Weaving at Exmateria, Sydney

I had the pleasure of taking the “Intro to Rug Weaving” class over at Exmateria in Sydney recently. It is a full day workshop and materials are provided. The location is at one of the UTS buildings near the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

Exmateria imported second hand floor looms to create a beautiful space for weaving any reusable materials into highly creative, functional and sometimes fashionable pieces. We were shown different experimental/ finished pieces made by Su and Anneli who run the studio. The pieces were made from materials like bike tyres, Mama Tom Yum instant noodle packs and salvaged finishing lines from our beaches.

I was able to weave a rug with 2 complementary colours (wine red and grape purple), the materials were t-shirt cut-offs salvaged from cutting factories. The mix of colours produced a reddish purple and the fabric retained its cotton softness and weren’t as rigid despite my tight weaves. The day was enjoyable and meditative with repetition and flow in the process. I would love to visit again for more weaving experience. You are also able to BYO materials – so get cutting on unwanted clothes, sheets and other linen.