Yasmin first learned to weave 15 years ago in Japan on a traditional kimono loom. It was a loom salvaged from rats in someone’s attic. After a lot of fuss was made to restore the loom, the pressure was on to weave! Yasmin’s enjoyment took some time to mature, maybe it was the colours that seduced her in the end... that and recycling all those old futon covers into rags that could be woven back into something beautiful and new.
Back in Hawke’s Bay Yasmin then spent seven years working in and managing the Rose Weavery at Hohepa where she was teaching and supporting people with intellectual disabilities to weave. These days Yasmin’s weaving compliments the rest of her art practice. She weaves delicate rag tapestry pictures but also a limited number of blankets that she happily supplies to Replete Store. The quality of material is very important to the feel and ethics of the product. Ideally using only 100% wool, but there is often a binder (a thin nylon that makes it stronger). Mostly the yarns are bought from Skeinz, a local outlet for wool but
also occasionally at second-hand shops.
Sometimes dying her own colours with plants and sometimes finding a wonderful chunky end-of line yarn will often add a unique feel or flavour to the blankets. Often the colours are woven into landscapes, with light colours at the top, transitioning into darker ones at the base. The overall ambience is usually earthy but containing a little pep. As part of the creative fun, each new warp (the yarn used to weave onto) adds an original flavour. A run makes 3 blankets. The blankets are woven on a table loom as a double cloth, which means that when they come off the loom they fold out and are twice as wide. One of the tell-tale signs of this is the tighter gathering of the warp down the middle of the
blanket, that sometimes looks a bit like a seam.
After weaving the blankets they come off the loom and are checked over for any runs that are then fixed up, then the ends are twisted to make delightful tassels. Then the blankets are ready for fulling, a process similar to washing, which is important as this fluffs out all the fibres and brings the bounce back into them.
Although the blankets will likely never or very rarely need washing, you can hand wash them in lukewarm water. Yasmin says she has never washed any of hers since using them, the beauty of wool! You can also freshen them with a sun wash by simply hanging over the line on a clear day, this will kill any dust mites and make them feel fresh again.