upright posture (recommended)
not upright (not recommended)
Once again I see someone pictured online sitting in a way that isn't 'healthy' or kind to their body.
Generally they are sitting in an ordinary kitchen chair, too low, having to lift their shoulders in order to weave. Oftentimes they are weaving on a table top loom, which means neck/shoulder strain, needing to reach well above their shoulders to change the sheds, adding more stress and strain, and crane their necks awkwardly.
They weave for a while and then they hurt.
Instead of changing their physical surroundings, they think that weaving is too hard on their bodies. Well, when it's done in a way that ignores the ergonomics of body function, it's true. Weaving hurts.
The same with floor looms, though. Generally people sit too low, in a chair than isn't engineered to be used for weaving, and their hips and lower back hurts from treadling, their shoulders and neck hurt from the shuttle throwing and beating of the weft.
People complain about their shuttles, ask for advice, which people are delighted to give. Without ever mentioning the considerations that need to be kept in mind - are their hands small or large? What kind of weft are they using? They get tired of needing to change the bobbins so they opt for one of those huge rug weft shuttles which weigh a lot more than an 'ordinary' shuttle and then find their arms hurt after throwing and catching it for a while. Their shoulders and neck hurt too, if they stop and think about what they are doing - using muscles that haven't been used much, and certainly not in that kind of motion, over and over and over again, until fatigue makes them stop. And sometimes they wind up with soft tissue injuries.
Weaving is *physical*. We use our bodies as an integral part of the process. Keeping going beyond the body capacity for that motion, done hundreds of times, is damaging. And it is much easier to prevent soft tissue injury than it is to heal from soft tissue injury. Plus, once injured, those muscles are prone to further injury.
As a new weaver my best advice is to learn from someone who is experienced, *and who follows ergonomic practices*. I know lots of weavers who have been weaving for decades in a way that would lead someone else who may have a history of inflammation, to develop soft tissue injury. Just because it doesn't hurt *them* doesn't mean that others might not fare nearly so well.
If anyone wants to know how I do it, I have video clips on You Tube, or if you want a more detailed explanation, both my classes on School of Sweet Georgia and Long Thread Media discuss what I do. I cover the information in The Intentional Weaver.
If you want good information, find a good teacher, not AI. Just sayin...
The Intentional Weaver (use coupon GIVINGTUES25 until Dec. 11 for discount)
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