France has launched an initiative to combat clothing waste, subsidizing the repair of shoes and clothes on the verge of becoming unusable instead of throwing them away. Are you ready to follow suit? A so-called “darning loom” is the latest gadget in the fiber community, enabling clever consumers to repair their own clothing with “visible mending”. This inexpensive device holds your knit or woven fabric under tension and provides an anchor for warp threads while you weave a patch. The downside to the ingenious little loom is the lack of instructions in the package when you purchase them. Here’s your opportunity to learn how to use it to weave a patch that is functional – repairing a real hole – or just decorative. Looms are included in the tuition. Participants should bring a couple of woven or knit clothing needing small (not larger than 1” square) mending and bits of smooth yarn – commercial or handspun – to create decorative patches. Examples of items might be jeans, sweaters or jackets, but other items can also be repaired.
Instructor: Penny Lacroix
Date: Friday, October 27, 2023
Time: 1:30 – 4:30 pm
Tuition: $60.00 includes loom.
Speed Loom Darning
Penny Lacroix is a fiber artist specializing in weaving and spinning. She is a co-chair of the Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild, Chair of the Morning Workshop Committee for the Weavers’ Guild of Boston, and an active member of the Boston Area Spinners and Dyers. In all these positions, she appreciates the multitude of opportunities to interact with spinners and weavers of all levels and with other people in the arts community. She recently completed the Explorations in Advanced Weaving program with Laurie Autio and the Apprentice rating through the Weavers’ Guild of Boston. Her resume includes Systems Engineer, Museum Director, and ongoing activities as an 18th century reenactor. All her past experiences interweave in her current Fiber Arts career as she teaches weaving and spinning and presents textile programs to guilds and at historical venues. Penoix’s Weave Studio is based in her home in Westford, Massachusetts, which she shares with numerous looms and spinning wheels, her husband, and their furry companions.