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As a service to its members, the Guild offers a weaving ratings program in three levels: Apprentice, Journeyman and Master. Candidates must complete each step in order. Achieving ratings is not a requirement for Guild membership, but is a valuable study guide and offers constructive critical analysis of your work.
Ratings are a valuable study guide for serious weavers who are interested
in developing knowledge and skill. They are not a requirement for membership,
but offer the weaver an opportunity to have work undergo critical analysis.
It is presupposed that every article has been woven by the applicant who
is submitting material for a rating. Credit is given only if workmanship,
function, design, and originality are acceptable to the jury.
Only one rating may be passed per year. An applicant must be approved as
an Apprentice before being eligible for Journeyman, and as a Journeyman
before a Master Weaver's rating.
Work submitted for one rating may not be resubmitted for a subsequent rating.
If the candidate's entry is not accepted by the jury, those pieces which
were accepted may be resubmitted along with the new pieces (replacing those
which were not accepted) the next time. The reason for submitting all
required pieces is that not only are all the requirements judged independently,
all of the requirements are viewed and assessed as a "body of work".
The Chair for Ratings shall be appointed by the Dean and shall be a Master Weaver.
The Chair shall establish the date by which the articles are to be submitted,
traditionally the regular March Guild meeting date. If the weaver is unable
to deliver the work at the Guild meeting, she/he will be notified of the address
to which the entry is to be sent. The Chair will also select a jury and schedule
the places and dates for judging. Candidates must inform the Chair by March 1st
or earlier when a decision has been made to work for a rating. All questions
pertaining to clarification of the requirements or terms should be directed
to the Ratings Chair.
The three-paneled jury shall contain at least two Master Weavers. They may
be members of the Guild or from outside the Guild. Each judge shall work
independently. Judging shall take place once a year and awards shall be
made at the Annual Meeting.
For Apprentice: $10.00 per application
For Journeyman: $25.00 per application
For Master: $35.00 per application
For Master Plus: No Fee
With each page or set of pages per requirement, a sample (woven),
a minimum of at least 1 1/2 times the pattern repeat or a minimum
of 4" square for all-over patterns, must be included.
Include a complete inventory. Include a separate bibliography.
Common or standard sources, noted on individual record sheets,
do not have to be relisted in the bibliography.
Use Weavers' Guild of Boston official record sheets, not copies.
The record sheets, 25 to a packet, may be obtained from the Ratings
Chair or other designated Guild member in charge. (See Bulletins.)
Twelve Shaft record sheets are available ($2.50 plus postage) and
24 Shaft sheets are available, double-sided, ($4.50 plus postage).
Use your Guild number on record sheets. Do not write your name on
record sheets and DO NOT ATTACH YOUR NAME IN ANY WAY TO YOUR ARTICLES.
Signed statements from Apprentice Level candidates are always
removed prior to judging.
Write the name of the article (eg., mat, scarf, runner) on the long
line at the upper left of the record sheet.
Label the pages of the notebook and the tags on each article to
correspond with the number and/or letter of the requirement.
The record sheets for each article must include a 4" x 4" (or larger)
woven sample, threading, tie-up, treadling, dentage, samples of yarn
used, and a draw-down where required. Include only pertinent information.
Pertinent information means all information necessary for another weaver
who picks up and reads that record sheet to be able to reproduce that
particular textile and/or article. Personal commentary is not pertinent.
All articles must be properly finished and freshly laundered, or
finished according to yarn manufacturer's recommended instructions.
All visible stitching must be done by hand. A possible exception
might be the stitching on the commercial lining of a bag or when
required by a commercial pattern.
There must be no knots in either warp or weft.
Pillows may be left unstuffed. If stuffed, the pillow must be able
to be opened. Zippers are not required.
A wall hanging must be ready to hang.
Check over your articles carefully. Repair snagged threads,
cut off thread ends, and remove labels with your name.
Copies of a lecture given about ratings, which covers helpful
tips and some rather specific information on a number of topics
from definitions to presentation, are available from the
Ratings Chair at the cost of $3.00 plus postage.
Monies collected help fund the Helen Barrett Memorial Award.
All candidates must mail (UPS, USPS, an Air Cargo Service, etc.) or
hand deliver their entries to the address designated by the Chair
and published in the Bulletin. Packages mailed must include postage
for return mailing via UPS only.
