Drawlooms and Damask Design

Drawlooms are amazing. The unique (and at times mysterious) mechanics of these ancient devices make them adaptable, powerful tools for weavers who love traditional methods and decorative patterns. One of the most awesome features of drawlooms is the ease with which they can be built around a warp and reconstructed on the fly to accommodate the changing needs of the imaginative weaver. By examining the complex interplay between loom setup and design capability we can better understand how this iterative process works and gain a new appreciation for the versatility of these remarkable looms.

Amy Blair is a trained educator, engineer, and passionate handweaver who has dedicated her creative life to drawlooms and contemporary figurative damask.  Although she is endlessly inspired by the weavings of old, her focus is on the re-imagining of traditional designs to reflect the world she sees around her. A resident of Pennsylvania’s sunny Lehigh Valley, she is as likely to include steel mills and automobiles in her pieces as the folk motifs of weavers past.

Amy’s original damask designs have been featured in Complex Weavers Journal and Joanne Hall’s books Drawloom Weaving and Weaving with Long-Eye Heddles. Contributions to a couple of more books are in the works, including original material for a reprint of the classic Swedish text, ‘Damask and Opphämta’ - coming soon from Vävstuga Press.

An ardent drawloom booster, Amy leads the introductory class ‘Drawloom ABC’ at Vävstuga Weaving School and co-teaches, with Becky Ashenden and Justin Squizzero, the more advanced ‘Drawloom DEF’ class as well. Amy’s YouTube channel, ‘Duelling Rabbits Handweaving’, is entirely — and uniquely — dedicated to the demystification of drawlooms and the textiles they make possible.