Crimp and Create Workshop with Dianne Totten (Honolulu)

Experience the magic of crimp cloth!

Crimp and Create is a 3-day weaving workshop that creates “crimp cloth” that can be used for garments. This on-loom workshop takes fiber in a new direction, creating fabric with permanently crimped designs that hold their memory even when washed.

Any fiber can be used for crimp cloth when Orlon or polyester is used in the weft for weft crimp, or in the warp for warp crimp. This technique can be applied to multiple loom setups and endless possibilities for creating magical cloth.

Participants will draft, weave and crimp their cloth in class. Then they will learn how the fabric can be used for one-size-fits-all garments that flatter any figure, scarves and shawls that won’t slide off shoulders and knit-look ribbing for a sweater or jacket collar. Garment design and sewing tips will also be presented. The studio at DAC will be open from 9 am to 4 pm on Thursday, April 4, for participants to dress the looms.

Learn the technique/thought process through sampling in class. See why crimp cloth is a great stash-buster. Go home with your head filled with ideas to make easy-to-sew garments that flatter any figure. If you can warp a loom and read a draft, you can learn to weave crimp.

Register for the Crimp and Create Workshop

Registration will be open from February 1 to March 25, 2024.

Member rate: $275
Non-member rate: $325

• This weaving workshop is open to the public. Participants must be able to set up a loom and understand the basics of weaving.
  

• Hawaiʻi Handweavers' Hui members must log in to receive the member rate. Those who wish to become members may join before registering for the workshop.

• Participants will use the looms and equipment in the HHH studio and must have them pre-warped by the start of class on April 5. April 4 will be loom set up day unless you have set up prior to this date. 

• For questions about the studio, looms, schedule, contact Linda Hee, who will be the coordinator for this workshop.

• Parking at DAC: Enter the Chinatown Gateway Garage from Bethel Street. Weekday rate before 5 pm: $3.00 for two hours, $1.50 for each additional 30 minutes. All-day weekday pass: $10.00 (park in the garage between 6:30 and 8:30 AM, and exit by 6 PM). Weekend rate and weekday rate for entry after 5 pm: 30 minutes, with a maximum fee of $3.00. All transactions by credit card only.
  

Dianne Totten, of Marietta, Georgia, has been working with fibers from a young age. She has a degree in Home Economics Education from the University of Wisconsin, has written numerous articles for weaving publications, and has received multiple awards for her work as a textile artist. Dianne writes: “Handwoven clothing has been my main focus in my 40 years of weaving. My creations start with a “vision.” Selecting the yarns and weave structure to best carry out that vision can take a few days to several weeks. When the fabric is off the loom and the finishing process is complete, I make the pattern to enhance the design features of the cloth. My current emphasis is on garments using Crimp Cloth, the name I gave the technique I developed and teach nationally/internationally for guilds and conferences, as well as at Convergences. I love to work with pattern, structure and color. The satisfaction from conquering the challenges is the motivation for the next piece.”

This program is supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and Arts through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaii and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information on the Hawaiʻi workshops contact: Joan Namkoong.