UPDATE: the chat was so much fun! If you were unable to attend, you can find it HERE.
Sarah Swett is one of the most joy-filled people I’ve ever met. We made an online class together called Fringeless: Four-selvedgeWarping with Sarah C. Swett in which Sarah teaches us all how to do her four-selvedge warping method. She is a fabulous teacher and by the end of the course you’ll not only have laughed many times over at our antics, but you’ll have a solid understanding of how to use this wonderful warping method yourself. Sarah also includes bonus material about her methods of tapestry weaving.
My point in saying all that is that I got to know Sarah much better over the course of the four days it took us to film the class and she has become a fantastic role model for my own creative practice.* From spinning novel materials (milkweed and coffee filters anyone?) to natural dyeing, tapestry weaving, backstrap weaving and tapestry ON a backstrap loom, to her daily cartoon journal and her new dog Beryl, her creative journey is an inspiration.
Sarah has decades of experience weaving on all kinds of tapestry looms including a standard high-warp Shannock loom. But her go-to looms now are simple pipe looms she makes herself.** I love learning about materials from Sarah because she has tried all kinds of fibers in her weaving and she has made looms out of many different things, usually something she has at home and never something she has to go farther than her local hardware store to get.
Sarah C. Swett, Hang Up and Draw, 56 x 37 inches, wool, natural dyes, 2008. I first saw this piece in American Tapestry Biennial 8.
So I’m thrilled to say that Sarah and I will be doing a live chat on YouTube on Thursday, September 7th at 11am MT. This is free and streamed on YouTube HERE. You can line your time zone up HERE. You’ll be able to ask questions during the broadcast, so come ready to learn and enjoy a fun romp through the world of tapestry weaving.
Sarah’s work in tapestry started with very large format whimsical and colorful tapestries. I remember first seeing her work in person in the American Tapestry Biennial 8 where I also had a piece.
Her Rough Copy series (2009-2012) is the weaving of a novel she wrote and includes 13 large panels. I was able to see them all together in a solo show she had in Washington some years ago. Many if not all of these large pieces are woven with the Fringeless four-selvedge technique!
Sarah C. Swett, the first three Rough Copy tapestries at a solo show at the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Art Museum in La Connor, WA. These three are right to left, Rough Copy 1: Blue Dog Motel, Rough Copy 2: The Sketchbook, Rough Copy 3: Field Guide.
Sarah C. Swett, Rough Copy 5: There was Nothing, detail
Her work since Rough Copy has gotten smaller and has incorporated a variety of materials. She is a spinner and most of the weft and often even the warp in her tapestries is handspun and hand-dyed.*** In recent years she has experimented with spinning milkweed, coffee filters, and other materials to weave with. Often her tapestries are four-selvedge using the Fringeless method we teach in our online class.
Smaller tapestries woven by Sarah using Fringeless four-selvedge warping.
I’ll let Sarah tell you more about her work in our chat on September 7th. I hope you can make it and if you can’t, there will be a recording on YouTube available directly following. If you stay to the end of the broadcast there will be a special bonus offer!
Rebecca Mezoff and Sarah Swett toasting our online class, Fringeless.
We have both been enchanted with this method of warping that results in tapestries without fringe. If you’ve followed me on Change the Shed or read my blog, you’ll know that I most often use this warping technique for smaller tapestries. It is so rewarding to take a tapestry off the loom and not have to figure out how to finish or hide the warp ends!
A few of Rebecca’s tiny tapestry diary pieces using the Fringeless method. I was experimenting with handspun, black fleece with a bit of other colors woven in. The series is called Redacted. Had I used a colored warp, those bits of white would disappear!
*If you want to delight in Sarah’s weekly musings, creative output, and revel in what she is experimenting with this week, sign up for her newsletter, The Gusset. Currently you can get it without paying for it, but I believe it is well worth the low cost of a subscription! It is on Substack and your paid subscription helps her continue to be able to send it out every week.
**The Fringeless class is full of plans for these looms made of various kinds of pipe and requiring very few tools or any construction experience. One of her favorites is made of PVC pipe!
***It is because of Sarah that I took up spindle spinning and eventually learned to spin on a wheel. I find the rhythm and portability of spindle spinning engaging and an important part of my life even though I do spin larger amounts on a wheel when need be.