Our Process

Here at Shuttleworth Weaving, in the misty KZN Midlands, every rug is made in the traditional way. Explore our thorough and professional approach to the design and hand-weaving processes below.

In every way we can, we look to tread lightly on our planet, sustainability is important to us.

Whilst the majority of our products are made from natural materials like South African Mohair and Namibian Karakul Wool, we also weave with up-cycled Polypropylene. Where ever we can, we source locally. And all of our products are made here on our small holding.

We are committed to the people who are the Weavers and Spinners, they are the creators of the handwork which is both original and beautifully hand crafted.

Spinning

We source a number of fibres to create different textures and finishes. The design of each product starts with the choice of fibre and the way in which it is spun.
We work with the following:

  • Mohair: we source our luxurious Mohair from a number of responsible suppliers in South Africa. We then hand spin the raw mohair into the different yarns for our various ranges.
  • Karakul Sheep Wool: Karakul Wool is from sheep farmed in Namibia and is very well suited for carpet weaving. It is spun into a thick, smooth yarn suitable for hard-wearing carpets.
  • New Zealand Wool: The New Zealand carpet wool that we source is a commercially spun yarn that we ply by hand to produce different thicknesses and textures in the rugs.
  • Polypropylene: is made up of tiny extruded fibres which we hand spin together to create a thick, durable thread. While this is a man-made fibre (literally, extruded plastics), the way we spin and weave these fibres renders a very durable, cleanable rug while maintaining the hand-crafted look and feel.

Our spinning is done on traditional wooden foot treadle spinning wheels and the spinners are masters in their craft, so much so that they can spin a skein of mohair to weight. We are in the process of upgrading our traditional foot driven spinning wheels to be run by a small electric motor. These motors are powered by our off-grid solar system and are a way to lighten the physical load of the spinner, allowing them to concentrate more fully on using their hands to work the fibres into quality spun yarns.

*Note: Mohair comes specifically from Angora Goats and Wool specifically from sheep.

Dyeing

Have a colour in mind? We can dye to match it. We have the whole rainbow available to us and love experimenting with colours to create products that are on-trend or bespoke.
We use acid dyes which are direct chemical dyes that produce the vivid colours that we offer and have good colour-fastness. They are not organic or natural but the way we use them minimises their impact on the environment.

The exhaust dyeing process that we use is such that all the dye is absorbed by the yarn so there is no damage to the water system. The way we use these dyes is as environmentally friendly as we can be by not using any mordants (additives like heavy metals to make the dyes set) or salt and we exhaust the dye into the fibre so that next to nothing is ever flushed into a healthy little grove of trees that soak up all our water from the dyeing process.

Weaving

Did you know hand-weaving takes a team? The wider the width of the fabric, the more people get involved. Working together, we pass the shuttle of yarn (this is the weft) through the warp threads which are wound tightly onto the loom to create the rug or cloth. This is a laborious process that is done by skilled weavers to get the tension and relationship of all the different yarns at play to work together in order to create unique textiles.

Weaving is done on a loom. Considering that weaving has been done for a few thousand years there are many different types of looms. The looms that we use are generally referenced to as Floor Looms which vaguely means that they stand on their own on the floor. Our looms range from 90cm wide through to 8.5 metres wide so we can produce very large items in one piece. All the bigger looms we have built ourselves and the smaller looms we either purpose built or they have been gifted to us or bought from other weavers over the ages. Some other looms available are : inkle (meaning ribbon in old english) looms which are small versions for producing narrow intricately woven strips and tapestry looms which are often on a large format bolted upright against a wall for weaving pictures on.

Depending on how tall the weaver is usually they can weave up to 1,5m wide on their own. The wider the project, however, the more people get involved. Working together, we pass the shuttle of yarn (this is the weft) through the warp threads which are wound tightly onto the loom to create the rug or cloth. This is a laborious process that is done by skilled weavers to get the tension and relationship of all the different yarns at play to work together in order to create unique textures and design effects. We combine our various spun yarns in different ways to create our range of weaves.

*Note: In weaving, the warp and the weft are basic constituents of all textiles. The warp threads are the (usually thin) yarns which are stretched on the loom and through which Weft (usually thicker) Yarns are passed and interwoven through to make up the weaving.

Sustainability

The Shuttleworth Weaving team lives consciously and authentically looking after the people and environment around us as best we can. We live and work off the grid, we use a donkey boiler (burning alien invasive sawmill offcuts) and minimal gas to heat the water for the dye.

We supplement our food sources with organically grown vegetables that we grow in our food tunnels. We aim to tread as lightly as we can in all aspects of our lives, including our business. We strive for energy efficiency, home-grown food, and raising our children to respect community and the natural environment.