DEFINITIONSAn article is a usable, finished item. Auxiliary equipment includes any device or mechanism added, either temporarily or permanently, to a standard loom. Examples are: a fly shuttle, an automatic advance, a dobby, a computer. Double warp beams, temples, and sectional beams are considered standard. When in doubt call the Ratings Chair. A finished item means that the woven piece has been hemmed, washed, pressed, and submitted to any other process necessary to make the article complete and ready for use (see Zielinski, Reference Material List) A draft is a graphic representation of: (a) threading, (b) tie-up, (c) treadling, and (d) resulting fabric or drawdown (not always shown). Drafts should employ standard symbols. A profile draft is a short form of a threading draft; each square of graph paper is equal to the group of threads representing one repeat or block. Originality means your interpretation of a weave. For example, in a Summer and Winter project, your choice of material, color, sett, number of repeats per block and function make the work original. Copying exactly the instructions in a book or workshop is not original. Embroidery weaving is the process of ornamenting a web as it is being woven, to make a design of supplementary threads which pass back and forth where they are needed for the design. A true embroidery weave has a complete background web, with a design placed at the will of the weaver. By this definition, double weave pick-ups are not included. A sampler is a piece of weaving done on the same threading which shows variations of pattern and/or texture. A sampler is one continuous piece. A drawdown is a graphic representation of a weave structure, both warp pattern and weft treadling. It is a picture of what the weave will look like - black squares representing action of the warp. Only enough information to show 1 1/2 times the repeat, both warp and weft, should be drawn. If selvages, borders or unusual pattern changes occur, the drawdown should include these sections in the same way as the basic pattern repeat to illustrate that all peculiarities in structure will maintain the correct structure of the fabric.
SUGGESTED REFERENCE MATERIAL
REQUIREMENTS FOR AN APPRENTICE RATINGPresent six well woven articles on six different warps. Minimum size when finished must be 12" by 12". Edges must show on a majority of the articles. There may be no more than one tailored garment. Stress the following points: even beating, even edges, proper finishing, pleasing effect, function, note and record keeping, and accurate threading and treadling. At the Apprentice level, computers may be used only in the design stage. No auxiliary equipment may be used to produce your weaving and all submitted drawdowns must be done by hand. Weaving done using a fly shuttle, power loom, an auto-advance system, a mechanized shuttle device, an automatic treadling mechanism, or an automatic beater should not be submitted.
REQUIREMENTS FOR JOURNEYMAN RATINGThe purpose of this rating is to correlate what can be learned from all sources - teachers, books, experiments, etc. All of the following required techniques can be obtained from books or can be taught by teachers. Workshop and in-class pieces may not be submitted. Each article must be of material suitable for its purpose, large enough to show even edges, even beating, pleasing effect, and must be a minimum size of 12" x 12". Any article may be submitted for two classifications if it satisfies both (see I. below for the only exception). At the Journeyman level, computers may only be used in the design stage. No auxiliary equipment may be used to produce your weaving and all required drawdowns must be done by hand. Profile drafts are acceptable, provided a key is included for each profile draft.
REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTER WEAVER RATING Because The Weavers' Guild of Boston realizes that there exists increased availability and use of auxiliary equipment in the handweaving community, the option of using that type of equipment to weave your fabric is now possible, but only on this level. Using this type of equipment is not a requirement but is acceptable, except for the cloth analysis requirement. Judges realize that the majority of applicants do not have or use auxiliary equipment. Your use or non-use of this type of equipment will in no way affect your standing, or your ability to successfully pass this rating. No more than half of your pieces submitted may be done with auxiliary equipment. Those pieces chosen to be done using auxiliary equipment must require a minimum of 12 (twelve) shafts. Paperwork should include a printout of all pertinent weaving information (adherence to record sheet requirement is not applicable for these pieces only). The weaver should state how many treadles would be needed on a standard loom and give that tie-up. The weaver must also give the peg-plan for a standard dobby loom or the pedal-entry/sequence-entry for the computer/dobby loom, depending on the equipment used. A computer printout of the draw-down is required when using a computer/dobby. A Master Weaver applicant must create independently. In other words, the applicant should not seek assistance from teachers, friends, or colleagues in the form of ideas and/or constructive criticism. All questions and concerns having to do with this rating should be directed to the Ratings Chair who will answer all reasonable questions. All work must be original. Any article may be submitted for two classifications if it satisfies both. A. TECHNICAL SECTION Thread two different patterns on six or more shafts. Each threading shall be at least ten inches wide with enough repeats to show the effect of the pattern. Weave at least twelve borders or all over patterns on each sampler showing the possibilities of each threading. Each sampler should be one continuous length. Choose one of the treadlings from each sampler and make a complete article (two samplers, two articles). B. ORIGINALITY SECTION Using a variety of yarns from fine to coarse, design and weave articles of eight different textiles, all original, minimum size 15" by 15". At least four of the articles must be woven in a weave of eight or more shafts. Reread second paragraph under the heading REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTER WEAVER RATING.
C. SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
REQUIREMENTS FOR MASTER WEAVER PLUS RATINGDue to the increased interest of some of our Master Weavers, this new category is being introduced. The subject of this Rating is to be an expression of a very special interest / expertise or exploration of some special study in the Fiber Arts. This study and the execution of pieces related to this study are extraordinary in the sense that technique, choice of material, and method of execution are left entirely up to the applicant. The requirements are:
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