J288 The Journal for WSD

Theo Moorman Grant Reports 2023

The deadline for the next round of Theo Moorman Grants is 1 February 2024. We have revised our application guidelines on our website, and hope these will help more good applications in future. Overall, of course, we want to support as many weavers as possible within our limited resources. As always, an application with clarity of purpose, and really good images, goes a long way to ensuring its success. Jacy Wall, Trustee

Sarah Ward – The Aviary Studio I have been researching the practice of traditional denim weaving, my main objective being to create a strong, durable denim cloth from scratch without using any virgin cotton or toxic chemicals. Using waste yarn discarded by the UK textile industry, and only natural ingredients in the dye vat, I endeavour to honour traditional denim weaving methods used before the invention of synthetic dyes and industrial production methods. My purchase grant from the Theo Moorman Trust was for equipment which winds skeins of yarn. Once dyed, the yarns can then be unwound from skein form back onto cones ready for warping. The addition of this machine to my studio enables me to create full width selvedge denim warps, with dye consistency across the cloth, and is making a huge difference to the efficiency of the work. As an environmental activist, the main focus of my work is to share knowledge through craft. I use my woven work to advocate weaving as an art form, but also to raise awareness about waste, and the impact of fast fashion on our planet. Since receiving my grant I have been developing my practice and have now achieved a cloth that I can confidently call denim! From this cloth, a jean prototype has been produced, equipped with rivets, selvedge turn ups and a classic stitched arcuate on the back pocket. The prototype was exhibited at Flux: The Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers round of Grants for 2022 came amidst the Trust's activities celebrating the life of our late Trustee Alison Morton. We made awards to eight of the many applicants, pleased again to find a wide range of practice, and weavers at very different stages of their careers. In the last issue we profiled how six of the eight recipients used the Awards in their weaving practice. In this issue, Sarah Ward reports on how the Award has helped further her work.

Skein winder with indigo-dyed mill waste yarn

Alongside my weaving practice, I now give talks on the history of denim, denim making, and indigo dyeing, and run off-loom weaving workshops working with mill waste yarns. www.the-aviary-studio.com/denim www.larkandbower.com

The Experimental Weave Lab in September 2022, sparking much dialogue about the history of denim, issues around today's industry, and the long journey that denim goes on before it arrives in our wardrobes.

Indigo dyed yarn transferred from skein to cone ready for weaving

Jeans selvedge turn-ups

Photos: Sarah Ward

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Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers 288, Winter 2023