Not Your Mother’s Overshot Workshop has come and gone. What fun!! This was a two-day workshop on pushing the overshot structure past its basic limits. We even did freeform overshot and opphämpta.
Overshot is my favorite structure. You can get such beautiful, complex patterns with only a simple 4-shaft loom. If you’re willing to go slow, you can even get it with a rigid heddle loom! Cool stuff!
More Classic Overshot – Sort of
We did do a couple of more classic-looking overshot where we explored the use of different weft patterns against the same warp. We also looked at a basic warp / weft pattern but with the tabby or ground warp and weft being rainbow colors. So pretty! I need to get photos of it.
Playing With Thicknesses
We did a few projects that broke the normal thread weight rule for overshot. We also used very, very non-traditional materials – even a pot-scrubbing yarn!
Not Really Overshot
Probably the most advanced techniques we worked with were freeform overshot and the Swedish opphämpta technique. I brought my traveling counterbalance loom set up with the long-eye heddles to do the patterning. I used a classic Scandinavian knitting pattern. I think it looks lovely as a woven pattern!! The freeform technique was the slowest and most challenging. I need to work with that to make it more accessible.