The Making of a Scarf
A pictorial journey to illustrate the multi-faceted processes of making a scarf with my own manual homemade eight-shaft Dobby loom - handcrafted for me by my loomsmith/ rigger partner Eric Henry
Below I demonstrate the many synchronised mechanisms of my in-house designed and built Dobby loom and the methods of how I weave using high quality pure British sheepswool - Each component purpose-made by Eric, every rope spliced, every cog honed. Every warp measured, threaded, sleyed, woven and washed by my hand
Weaver Rae calls upon the spirit of the wild places that nourish, intrigue, calm and excite the soul in equal measure
Infusing this magic into hearty weavings. Places we carry with us, that echo, translate and resonate through what I do
Tassels
This is a hemstitch, which I sew at the very start and very end of each scarf, hence locking each warp into place and creating a handsome tassel
Handwoven of pure British wool on an exciting variation of a twill gamp striped pattern
Simple beginnings
Back in 2021 my weaving journey began by means of a prototype Eric built of pallet wood, string and ingenuity. Self taught Eric and I began to teach ourselves to weave
My rustic scratch-built table loom has long since been decommissioned but below are some snippets of this first iteration to commemorate this surprisingly savvy but endearingly ramshackle first loom, now predated by a far more efficient beast, the eight-shaft Dobby loom with flying shuttle which I now use from my home studio in West Cornwall, UK
On my first rudamentary handmade table loom (now retired) here is a nice memory from the days of
Henry | Weaver
Seeking inspiration
I am always sourcing inspiration in the land and seascapes around me
Patterns and palette, texture and narrative
The White Horses scarf is worn here in it’s natural habitat
