Evening star., 1940-05-19

In an interview last week, she
example of what the home weaver C
she indicated a bolt of heavy, beau
tifully woven cheviot serge from
which she plans to make suit this
fall.
Mrs. Walters says not only does
she economize by weaving materials
at home, but she produces patterns
which 1t would be impossible to buy.
She contends, however, that a
weaver desiring to commercialize
her hobby would make small profit,
as the cost of raw materials Is too
high for a person working on a
small scale to compete with woolen
manufacturers.
Friends Also Benefit
From Her Weaving Skill.
Generous with her art, Mrs. Wal
ters has made dozens of woolen
scarves, bags and table linen sets
as gifts for her friends.
AS an even greater contribution,
however, she has taught hundreds
of others the intricacieS of warp
ing and threading and treadling.
A desire for fabrics suitable as
draperies and upholsterings for her
many pieces of early American fur
niture inspired Mrs. Walters 10
years ago to study the art, which is
rapidly disappearing among house
wives of America.
II had searched for patterns to
go with my furniture" she ex-
planned, "but those I wanted were so
expensive I could not afford them.
I don't believe in wishing for things
without doing something about it,"
she continued, land so l decided to
learn to make the materials myself"
With the aid of books and friends
who had a slight knowledge OF
weaving, Mrs. Walters says she
learned the fundamentals. Her
husband and son made her first
loom and also helped in working
out patterns, which she declares is
one of the most difficult features of
the work
THE threading of early American
patterns is particularly difficult" she
said, land my family gave me valua-
BILE assistance"
American patterns are more in
volved than foreign patterns, she
explained, although foreign weav-
ing, particularly Scandinavian and
ho-Slovakian, have interested
her for years.
Taught Art to Children
In Ohio School.
Mrs. Walters first learned to weave
In Youngstown, Ohio, where she
later taught the art to children at
the Yale School of that city.
Her experience in teaching handi-
, capped children has convinced her
that weaving is a perfect project
for progressive education. Not only
does it help awkward young muscles
to coordinate properly, she claims,
but it also inspires young minds
along other lines.
"A problem which interested the
. children" she recalled, was out
fitting a soldier of the American
Revolution. The children, out of
their own experience, began to figure
how long 1t would take to weave
his linen shirts, his suit and his two
blankets"
With reference to linen shirts,
Mrs. Walters brought out her first
sample of weaving-a linen square
made with the goose-eye pattern,
which, she explained, is one of the
Oldest of linen patterns. Not only
does she weave, but she also knows
how to spin flax, which she says she
learned to do more as a stunt than
from practical standpoint. Since
the war, she explained, it has be-
come increasingly difficult to obtain
fax, her last having been imported
from Czecho- -Slovakia.
While in Youngstown, Mrs. Wal
ters was on the Board of Directors
of the Y. w. C. A., a branch of
. which the International Institute
was established for service to foreign
born to help them become assimi-
lated in American life. With the
secretary of the institute, she con-
ceived the idea of conducting
weaving project to develop center
of weaving from all lands.
Association and Remuneration
Are Themes of Program.
1--WE had a twofold idea" she ex-
planned. First, we wished to bring
women from other countries into
the pleasantest association we could
think Of with the women of Ameri-
CA craft program. A sane and
safe way in which to develop inter-
national understanding might be
through the arts and crafts of all
lands.
Second, in these hard days of
unemployment, we hoped to enable
women to make the contribution of
their weaving to our community at
the same time a paying contribu-
ton to themselves"
Women attending the English and
citizenship classes of the institute
were invited to bring samples of
native weaving to their classes, Mrs
Walters said. Some of the finest
contributions were brought from
Czecho-Slovakian members of the
class.
4. Il had taught good many chill
dren to weave" she added, land
really thought T knew a good bit
about 1t, but my experience with
the weavers of other lands has
taught me many new methods, some
an Improvement on our own and
some not"
; Mrs. Walters believes that some
OF the most interesting weaving is
from Slovakia. "Slovak weaving"
she explained, 'has style all its
own. The background is invaria-
bly, white cotton, the favorite color
Is bright red. like our old turkey