Lakeland PBS presents Common Ground, brought to you by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Production funding of Common Ground is made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community, Member FDIC.

Welcome to Common Ground.

I'm producer/director Scott Knudson.

On this episode Keila McCracken explores sustainable cloth on her Hattersley Loom.

Hi, I'm Keila McCracken and I'm the owner and operator of Bare Cloth.

In 2015, I was able to acquire a Hattersley Loom and I'm a magic fabric weaver.

Yeah so this is a good example of what can go wrong.

So right here on the, on the loom, what has officially happened is there's this back beam back here and this basically organizes the thread as it comes forward.

It got pushed out and so the shuttle that goes back and forth follows that beam and so if this gets pushed out then the shuttle doesn't land in the little hole on the little nest that throws it back out so we have the shuttle here that got stuck, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to just take apart a couple pieces and re-put this back, reposition it.

In late 2015 was when the loom arrived and I had it at a location that was really set up for me to explore and understand the Hattersley Loom so this was my first time working on it and it was my first time learning about it and working with it.

After graduating high school here in Bemidji, Minnesota I moved to New York City to study fashion design and went to Fashion Institute of Technology and was really inspired and I just had the bug to design clothes, to make clothes and to just explore design and an applied medium on the human body so I was so intrigued and I just soaked up the education when I was there and asked a lot of questions that there weren't a lot of answers to at the time and I also asked questions that I didn't realize at the time were taboo questions where the fashion industry really didn't want to dress certain things.

So asking questions of like who is going to be making the clothing that I design?

I wanted to know where these garments were going to be made?

I was really curious.

I wanted to know who were the people that were going to be spending time cutting out these patterns, sewing the patterns together, doing the pressing and finishing?

I wanted to know what the impacts were and what those people's livelihoods were like?

For me design is a really personal process and so I want to know the people that I'm designing with, so if you know I was working with a factory group I wanted to be able to know what their lives were like.

I wanted to know the people because to me that's important because I, it's my work, it's my design.

It's very personal and so I want to know what their lives are like too and I want to know them.

We dove a lot into textile production as well and I was asking questions, like oh what kind of dyes do you use?

Are any of them natural?

What are the chemical processes for creating these dyes and what are the environmental impacts?

I didn't know that those were charged questions at the time and a lot of people in the industry at the time didn't have answers for those and those weren't questions that had come up or that were commonly asked so I left the fashion industry and dove into anthropology where I got to ask literally any question I wanted to under the sun and was also given the time to explore those questions and explore those answers and based off those answers ask more questions and do more exploration, so at that time in my life I knew that I love textiles.

I love designing.

I love sewing and draping and pattern making but I wanted to do all of that design work in a way that matched my values.

So I graduated with my anthropology degree in that summer.

My family to kind of commemorate, my grandparents passing we decided to do a trip to Scotland to learn more about our family last name.

We all don't have the same biology makeup but we all share the same last name so we went to Scotland just to kind of explore that.

Less than 24 hours we were in Scotland and we happened to meet several Hattersley weavers at a church and during social hour they invited us over to their homes for us to see the looms and how my parents tell it is that we instantly walked in and saw Hattersley Loom for the first time.

I had no idea that these looms existed and my parents say that they saw it in my eyes that it was just obvious that like, oh no, Keila had an idea so it didn't hit me at the time.

They knew it.

I didn't, but after seeing the looms and how they operated and how they worked it was something where I was like oh this so aligns with my creation and my way of doing things.

What if I made my own fabric because that summer previously I had tried to weave fabric for myself so I could just like make my own garment and I did it on a traditional floor loom and it took me 10 hours to weave two yards and I just knew there wasn't a way that this would be, it would work out.

I didn't have the patience first of all to take 10 hours just to weave two yards and not even have enough fabric to make a garment and so running into the Hattersley Loom aligned with the sustainability, the cultural side of things, the history side of things, the production and it just made sense at the time.

It was one hundred percent gut reaction.

I knew that I wanted a Hattersley Loom and then I'd work on it and it would all work out.

I'd never worked on one before and when we got home from Scotland I just started the process of researching Hattersley Looms seeing if they're available, how to even acquire one and then about six months later it was official that I was buying one and I had tickets booked to go back to London to be trained on one and I started my kickstarter to help me kind of fund the purchase of the process of getting a Hattersley Loom.

So the Hattersley Loom has a really steep learning curve.

For those of us here in the United States and within our continent we don't have a lot of looms that still exist that are parallel for me where I could just learn off of them.

