just cut off your weft thread and tuck in the tail underneath like you did when you started your weft. 2. With your new color, start weaving from where your last color finished (if you finished over a warp thread, start by going under the next warp thread). Remember to leave a tail and weave it back in underneath your new color.

3. If you run out of weft thread but want to keep using the same color, just weave in your tail and then start your new weft thread a few warp threads back so that they overlap. Your overlapping weft threads should follow the same pattern (they should go under and over the same warp threads).

Inserting Objects

You can insert odd shaped objects into your weaving by sliding them between your warp threads.

You don’t have to use every other thread! In fact, it can look cool to use different combinations of threads to hold the object.

Just remember that the fewer warp threads you use, the less secure the object will be in your weaving.

You can make the object more secure by weaving in regular weft threads around its edges.

Ideas to Try

• Create interesting weft threads by twisting two materials together. This is especially helpful when you want to use a thin thread but don’t want to weave for the rest of your life to finish the piece. Wrap that thin thread around a thicker yarn! • You don’t have to stick to plain weave. Try knotting the yarns around your weft and leaving tails hanging in front to create some texture. You can also trim the tails about ½” from the surface to create a carpet (like how rugs are made). • Play with the tension in your weft - leave some colors or lines looser, or skip threads in your warp to create uneven patterns or holes in your weaving. Finishing Your Piece 1. To take your piece off the loom, start by gently pulling the warp threads out of the notches on top of the loom. You can also cut the warp threads to remove your piece if it’s too tight; just make sure to leave long enough tails for you to tie. 2. Starting at one end, tie each two neighboring warp threads together in a knot. Pull the knot tight against the weaving, but not so tight that you pull your weaving out of shape! 3. Now repeat the process for the bottom part of your warp.

Submitting Your Piece 1. Write your name on a piece of masking tape and attach it to your piece. If your piece has a top and bottom, you can write that on the tape too. Otherwise it might get rotated when we sew it into the tapestry. :O 2. Fill out our submission form at www.gathermakeshelter.org/interlace-a-community-weaving-project to help us keep track of your piece. 3. Mail it to Gather:Make:Shelter at P.O. Box 10232,Portland,OR 97296

or drop it off at the Carton Service Building in North Portland at 2211 NW Front Ave, Portland, OR 97209, Monday - Friday from 9am - 4pm.

There is an exterior staircase to the 2nd floor where we have a contactless drop box.