Sarah Ward

Lark and Bower

Weaver

©Sarah Ward

Weaving with repurposed yarn

Sarah creates woven textile artworks
Her specialities are off-loom weaving and handcrafted denim
She finds the process of weaving cathartic

Sarah Ward was studying fashion design at college, when a teacher helped her realise that she enjoyed manipulating fabric more than making garments. She then studied textiles at university and became passionate about hand weaving. After working at a weaving studio and a Jacquard mill making fabrics for interiors and fashion houses, she launched her own weaving studio where she handcrafts woven designs and teaches online workshops. "The process of weaving is long and repetitive, and I find this calming and interesting," she shares. Sarah has ongoing projects centered on off-loom weaving, artisanal denim creation and showcasing her traditional craft to children and adults. Not only does her work reconnect people with how their clothes are made, but she also puts a focus on circular economy. Sarah uses discarded natural yarn from industrial fabric mills, rescued before they end up in landfill.

Interview

©Sarah Ward

©Sarah Ward

How did you discover hand weaving?: When I started my textile design course, I thought I would specialise in printed textiles, but after trying weaving for the first time, I fell in love with it. I forgot all about printed textiles and just focused on weaving.
What do you like about weaving?: I think it is the order, the maths and the sequences. It is quite unusual for a creative person to be into order and mathematics! Weaving is very methodical and repetitive, and I find it very soothing.
What is your process?: I usually get my ideas once I am already weaving. I choose perhaps two different types of yarn at random, I test things on the loom and let spontaneous things happen. The outcome can be quite accidental. It is a long process.
What materials do you like to work with?: I like to work with natural fibres, so I use a lot of silk, wool, cotton and linen, but it is always waste yarn that has been discarded by UK textile mills. I never buy yarn brand new, because there is so much yarn discarded by the textile industry that can be used.

Sarah Ward is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2010 and she started teaching in 2020