A Yen for Yarn

Framed diplomas are typical college graduate booty, but Kira Silver of Port Washington boasts a more unusual memento from her undergraduate days at Oberlin College: a woven bomber jacket, made in her "From Yarn to Garment" class.

It was this class that transformed the Port Washington twenty-something from a half-hearted knitter and novice crocheter into a string savant: a weaver with her own loom and small Etsy shop.

"I did knitting for a couple of years and I got to the stage where it was knit one, pearl two, knit one, pearl two and I just got lost, " said Silver. "I only got to an elementary stage with knitting and crocheting but for some reason weaving made sense."

Silver works primarily in wool, silk and alpaca, producing sumptuous shawls and scarves in mouthwatering shades. Her work features traditional patterns—subtle herringbones and wide-rep-stripes—and while she is drawn to earth tones, she recently completed a watermelon hued dazzler.

Silver uses a blend of materials, softening the sturdiness of wool with a silky, delicate alpaca. "Alpaca has lovely colors," explained Silver. "I've started mixing colors to make a variegated pattern." Silver orders the yarn from leading online purveyor Threads.com. The arrival of new colors and materials is a much anticipated treat. "It's really exciting getting a new box. When I order it online it's like Christmas all over again."

Fruit of the Loom

As Silver displays the skeins of sorbet colored yarn, so silky to the touch, it's easy to appreciate the delight of a fresh batch of threads awaiting transformation. Silver enthuses about the "tactile" nature of weaving, adding, "I enjoy anything I can do with my hands."

"There is a quality that you get from the handmade," Silver noted. "How long are you going to hold onto a scarf that you got from Target that was $5 and starts falling apart the winter you wear it?" 

Fellow artist Jesse Corinella appreciates the quality of his custom-ordered scarf in shades of blue.  It's his go-to item, at least when it's not 90 degrees out. "It's a staple in the winter," said Corinella. "In autumn and spring, it's an accessory."  Now, with the summer heat, "it sits lonely," Corinella said laughingly.

Silver is currently focused on scarves and shawls, using the summer months as a time to weave and stockpile her Etsy shop with goods for the colder months. But she is considering additions to the collection including pouches that marry woven fabric with silk screening and outdoor rugs woven from plastic bags. "I want to repurpose what might be thrown away," Silver said.

Wares range from $80 to $130; Silver is also looking to introduce a lower-priced line of $40 scarves, noting she wants her goods to be accessible. When you consider that projects take three to eight hours to complete depending on a pattern's complexity, it's clear that weaving is a tough way to pay the bills. 

Like many craftspeople, Silver is a creative-jack-of-all-trades, supplementing her Etsy business with work in a Manhattan printmaking shop and teaching children's art classes at Haven Art. She also weaves once a week in the window of the Brooklyn Gallery Workshop in an applied-arts-meets-performance-art vignette, earning money and a wonderfully quirky line on a growing resume.

"It's so beautiful to watch Kira weave," noted Martine Bisagni, director of the Brooklyn Gallery Workshop, an atelier which supports up-and-coming artisans and craftspeople. Bisagni showcases artists at work, demystifying the creative process and making the link between the work that goes into handcrafted items and their value. "People are more conscious of wanting to know where their money goes," said Bisgani. "Here they can see the work that goes into the weaving."

While her window weaving attracts an interested, inquisitive audience, Silver relishes the product more than the performance, noting, "I don't like being so in my head and thinking of what's the piece of art. I want it to be practical. I want it to keep someone warm or to be a practical object in someone's home," she said.

For Silver, the art is in the craft.

"I love drawing portraits, I enjoy the aesthetic aspects of that, but I'm not looking to get a gallery space to hang 20 pieces in…unless they're scarves," Silver added with a laugh.

Silver's work is available through her Etsy shop wovenbythebaker.