So working with the loom it was really tough at first and it was really messy and it was really frustrating.

There are so many moving parts and what's interesting about the loom is that there's some parts that are kind of like a switch so it's it's yes or no.

It's kind of like coding, where it's on or it's off and because of that that means that either it's working or it's not and that's that so learning what things on the loom are yes, no, it's working or yes, it's working no, it's not, good enough.

How do I fix it?

There's other parts of the loom that there is kind of a really meshy tipping point of whether it's working or not so it's more flexible, it's more malleable and learning those idiosyncrasies of how do I know if it's on a tipping point of it's leaning towards.

Hey, that's working a little bit smoothly, leaning towards no that's not working as well and then eventually there's a tipping point where it's not working at all and eventually there's the tipping point where it's perfect.

What has been interesting for me to learn is I kind of think of the loom in my head as sections so there's the sections of the loom that are to my right, to my left, underneath the cams, the back and then the upper backs are also their own section and throughout learning this loom I've had to learn that each section so every single piece that is tied to a section I need to know how they are in relation with each other and then I have to understand how all the sections are affect each other and at first when I started working with the loom I was able to make the connections of the larger sections.

I could see how the tension in the back was tied to the tension in the front.

I could see how the reed was a section that was tied to the momentum and the shed, so I was able to identify the larger connections but throughout a lot of problems and throughout a lot of test runs, throughout a lot of studying and throughout a lot of stepping away from the loom and just kind of processing and quizzing myself in the head for what the parts do, that's how I have been able to hone my understanding of each individual section.

All right so since this is happening over and over and over again I think I have something wrong with the take up of the loom coming forward so I think I'm gonna try to add a...

It could be something wrong with this lever so I might add more weights or something like that and goof around over there.

Once you realize something is wrong the, the thing that makes you realize that it's wrong isn't actually what's wrong but it's like four things down the line that is affecting nothing that you're finally noticing is off and so when something goes wrong, don't immediately go to what's making like the loudest noise or bringing them, doing the most visually weird thing.

You kind of have to just go backwards and follow the chain of, chain of connections and links to kind of figure out what the real problem is.

If one thing is off it could also mean that five things are off.

It could also mean that 20 things are off so with my work of learning this loom I've had to learn that oh I instantly have an idea of five things I can go and check so I go check those five things.

If it is still wrong then that's when I realize oh, I haven't learned this part yet.

Now we're gonna figure out what it is which is exciting but also can get really frustrating because I have no idea where to go and so that's where the experimenting comes in.

That's where the research comes in.

That's when it happens where I have to phone a friend and phone another Hattersley weaver but it has taken a long time for me to be able to really learn it and work with this loom.

It hasn't always been easy.

There's a lot of literal blood, sweat and tears in learning the loom in the process and so that's why when it is running smoothly, when you can really hear it, when I can feel it and when I can see it, it's a completely different feeling on the loom when it's running than when it's not.

Yeah, so even if something very minimal is wrong with the loom it can affect the fabric and so the sooner that I'm able to catch something the better and I do have a little bit of a leeway if I catch it on time to kind of make it so you can't tell that I made a mistake and one example of that is so with every throw of the the shuttle going back and forth, that's a pick and if I catch the mistake on the exact same time that like the pick is being thrown, so if a mistake happens and the pick is being thrown, if I catch the mistake before the next pick is thrown then odds are you won't notice any change in the fabric but if it takes me one or two picks to stop the loom or three picks to even notice what's going on before I realize something's happening then there will be an effect on the fabric.

First I want to highlight when I'm operating the loom there's two different feelings that I have when I'm operating it.

It's either the most serene, easy-going, relaxing, confident boosting, like I got this, everything is fine feeling and it's beautiful and it's like an instrument and everything is harmonious and the other times when I weave if something is off, it is the biggest adrenaline rush and everything is about to go wrong and I don't know and I just have to wait to see for the loom to give me more information because when something goes wrong it's giving me information.

So when things are going off, I'm always kind of in peak, like fight or flight mode of paying attention, high tension, high stress.

I have to be on alert so that I can understand what is happening so I can fix it.

All right so there's right now on the fabric you can see that there's a couple mistakes.

There's kind of two ways of seeing that in this situation.

The first is there's a little bit of a gap in the fabric and that's where I was actually pulling the the fabric forward to compensate for the uptake not being the right speed.

