I have a friend who brought in her handwovens today and I just couldn't put my finger on why they looked like..well beginners pieces. She's been weaving for longer than I've been alive. So I decided to ask,

What kind of things make a handwoven look Professional? 

I want to sell my handwovens and I see such nice photos of other peoples work. Is it in the little details like hemming/seaming/sewing? Or the big ones like materials and epi? 

Comments

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 01:05

SallyE (not verified)

To me, using yarn that is very thick looks like the person wanted quantity and speed over quality.  (Of course this doesn't necessarily apply to rugs.)  And of course, even, straight selvages are required.

I'm sure other people will have other requirements, so it will be interesting to see with others say.

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 02:24

sarahnopp (not verified)

I think it is good edges- selvedges and fringe/hem. But all the detail attention is important to the overall quality.

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 02:24

sandra.eberhar…

I agree with Sally about thick vs. fine yarn; but more about yarn choice.

Many people starting out in any fiber craft choose inexpensive, synthetic yarns.  They are cheap and look it.  Better quality yarns (not neccessarily expensive yarns; you can get good mill ends or odd lots fairly cheaply); whether they are thick or thin will lend a better look to the piece.  Some people have a sense about the type of yarn they are using and how they can make it sing.  Your friend may have never have found this sense.  

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 03:29

JPMorabito

Color is perhaps the most important thing in design. Sophisticated use of color and motif will separate out the professional. As a professional you would need to pay attention to color and pattern trends, and produce work accordingly. It's not just about your personal taste, but rather your personal position in relation to the larger field of material culture. That, more than anything else, will identify a professional. 

I would also agree with what has already been said. Good quality yarns. Clean selvedges. Attention to finishing details. I'd also like to add in branded packaging and labeling. It's really about the whole package. 

All that said and done, I can't stress enough, it's about color. Sophisticated, and relevant use of color. It's the first thing anybody is going to see. 

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 04:06

laurafry

Colour, consistent execution, proper wet finishing. If you are selling, good presentation including tags/labels. Items should be unique in some way, usually colour/design, not looking like everybody else's work... Cheers Laura
Fri, 09/27/2013 - 06:32

kerstinfroberg

"proper wet finishing" is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. I always wet finish and often mangle (or press) my objects. On a couple of occasions I have been rejected from shows *because of this*. It has always been in Swedish handicraft assoc contexts, and it has been about cottons or linens. I was told the wet finishing made the things "look used" - a characteristic of "new" equalled (what I call) "thready" and stiff.

- a "famous classic" among Swe handcraft books (Hantverkests bok, Textil 1 & 2, 1939 and '40, no ISBN) distinguishes between industry-made textiles (which *should* be wet finished) and handmade textiles, which should *not* - . It suggests that [Swe handicraft assoc] shops should have one finished sample on display, "to show customers what [it] will look like, later". (I suppose the jurors above were raised on that book...)

Among my guildmates, most of them raised in the Swe handicr assoc traditions, wet finishing is still seen as "unnecessary".

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 15:49

tonyaleacht

I was reading your comments and looking at the pieces. Most of it is worsted weight yarns. The bags have the seams on the outside and are sewed with white thread. Some of the linings are sticking out. Colors seem to change with no pattern. More like the Saori weaving. One has 6" of warp hanging from the closure flap. It looks like most of the weft yarns are handspun. Her selvedges are nice though!

Thank you all again. I have a better sense of what to look for in my own pieces now.

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 13:59

SallyE (not verified)

Several people mentioned color, or colour for you British types.

I know what colors I don't like (orange!), and I know that colors are subject to fads.   You can see that in the fashion industry.   Every year there is a new "in" color, and after a while it changes.   So what does it mean to "pay attention to color and pattern trends?"  Does this just mean following the fads?   That seems kind of boring to me and was my pet peeve when I was getting my MFA.  We were supposed to be "relevant," which seemed to mean following the crowd.

But I do like to see people do something interesting, something that I wouldn't have thought to do, providing of course it's not jarring.  And what patterns are "in" right now?

I recently went shopping for a top in a very light yellow.  Wow, there was NOTHING in the stores.   But there were a lot of neon yellow, green and orange colors that only a traffic cop could wear.   If that is what is in now, count me out!

