Healing through weaving

Welcome to Magicthinking.

I would like to talk about how I started my weaving journey. I do not remember the exact date, but I remember the feeling. The feeling when I saw the loom, so close, so casually sitting there for me to come and take a closer look. The excitement when I was told that I could try weaving with the loom. The possibilities that ran through my mind when I started weaving row by row, slowly understanding the relation between the crisscrossed yarns. This was almost 9 years ago, at the 6th floor of the Seibu department store in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro city.

The studio was owned and run by Saori, a family owned company that specializes in a form of weaving that is free of forms and patterns, free of rules and rigid ideas of what a piece of woven cloth should look like.

Throughout the years I have learned a form of liberation, a form of expressing oneself through the yarns, through weaving. There is no mistake in Saori weaving, there is no judgement in Saori weaving. Through each and every row you weave yourself. This experience has lead me to a new place which is not merely digits or merits, but a softer side of being human. Of understanding what makes us different than machines. This is a powerful idea to have, it helped me understand myself better and also to accept and forgive myself better too.

At the back of my mind when I’m weaving, I always remind myself to be human. That means that’s it’s okay to have mistakes, that means it okay for things to be crooked, that means that you should take a break and wander around a little bit and connect with others. Don’t overthink and I just let my mind wander and let my hands work the yarns. The results are always amazing this way.

I love my weaving community. They are a group of fun energetic people, always ready to learn something new, try something new. There’s a lot of positive energy flowing in the space when we weave together. Weaving in class with my fellow weavers lifts up my spirit every single time. It’s a zen kind of place, but it’s also like a party sometimes. A party full of colours and ideas. I have made so many friends and most I consider lifelong friends through weaving.

I have had some opportunities to meet creative individuals from various parts of the world through my enthusiasm in weaving which leads me to also dive into the wider world of textile. There’s an interesting mixture of kindness and energy within the community of crafters and textile makers that has drawn me deeper and I am excited to learn and explore more in the future!

So that’s my story of how I began my weaving journey. I hope that you are also enjoying your own weaving or any other creating journey!