Hi lovely people! This week I bring you one of the last discoveries I’ve made! Has ever happened to you that even though you’ve been living in a city for a certain period of time you still find places you’ve never heard of before? Well, in London that happens almost once per week and that is maybe one of the things I like the most about living here 🙂
Reading the beautiful book ‘London Stitch & Knit‘, written by author and photographer Leigh Metcalf, I found out about a new amazing place: The Handweavers Studio & Gallery in North London. From the outside you would never guess that this shop is absolutely packed with hundreds and hundreds of different types of yarn and fibres in all sort of colours and materials. Dawn, one of the current owners (the shop opened 40 years ago in Walthamstow and moved to its current location, Seven Sisters, in 2009), showed me around this paradise for weavers, knitters and even embroiderers and where you can also attend classes -it actually feels like a proper school as they even run a program, The Handweavers Diploma, on weaving that lasts two years.
Looming machines at the Handweavers Studio
You can find an almost never ending yarn offer!
And even though they don’t sell threads for sewing machines (I know, I know, too may amazing colours), it feels like a nice craft/art to try as a hobby. I felt so inspired by the yarns, the weaving looms and spinning wheels and the samples hanging on every wall so that customers can see what they could actually make with each type of yarn…
Some of my favourite yarns were these wool ones perfect for scarf making!
For those who don’t know what weaving is just look at one of your fabrics. Do you see how threads go in two different directions vertical and horizontal forming the actual fabric? Well, that is what you do with a weaving loom and some thread, you create your own fabrics -or tapestries, scarves, rugs… And for that you can use different types of machines called looms, or even spinning wheels (like the one used by the Sleeping Beauty 🙂 ). If you had the patience (time and money) you could even make your own fabric to make your own clothes!! Can you guys imagine? You would be covering the whole process!!
Lots of wooden spinning wheels ready to be used at one of the courses
The colour selection is amazing! You just need a few hours to choose 😉
Alongside yarns made from more traditional materials such as cotton or wool, you can also find twisted yarns, paper ones and even some that glow in the dark. There are “plastic” fibres and even others than incorporate wire. Also, customers will find the softest yarn ever from camel hair, merino and mohair.
They even offer yarns that glow in the dark and paper or plastic yarns
Detail of one of the table-type looming machines
If you feel as fascinated and inspired as I’ve been visiting the shop, check their upcoming workshops: there’s an introduction to weaving starting at the end of this month (two whole weekends for £325), all materials included and also their popular weekly weaving classes perfect for advanced beginners or more expert ones in weaving.
Hope you like this post guys and see you here again soon!
xxx
Ana