The Craft of Weaving

The word warp describes the threads which are wound carefully around the back beam of the loom and threaded through the heddles and the reed before being tied to the front of the loom. Muriel uses linen, which is spun from the flax plant. The number of threads and the length of each strand are calculated and measured on a warping mill before winding on.

The weft is then woven across the warp, using a shuttle, according to the chosen pattern. Heavy linen and thick wool yarns are used when weaving rugs to create a strong dense material in contrast to the finest linen yarn and delicate open weaves which are used in her linen tapestries.