Textiles: Handweaving by the Yard

An exhibition at the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design is currently exposing more people to the quality and skill of Nova Scotia handweavers.

The works of amateurs, production weavers and one-off weavers are on display until May 2 at the Halifax centre.

The exhibition features yardage of textiles before it is cut up and sewn into garments. Each weaver was asked to weave two pieces, each three yards long, and to provide a small swatch for a visitor to handle.

The full yardage of textile is displayed to its best advantage, hung on tall frames designed by Naoko Furue and built by Donnie Thompson.

The handweaving process begins with careful planning of the cloth to be created, finding the right colours, textures and weights of threads, and then placing and spacing them in the exact order for weaving.

Despite many changes, the process has remained constant over time, said exhibition curator Joyce Chown.

"While advances in education, technology, historical perspective and fibres have substantially changed the look and uses of handweaving, the actual weaving process remains constant: a warp interwoven by a weft."

The Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design is at 1683 Barrington St., Halifax. The centre is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design is a program and resource centre of the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Culture and is operated by the department's Cultural Affairs Division. The centre is a catalyst in the development of designers and craft persons and also functions as a visitors' destination site.