 

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 15:08

JPMorabito

Researching color and motif does not mean you are following the crowd. It means you are aware of what is going on and responding to it. With that knowledge you can either embrace it or reject it, but you can't have a stance in ignorance. Flip through a design magazine and you will see designers are drawn to certain motifs and color combinations. They are all using these tools in different ways, but are in conversation with one another (not simply regurgitating what is already out there, that is bad design). Just as this is a conversation within design it is also a conversation with everything that is going on in the world. Trends are not vacuuous whims decided on in a vacuum, but instead are reflections of the world at that time.

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 15:49

SallyE (not verified)

So how do you tell the difference between design choices that are rejecting what is going on and those that are just ignorant of what is going on?  This whole area is so subjective.  I guess that is why there are so many books written about this - because no one can really define it clearly.

One of my classmates in the MFA program was an oil painter who does still life paintings of things like vases of flowers.   No one ever criticized her for this choice although it's been overdone to the point of boredom.  Because she worked in an accepted medium, she was automatically an "artist."   But because I work in traditionally craft based mediums, I had to justify and explain everything I did.  In the end that was very good for me, but. . . .

I question the whole idea of an artist needing to be "relevant."  Seems to me that being irrelevant is also a statement, but just a different kind of statement.

Of course, to be in the game you have to play the game.  And there is the rub!

But, now I am off topic from the discussion of what makes weaving look professional.  Because being a professional weaver can simply mean that you practice the craft at a high level, whether or not you are an "artist."

 

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 17:44

laurafry

I don't aspire to be an 'artist', just to make cloth that performs it's function with as much beauty and grace as I can muster.  But as Sally says, it's pretty subjective.  My colour choices may not appeal to someone else and vice versa.  

In terms of relevance, I do two things.  I follow the seasonal colour theory for fashion accessories and pay attention to what is happening in the 'china' department for my table textiles.  But I don't follow either slavishly.  I figure my customer is probably not following the fashion 'fads' all that closely or s/he would not be shopping at a craft show but at the Bay or Neiman Marcus.  :)

I try to use good quality materials and consistent workmanship.  I don't go for 'perfect' but appropriate for the function the textiles will serve.  My aim is not to produce an 'heirloom' but something someone will want to use daily to enhance their wardrobe or home.

Many people comment on the fact that my textiles stand out from the 'herd' (so to speak) and I attribute that to my wet finishing techniques.  Since I am selling directly and not, primarily, through galleries or shops, the only 'standard' I aim to meet is my own.

Whether that is acceptable to the marketplace will be up to the customers to approve or reject, not some anonymous jury opinion.  :)

With the sale season nearly upon me I am scrambling to get ready for 8 shows, back to back.  I may go dark for a couple of months.  :^)

cheers,

Laura

Fri, 09/27/2013 - 18:25

kariska

To me the quality of the work is what draws me in.  The yarn, set, and finish.  Do everybody a favor and wet finish your items if possible.  If you buy a tablecloth in a certain size, use it, spill on it and wash it, then it shrinks and becomes too small.  Unfinished placemats will look too big if properly sized without wet finish, and for people who do not know better, if they buy what they think they need, they will be way too small after one wash.

Use whatever color you want, just don't be stuck in the 70s. Somebody will always like the classic colors like blue, white, black etc.  For clothing, handwoven is so expensive that few people will buy a color that will be passé next spring.

Sat, 09/28/2013 - 15:10

Mystic Handworks

A textile that's been created by a professional that has an education in the field has in depth training in color theory, design, the material they choose and even the culture of the people that produce the raw materials.  They have hundreds of hours of practice under an instructor and the critique of their colleagues of their craftsmanship.  So their color choices are technically sound, they choose the right fiber for the right weave structure, their selveges are tidy, and the product is finished properly.  They have expensive equipment for the beginning of the project all the way through the end.  Not a lot of imporovising.  Since I lack the education and expensive equipment, I'm trying to pay as much attention to every detail.  Make a ritual out of every turn at the selvege and every join.  Just enough so I learn something with every project and still enjoy it.  For color I look at pictures to see how colors work together.  I'm surprised how I like the way colors play together (colors I don't normally like), that I wouldn't normally consider combining.  So I think the short answer for me is "its in the details, all the details.  Choice of color, properly matching material to weave structure, execution of weaving and keeping selveges tidy, and finishing the piece appropriately."

