Laverne Waddington, Backstrap Weaver (classic)

About this episode

Laverne Waddington shares her journey into the world of backstrap weaving and her experiences learning from indigenous weavers across South and Central America.

Laverne Waddington discovered weaving by accident—bike accident, to be precise. Recuperating from a mountain biking crash in Utah, she discovered a book on Navajo weaving and was immediately intrigued. A local exhibit of Diné textiles enthralled her, and she set about learning to weave in the Navajo style. Returning to Patagonia, where she had been living, she built a simple loom and explored weaving on her own until it became clear that she would need to move north to satify her hunger for weaving knowledge, settling in Bolivia. Over the following decades, Laverne traveled in South and Central America, learning backstrap techniques from indigenous weavers. Her curiosity has led her to the Andean Highlands, Guatemala, and other regions to learn hand-manipulated and pick-up methods and patterns from skilled local weavers. Laverne loves to explore complex and intricate weaving styles, enjoying the way that each inch of warp and weft passes through her hands in a variety of pick-up techniques. Weaving on a backstrap loom, she sits inside each weaving project. Through videos, online classes, books, and ebooks, she teaches other weavers how to set up a backstrap loom for themselves…

People in this episode

Guest: Laverne Waddington

Topics covered

• weaving
• backstrap loom
• indigenous techniques
• textile arts
• craft education

Keywords

• weaving
• backstrap loom
• Navajo weaving
• textiles
• craft education
• indigenous techniques
• Laverne Waddington

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Long Thread Media

Books & works: Navajo weaving, Diné textiles

Places: Utah, Patagonia, Bolivia, Andean Highlands, Guatemala

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