Most of the skilled craftswomen I came across were creating intricately woven items in chenille and scratchy wool in limited color palettes and traditional patterns. I popped into their booths where they quietly sat, introduced myself and asked a million questions. (I think my enthusiasm surprised them. And my modern, vibrantly striped, hand-woven scarves may have offended them!) Despite our different aesthetics, though, I was eager to meet these weavers and learn their stories.

I met master weaver, Margaret Cherre, at a show several years ago. She began weaving in her late 40s from an instructor in his 80s. He’d learned to weave rag rugs with his mom during the Depression.

— Mielke Schroer

Unplugging and reconnecting

Our busy, technologically driven lives crave balance. Sitting in front of computers, tablets and smartphones all day can make us feel scattered and anxious. Crafting allows us to unplug from our devices and reconnect with our past — and our present.

The desire to create something with our hands isn’t a new idea. Homesteading gained popularity in the 1960s and again in recent decades. “Slow” crafting lets us feel connected with our ancestors, our ancient traditions and to the present moment. I’ve seen (and happily been a part of) a resurgence of traditional pastimes including knitting, embroidery and quilting. People are spinning and dyeing their own yarn and sewing their own clothes.

I think weaving is a natural extension of this urge to make something from scratch. Our appreciation of process-oriented pursuits grows stronger as the pace of life and technology grows ever faster.

Technology and community

Even though ubiquitous technology may be to blame for our desire to unplug, it’s also created a lively community for weaving. Imagine my surprise when I logged onto Instagram for the first time in the fall of 2012 and discovered a rich community of weavers around the world (from the United States to Australia), sharing techniques and sources for supplies. I no longer felt like a black sheep!

Instagram accounts connect modern weavers all over the world. Online communities like @theweavingkind — with almost 40,000 members — provide encouragement and facilitate experimentation, offer monthly weave-along challenges and regularly feature hobbyists and professional fiber artists. Before Instagram, people swapped ideas on Ravelry and Facebook groups.

“Technology has created this interest. People started connecting with each other and that exchange of information, [had] people realizing, ‘Hey this is an option, I could start doing this,’” says Mielke Schroer

The weaving circles of generations past have expanded without borders. All of these resources and opportunities fuel our desire to create. We no longer have to rely solely on handbooks published decades ago (although they’re still quite valuable). Nor do we have to find someone from the Great Depression to teach us. We’re having conversations across continents, sharing tips, troubleshooting and playing “show and tell” with new weaving friends.

Looking beyond the trend

Mielke Schroer and her sister, Amy (Mielke) Dressel, began a small studio as teenagers — not long after that fortuitous tornado drill. Nineteen years later, their fiber arts business has grown into a successful online shop selling looms, spinning wheels and other supplies. They incorporated teaching into their business model early on, realizing that it was just as important as providing the tools and supplies.

The Mielkes grew up steeped in fiber arts and have run a business their whole adult lives. Mielke Schroer has seen first hand how craft trends ebb and flow, reemerging each time with a different twist.

“We’ve come full circle. People are doing exactly what they did back in the decade when I was born, we’re just doing it in different colors,” she says.

The general consensus of the weavers I’ve spoken to agree that its popularity is cyclical. I love that weaving has existed for thousands of years in different styles and techniques worldwide and that the Internet is bringing it all together in a fever pitch. The hand-woven goods created, from linen kitchen towels to wall hangings, are heirlooms that we’ll value and cherish long into the future.

If weaving truly is peaking right now, it will come back again — perhaps just in another iteration, with updated colors, materials or approaches to the craft. Remember those jean strips that Mielke Schroer wove with as a child? Pop onto Instagram and see how many weavers are rediscovering jean yarn; it’s becoming a thing again! Weaving will just evolve and adapt with our cultural climate. If we ever need reassurance or want predictions, look to the past and get ready for a modern spin.