A Tale of Two Twills (Workshops, That Is)

I often stop by the Handwoven editor’s desk, marveling at the latest projects. Our conversation is almost always the same: “That's amazing. What is it?" "Twill." "And this?" "Another kind of twill." “What about THIS?” “Overshot, which is kinda-sorta a second cousin of twill.”

In other words, there are LOTS of twill weaves out there. It’s safe to say that if you learn to weave twill you will never be bored.

A twill gamp shows some of the twilling possibilities that await you.

This is totally awesome because Robyn Spady’s Totally Twill: the Basics and Totally Twill: Beyond the Basics are now available as online workshops. If you want to do more with less, get more bang for your buck, or employ any other thrifty metaphor, twill is a great weave structure. A basic 2/2 threading can take you all kinds of places, as shown in the gamp above. Robyn takes you through straight draw, point, extended point, and broken twills, which are enough to keep anyone busy for a while.

The thrill of twill: undulating, broken, and birdseye twill patterns.

If you do get bored with the basics, you can explore twill variations like birdseye, rosepath, M&W, undulating, and turned twills. You can also pick up some handy tips like how to use floating selvedges, weave a better header, and use twill to really showcase a handpainted yarn.

Learn how to futz with your draft

In Totally Twill: Beyond the Basics, Robyn, um, goes beyond the basics. Beginning with advancing twills, Robyn shows how to create curves in twill, and then how to combine or integrate different twills into the same pattern. She even touches on harnessing the power of weaving software programs to see where a theoretical draft will take you.

Want to feel the thrill of twill? Check out Robyn’s workshops. Each comes with an extensive PDF on weaving twill, including instructions for how to weave a sampler of your own. Both workshops are streamable courses you can watch at your own pace—anywhere, anytime, on any device. Purchase the workshops and you can download the videos to own forever. Want more bang for your buck? Subscribe to Long Thread Media's online workshops and tackle new techniques without leaving the house. You can binge-watch to your heart’s content. Knit, crochet, spin, weave—hone a craft or learn a new one. Watch videos from great instructors and access and download plenty of supporting materials such as charts, photos, and worksheets. Interact with other students via our chat boards, and post your finished assignments to a shared gallery so others can see your work. We’re adding new workshops every month, so why not sign up today?

Happy watching! Allison

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