Lesson Plan #
What to Bring
Each day in class bring Scissors, Multimeter, Masking Tape, Pencil, Folder for Paper and Samples, Arduino Kit. Also have your loom (or whatever weaving accessories you need for the day)
Week 1 - Welcome #
The goals for this week are to help you gain an embodied sense of what weaving is and how it works, particularly when working with heddle/frame style looms. We’ll also do the administrative work of getting class setup.
8/28 - Class Introduction #
In class #
- Setting Community Norms
- Questions about How Class Will Take Place
- Paper Weaving
- Review Required Supplies
Begin Assignments #
- Due 8/30 - Read Annie Albers, On Weaving, “Weaving, Hand”, pp 20-22
8/30 - Design Philosophy & Documentation #
In class #
- Discussion of Sampling and Materials-Led Design
- How to Take Good Photos
- Review Weeklies Templates
- Equipment Checkout
Begin Assignments #
- Due 9/6 - Begin First Weekly, Make a Book Loom
- Due 9/6 - Read Annie Albers, On Weaving, “The Loom”, pp 23-43 and images on pp 83-89
Week 2 - Tools #
The goal this week is to introduce the first of the fundamental tools with which we will be working this semester, a Multimeter the apparatus used for measuring electronic behaviors within materials.
9/4 - Labor Day, No Class #
9/6 - Laura Out Sick #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
Laura Out sick
Begin Assignments #
- Read Annie Albers, On Weaving, “The Loom”, pp 23-43 and images on pp 83-89
Week 3 - Loom and Warp #
The goal this week is to introduce the second of the fundamental tools with which we will be working this semester, the Loom: the apparatus used for weaving. The goal this week is to understand the electrical and mechanical properties of different yarns in order to understand how you can leverage those properties towards different applications.
9/11 - Intro to Warping #
In Class #
- Review Book Looms
- Evolution and Sociology of Looms + Loom Parts
- Intro to Warping
- Choose Your Warp Materials
9/13 - Warp #
In Class #
- Warp your Cricket Loom
- Weave Tabby
Begin Assignments #
- Due 9/18 - Begin Weekly 3
Week 4 - Finishing Weaves and Intro to Electronics #
9/18 - Finishing Techniques #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Weekly 3 - Warp and Weave Share out
- Cutting off and Finishing Samples
- Loom Parts Quiz
9/20 - Multimeters, Resistance, and Making Connectors #
In Class #
- Routing and Connecting
- Begin Weekly 2
Begin Assignments #
Week 5 - Tabby, Overshot and Supplemental Wefts #
This week we’ll talk more about weaving and variations on the tabby structure.
9/25 - Supplemental Wefts #
Assignments Due #
- Due 9/25 - Read: Mastering Weave Structure, chapter 1 (plain weave)
- Share Weekly 2 - Connectors
In Class #
- Tabby
- Conductive Yarn Testing
- Supplemental Wefts
- Overshot, Brocade
9/27 - Winding Coils and Routing through Wovens #
- Electromagnets
- Winding Coils for Integration
- Experimental Weaving Talk: Elizabeth Meiklejohn
Begin Assignments #
Week 6 - Color and Dye #
The goal this week is to add another dimension to our cricket loom weaving: color. We’ll focus on different color effect and dye techniques used to bring patterning and dynamism to cloth.
10/2 - Electromagnetics and Coils #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Making Flip Dots
- Broader Applications of Electromagnetism in Cloth
10/4 - Color Work and Dynamic Color #
In Class #
- Pigments and Dyes
- Warp Painting
- Ikat
- Thermochromics, Photochromics
- Resistive Heating
- More Soft-to-Hard Connection Techniques
Begin Assignments #
Week 7 - Drafting #
This week we’ll take the embodied understandings of weaving and electronics that we developed in the prior weeks, and discuss the additional design opportunities afforded by different kinds of looms and structures. We’ll also begin work on drafting, the way that we can document and share our patterns as well as translate them across looms
10/9 - Types of Looms and Drafting #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Introducing Harness, Dobby, Jacquard style Looms.
- Introduction To Drafting, Drawdown
- Drafting for Harness Looms
10/11 - Cloth Analysis #
In Class #
Begin Assignments #
Week 8 - More Shafts = More Structures #
We’ll take a look beyond basic textile structures to explore different structural possibilities of wovens as well as helpful techniques and software for weaving such structures for floor looms.
10/16 - Adapting Drafts From Books to Your Loom #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Weaving on 8-Shafts
- Translating Lift Plans and Tie-ups
- Introduction to Block Drafting
- Weaving with a Floating Selvedge
10/18 - Twills #
In Class #
- Drafting by Cross-Section
- Introduction to Twills + Unbalanced Structures
- Shading
- Floats and Interlacements Doing Wild Things
- AdaCAD
Begin Assignments #
Week 9 - Routing and Resistive Sensing #
This week we begin to get into more complex structures, specifically, the ability to weave multiple layers at once.
10/23 - Maintenance, Finishing, Routing, Soft-Hard Connections #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Finishing Album Weave Swatches
- Soft to Hard Connections
- Overview of Patterns and Structures
- Intro to Weaving with Two Layers
10/25 - Layers #
In Class #
- Experimental Weaving Talk Series: Patrice George
- Thinking In Multiple Layers
Begin Assignments #
Week 10 - Shifting Gears #
The goal this week is to shift focus from isolated experiments to synthesize what we have learned and start planning a final project.
10/30 - Introducing Final Project and Surveying Contemporary Weaving #
Assignments Due #
In Class #
- Surveying Different Weaving Practices along four axis:
-
- materials
-
- ratio
-
- structure
-
- on the loom decisions
11/1 - Inlay and Electrodes #
In Class #
- Learning inlay techniques
- Customizing inlay in the context of electrodes.
Week 11 - Materials #
The goal this week is to bring back materials into the formation of structure. Specifically, looking at materials that exhibit different forms of state change, such as elastics, shrinking, or dissolvability to see how they might bring new functionality to woven structures.
Assignments Due #
-
- Final Samples, Set 1
11/6 - Weaving with Elastics #
In Class #
- Present the first set of samples produced for the final project
- Customizing Conductive Yarn
11/8 - Sampling and Refining Samples #
In Class #
- Experimental Weaving Talk Series: Lucy Smyth
- Weaving with Elastics
Week 11 - Final Check In - Sample Set 2 #
11/13 - Materials Deep Dive #
Assignments Due #
- Final Samples, Set 2
11/15 - Structure Deep Dive #
Thanksgiving Break #
Week 13 - Final Sample Development #
11/27 - In-House Play #
- by this point, each student should have at least 4 samples, and will select the sample they would like to refine for the final.
11/29 - In-House Play #
Experimental Weaving Talk Series: Lars Shimabukuro
Week 14 - Community Weaving in B2, Refinement #
12/4 - Different Loom Configurations #
12/6 - Materiality of Weaving #
Week 15 - Final Presentations #
12/11 #
Assignments Due #
In class #
- First set of students present about their sampling process and final outcome
12/13 #
Assignments Due #
In class #
- Second set of students present about their sampling process and final outcome
Guest Lecture Bios and Information #
This course is co-scheduled with the Experimental Weaving Talk Series. You can use the link from the talk series to learn more about each guest speaker and their work.