February Meeting
Bandweaving from A to Z
(hint: not just inkle looms!)
Saturday, February 28, 2026
9:30 - noon at Crosstown Concourse
You've decided you need a narrow band for a bag handle or maybe a guitar strap - so you grab an inkle loom and map out your color order, right? Wait a minute - there are many more ways to weave narrow wares than a warp-faced plain-weave band on an inkle loom.
Join the guild for an exploration of band weaving in some of its many forms. Yes, there is the widely-known inkle loom, but it's not just for plain weave. You can weave pick-up patterns, pebble weave, and brocade. Do you find pick-up too fiddly? You might like backstrap weaving with a small rigid heddle. Learn the difference between plain, sunna, sigga, and double-hole heddles and the designs they each can make. Add tablets to the mix and expand your options even more with a technique that produces beautiful diagonals and curves, and elaborated charted patterns without floats.
Bring your bandweaving to share if you have some in progress, and come ready to try your hand at another.
Plus, a report from the Guild Development retreat put on by the Handweaving Guild of America. Four of our guild members attended the retreat and will report on the sessions they attended. It was truly inspiring to gather – even in an online forum – with representatives from guilds all over the country.
Looking ahead to our March meeting:
Fresh from the Dixon, Jennifer will be presenting her lecture.
Under the Influence:
The Slow Art of Tapestry Weaving
Meeting Location: Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Free parking in the garage in the back rows and upper levels; the first rows have a fee after 2 hours. Once in the building, take the Central Atrium elevator to the 7th floor, turn right, and enter through the Parcels office.
Membership
Enjoy the benefits of guild membership for $20 annual dues.
- Monthly meetings with educational programs or social gatherings, or extended workshops
- Participate in the guild booth at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair demonstrating craftsmen's tent
- Library of books, media, and equipment available for check-out
- Information on looms for sale (local area)
- Weavers who are always ready to help answer questions or lend a hand!
Monthly Meetings
Monthly meetings include a short business meeting, educational program, and viewing of members' work.
Meetings are typically at Crosstown Concourse (7th floor in the Patio area of the Parcels office) from 9:30 - 12:00 on the 4th Saturday of the month - however dates do change around the holidays (November and December meetings).
Guild History
The Memphis Guild of Handloom weavers was founded in 1947 but Viola Joyce Quigley and fellow students from the Memphis Academy of Art. Since then, the guild has held art shows, workshops with internationally reknowned instructors, classes for the public, and sales of handwoven goods.
We continue to promote the time-honored craft of handweaving into the 21st century.
Guild Library
The guild keeps an extensive library of over 300 books and videos on a wide variety of weaving topics. Members may check out media from the library.
The guild also owns 10 looms and a colections of smaller equipment and tools.