Sat, 09/28/2013 - 16:03

Artistry

Mystic Handworks, You bring up many good points but I disagree on the expensive equipment part. Some of the most exquisite, sophisticated Textiles I have seen have been done on a backstrap loom:) Cathie
Sat, 09/28/2013 - 23:53

sandra.eberhar…

I think that weavers who have the training that Mystic Handworks believes is required have an easier time creating unique, well made works.  However, museums are full of magnificent pieces of woven goods that are unique, beautiful, and functional.  Some of them were warped by running around the barn between the big spikes that served as warping pegs. Many of these weavers worked with homemade equipment and whatever they could come up with for supporting equipment.  

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 14:22

ReedGuy

I'll stay out of this one because I see a few opinions surfacing that lack facts. And some of them as I read them leave me wondering. There are certainly obvious things that might stand out in a weave as not quite up to snuff. But other things are very subjective to individual interpretation.

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 16:08

sequel (not verified)

I never sold a thing (despite trying) with personal favorite color schemes, only that which was classic.  Yeah, you need well designed and well executed cloth, which means selvedges, hems, consistent beat and very important - good weft joins that don't draw attention to themselves.  But if you cannot do so without sweating each one, then your production costs (labor) will make this a no-win from an economic perspective.

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 17:03

SallyE (not verified)

The discussion we are into here is about the difference between art and craft.   The definitions have changed over time and continue to change, and much has been written this topic (a lot of it is dribble, IMHO). 

JPMorabito is speaking from the "art" perspective.   But most of the people who make their living from weaving do so by selling in "craft" venues, to people who don't really care, and often don't know, about the differences between art and craft.  The other thing that is in the mix, I think, is the fact that weaving is such an ancient technique. 

I also do glass casting (http://glassdreams.us), and while a limited number of people have done that over time (e.g. Argy Rousseau), it didn't really reach popularity until the advent of (1) digital kiln controllers which made glass annealing easy and (2) coefficient of expansion compatible colors chemistry.   As a result, most of the work in this area has been done since the studio glass movement started in the 1960s.

But because weaving is so ancient, many people like the hand-made, non industrial, aspects of it and the reference to times past.  I think that is why the classic colors and patterns sell.

So to sort of boil it down, art portrays a meaning through it's presentation and craft does not.   But, as one of my art professors said, "what you meant to say in a piece is not necessarily what it says once it's made."   So, you can look at a piece of art and see a meaning that the artist didn't think of (in this postmodern era where meaning is often defined by the viewer), or that you only see once it's made and didn't really plan for.

 

 

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 18:21

Weavejoyforall

Seems I have a long way to go to have Professional results...but one has to start somewhere...!  I have to say I am learning a lot from just reading forum posts like this and so many others on this site. Thanks to those who answer the questions as well as the the folks who ask.

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 19:50

sandra.eberhar…

I agree with Sally.  There is a distinction between art and craft.  If I am buying a piece of art to display in my home, I'm not thinking of whether the colors will look good in my house, but I do think of that if I buy kitchen towels.  That said, I think most people who weave, and want to sell their work consider themselves craftsmen.  They are looking to create a usefull textile that will serve its purpose, (beauty is generally part of that purpose) and will be well crafted enough that someone will appreciate enough to pay for it.  The items that are the subject of this thread sound like they are fairly crudely made (seams on the outside, white thread).

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 20:49

JPMorabito

I wasn't talking about art. I was coming from the perspective of product design and my tenure as a textile designer. Yes, we are talking about hand woven textiles here, but issues of design are totally relevant. It's still a product that you are looking to sell (color color color).

The discussion on art and craft is a totally different bag, one that might be best left for another thread - it's a wiley topic that is sure to take over... 

Sun, 09/29/2013 - 21:58

sarahnopp (not verified)

Hmmm... I didn't ever think about art or craft when I read the original question, "What kind of things make a handwoven look Professional?"

My business brain immediately immediately assigned the quesation to one of presentation, both of the piece as a for sale commodity, as well as representative of the person and their overall work, and if the work represents someone doing it for a living. My biases and understandings of art/craft influence my expectations of a finished work. Lots of little questionsand thoughts are popping into my head now. Great conversation!

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 00:09

Mystic Handworks

I think I could have wrote that better, and I'm sorry.  I meant that many (not all) professional weavers have those advantages, not that they're necessary for something to look professional.  I saw someone weave a bag on a piece of cardboard and I was stunned at how beautiful it was.  I lack all the things I mentioned, but I'm tring to catch up, except for the expensive equipment, that's something I'll just never have.