Handwoven January/February 2024

Beautiful Bast Projects

Bast fibers like linen, hemp, and bamboo have been used for thousands of years. Recently, however, they have gained popularity in the weaving world in part due to their eco-friendliness—many bast fibers require fewer resources to produce, and they often come from renewable plant sources. Fabrics woven with bast yarns have a rustic yet refined beauty, and the yarns are known for their strength.

This issue features 11 projects that showcase bast fibers in various ways. In addition to the expected linen towels and curtains, there are surprises such as a hemp runner, a runner woven using a combination of cotton and raffia, pineapple yarn placemats, and baby blankets with hemp and bamboo wefts. The Yarn Lab explores weaving balanced cloth with a new hemp yarn.

Many of the articles in the issue have a reflective aspect. There are pieces on how to continue weaving as you age, the intrinsic value of handmade items, and journaling your weaving and your life. Tom Knisely takes readers on a tour of a production weaver’s studio, and Rebecca Fox invites you to a special island with a unique indigo dye studio.

If bast isn’t yet in your stash, this may be the time to add it! Enjoy this beautiful issue that celebrates the wonder of plant-based bast.

Articles:

• What’s Happening – Over/Under at the Mingei by Christina Garton
• Notes from the Fell –Production Weaving by Tom Knisely
• A Covid Journal by Toby Smith
• What’s Happening – Weave Together With Handwoven Retreat by Christina Garton
• Island Indigo: A Visit to the Daufuskie Blues Studio by Rebecca Fox
• Vintage Weavers: Staying Connected and Upbeat by Cynthia Evetts and Tina Fletcher
• Yarn Lab – Going Boldly in a Hemp Exploration by Robin Lynde
• Endnotes – The Intangible Value of Handmade by Regina McInnes

Projects:

• Indigo Windows by Rebecca Fox (6-shaft)
• Ribbons of Rosepath Blankets by Malynda Allen (4-shaft)
• Bamboo Panda by Deborah Bagley (pin loom)
• Versatile Cowl in Twill by Christine Jablonski (4-shaft)
• Freeform Shawl by Dawn Hummer (4-shaft)
• Elegant Hemp Runner by Robin Monogue (4-shaft)
• Rosepath and Raffia Runner by Kate Lange-McKibben (4-shaft)
• Rustic Pineapple Placemats by Jacquie Crema (RH or 2-shaft)
• Top Banana Table Topper by Sue Anne Sullivan (4-shaft)
• Linen Towel for Margaret by Karen Leach (8-shaft)
• Bespoke Wedding Towels by Susan E. Horton (4-shaft)