The second thing is you'll actually see that there are certain threads that are going over and under when they're not supposed to be and so that's because I missed about three different picks, so it's not the exact same pattern so there's actually kind of the pattern is not correct in this situation because so for example, if I have to throw one, two, three and four in this situation I missed one, two and three so it basically went one, two, three.

four, four, one, two, three, four, one, two three, four because I'm missing one, two and three in that sequence in the pattern, so.

When the loom is going smoothly and I'm sitting behind the loom it is very much a relationship.

I am receiving a lot of information from the loom from just sitting there and pedaling and pedaling often times when people see the loom and they are really excited and they want to sit behind it.

They want to just push the pedals and push the power and what happens is they end up flying backwards because there's a lot of oomph be, behind the loom and so you have to learn when to kind of give and when to kind of push loom and hold it in place, so when you're working with the loom just with how the feeling is, when you are pushing the pedals I can tell and sense if the shed of the loom and the shed is where the shuttle goes back and forth between the threads.

If that's getting narrow and is too narrow or if the shuttle is a little delayed or early I can feel that in the petals and that's something where it allows me to be more in tune so I've been able to learn with my eyes and I've been able to learn with my ears of understanding when it's working or not.

Now primarily I just use my ears and my feet to understand if it's working and if it's not.

if something goes wrong I can feel it in the petals first and I can hear it first and I will find out maybe a few picks later, a few like petals later, I'll be able to see that something is wrong so usually I'm feeling it and I'm hearing it first and that's a way for me to with the feeling I can usually stop right at that second and so catch it before something goes wrong.

With the hearing I might be able to catch it, maybe one pick too late.

We're seeing it's already too late by the time I noticed that something went wrong so it's very smooth and energetic and a really empowering feeling when everything's going great and when it goes wrong, I mean for anyone that loves an adrenaline rush this is definitely the thing for you if you're into adrenaline rushes that are tied to weaving and making fabric, so it can be a little intense and stressful, which also has its own fun tied to it as well.

I now have my own working studio in Turtle River and it's a small studio that I converted and have been kind of creating very deliberately as a makerspace, so a local artist of mine when they found out that I was looking for a permanent location for my loom pulled me aside at a art show and was very deliberate to outline that as a maker, as your creator, as an artist you need to have your own makerspace that feeds your creativity.

That you're able to walk in with energy ready to go and the space doesn't eliminate that or minimize it.

That it's able to feed your energy and keep your energy so that you create because that will show in the end product, so I really love my makerspace.

It is one of my favorite places to be in the world.

Right now it feels really good because I feel like I have acquired enough skills to know what I want the outcome to be and I'm able to literally create that and it feels so great to have that skill set and to also have that kind of imagination of I want this to be reality because in my head it's reality and then to be able to make a reality for other people to see the creations is amazing.

So currently how I do production is I do what's called batches and so a batch represents the warp that's on a loom and so for warping right now I can do anywhere between 30 to 100 yards at a time for putting on the loom and whatever comes off with that warp is considered a batch and what that means is anyone that has the same batch number as you, you guys are cut from the same cloth literally, so they came from the same warp and so I do a lot of scarves and shawls and tote bags and what I''m really excited for right now is I've finally been able to capture and create the type of textures and structure that I want from fabric to work with to construct clothing.

It's taken a long time to get to this point because it really is honing in, not only what thread I want to work with but also the warp, what structure weave I want to do and then off the loom finalizing the fabric with doing fulling and washing and pressing so that the fabric is ready and what I want it to be to actually work with for constructing garments.

I have a few patterns that I've been working with, so the woodswoman shirt and then I have a blazer that I'm currently working on and customizing just so I can start understanding what it's like to work with my fabric on a sewing machine because I do have a few custom orders for textiles and for fabric and before I send it out to those people I want to make sure that it works for sewing so I'm at that stage which I'm really excited to be at.

When I am looking at different places to source my wool and the yarn, I'm looking at those places with the same lens that i'm looking at my own production so I'm paying attention to their environmental impact and paying attention to the economic impacts of where it's being made, how much their workers are being paid and where they are geographically in the world and what is the economic system because some places they need that influx of industry and business and some places need to have it kind of reduced and have a different relationship with that industry, so I am paying attention to those things when I am sourcing the wool.

It's incredibly important to me that my products whether it's a scarf or whether it's a blazer that when its life is done, when it's done being used and worn and repaired and loved then it can return to the natural environment, in not only the fastest way possible but a way that sustains the natural environment and that those resources that are caught up in those natural materials that they can re-enter the natural ecosystem in a way that they can be replenished and used as best as possible.

