An Ercol chair next to a side table. The cushion of the Ercol chair is a handwoven double cloth design in natural white and black Wensleydale wool. A white handwoven cushion sits on the chair.

SUE HOPKINSON

Weaving for Sue Hopkinson is always an interesting journey, one that is full of opportunities to develop new designs and try new weave structures. From the initial concept, whether a phrase from a text or an aspect of the landscape, Sue particularly enjoys the thrill of seeing ideas developing both on paper, before the project gets near a loom, to playing with a design on the loom until the balance of pattern and colour feels right. She finds herself drawn to natural materials, usually merino lambswool as it lends itself well to comforting interior fabrics. She particularly enjoys the way that double weave can be used – where colour can appear and disappear and be blended in the fabric to create either shading or sharp contrasts.

Sue’s childhood was spent surrounded by material and yarn. Her mother was a seamstress and knitter, and there was rarely a time when there wasn’t a piece of sewing in progress or fabric was being sought for the next project. She was hugely influenced by all those years of being exposed to fabric in all its forms. It was a love of knitting and yarn however, that ultimately led Sue Hopkinson to weaving. After a brief foray into spinning and thence to the Guild or Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, Sue had the opportunity to try weaving and recognised immediately that it was something she was going to love. Within a short space of time, she bought her first loom – an eight shaft Louet table loom - and armed with Peggy OsterKamp’s ‘Weaving for Beginners’ taught herself to weave. Sue completed the Diploma in Handweaving at the Handweavers Studio in 2021. She continues to use an eight-shaft table loom but has also acquired a 16-shaft dobby floor loom which she uses for exploring double weave.

Since finishing the Diploma at the Handweavers Studio, Sue has taken part in several exhibitions: ‘Edge to Edge’, The Handweavers Studio 2022 and ‘One Year on’, The Handweavers Studio in 2023. She contributed to ‘Crossing the Warp Thread by Thread’, Whitchurch Silk Mill 2024. Going forward, Sue is keen to keep challenging herself with new projects and ultimately developing as a weaver.