What I think is especially beautiful about being able to work with the Hattersley Loom and work with the product that comes off of it is it has a different energy than what I have really struggled to find in terms of clothes that work for me in my life.

There's a different feeling quite literally and figuratively in wearing something that has been made by a human and that has been intentionally made by someone because for example, clothing is still one of the few industries worldwide that still depends on human labor.

What is a downfall of the industry is that the cost for human labor is the first thing that is deducted when they are trying to make cuts and make things more affordable so that the people that are being paid, their paychecks are being reduced because that's a flexible thing that the owner can can make and they can make that decision.

Whereas something like materials or equipment, those have set costs and so those cannot be reduced and that's why within the fashion industry there are a lot of people that aren't making handmade clothes.

Most clothes are already handmade but the people that are making those clothes they're not being able to really have a livable wage.

They're not able to live a life of quality and well-being which means that for us as consumers it falls on us.

It's our responsibility to either locate places in the industry that we know that people are being treated well and are paid fairly or it means that and I believe it's more so of this and this instead of this or this, but what I think we should do is be looking for places that we can purchase goods that meet our values already and then support those industry workers throughout the world that their labor is being cut because they are not being valued as much and they the people that hire them know that they can find someone else to step in and take their place at a cheaper lower price so what that means for me, for production is this transparency and honesty of I'm trying to create something very specifically for you that holds the quality, holds the energy, holds the importance and the value of what I think is important.

It's a very different feeling wearing a garment that was made in an industry that isn't designed for you.

That the designer didn't think of you while it was happening, that they weren't maybe thinking of your lifestyle when it was being designed and constructed, that the colorways don't really work for your lifestyle or your wardrobe and you don't feel super empowered when you wear them but it's what was there and then there's this feeling of when you put on a garment that you chose the color because you love wearing that color and you get to choose the weight of the fabric because there is fabric that can be too heavy and too light for your body and what you like to wear, so finding the goldilocks of the weight of the fabric and then finding a weave that you really like like.

It feels good, it feels cool and it matches who you are.

All right so that's just the production of the fabric and then you have the creation of the garment for you or the creation of the product for you and what you like, so whether that's a shawl that's a few inches longer so that it kind of works like a blanket or whether it's a scarf that's a little bit shorter so that it works with how you like to wear it, those are minor adjustments that work with your lifestyle and with you the wearer, the person that is going to be wearing this garment.

When garments are created and the wearer that owns them isn't able to really feel like themself in them and they're really not able to express themselves and they're constantly needing to adjust it and they just feel like something's a little off it also shows and how that person interacts when something is just a little bit off.

It shows from that person, so when you have a garment where you chose the color, you chose the weight of the fabric, it is custom-made to you and your ease, right and the ease is what is the movement style of the garment.

So maybe you like a lot of ease and you want it to be a little bit farther away from the body or maybe you like it to be a little bit tighter and really tailored to you.

Everyone has a different amount of ease that they feel comfortable in and moving in.

If you're someone that likes to use your hands, you know cutting the arm's eye so that it works better for that.

It's a completely different feeling to have a garment that embodies you and your energy than a garment that was made with an idea of okay, so roughly this type of person will purchase that.

I want people to feel incredibly special and I want them to feel that on a day-to-day basis.

You wear clothes every single day.

Why not put on clothing on your body?

Why not wrap yourself in a shawl or a scarf, in something that makes you feel more like you and so being able to do what I do at a smaller production level, where I get to choose the color based off of the person or they get to choose the color and we get to work on the cut together?

It really creates a garment that then someone can really turn to and they get so excited to wear it and I want people to be excited for their day.

To have more and more moments where they feel like themselves.

To feel like they have energy.

To feel like they're excited and kind of ready to show off.

I want people to feel that more and more and so being able to do something as simple as create a really nice scarf or a shawl or a blazer or a shirt or a backpack that is custom for that person.

I want to be that person that can do that for someone.

I invite you to check out the Bare Cloth website which is b-a-r-e-c-l-o-t-h dot c-o and there's a few good things to check out on the website so I do have merchandise that I sell there that you can check out, kind of what's off the loom, what's already been made and select what you like or else you can also do a custom bestow order and kind of do something just for you as well.

Scott: Thank you so much for watching.

Join us again next week on Common Ground.

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Production funding of Common Ground was made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community, Member FDIC.

Common Ground is brought to you by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund with money by the vote of the people November 4th, 2008.

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