Ava’s Craft Center Looms & Blooms Weaves Together Family Tradition and Technique

Weaving will not become a lost art as long as Kathleen Doty carries on her family’s tradition.

She owns Ava’s Craft Center Looms & Blooms, which her grandmother began in 1962. Her grandmother learned to weave from Doty’s great-great-grandmother Rachel, who was a direct descendent of a brother of frontiersman Daniel Boone.

“I have pictures of his building where he kept at least six looms going at any given time,” Doty says. “So, I know it goes farther past my great-great-grandma, but I don’t know how many generations were in between.”

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Weaving a Family Tradition

Doty grew up around the original craft center and learned to weave from her grandmother and mother. After her mother passed away three years ago, she ensures the practice lives on.

“There was a lot I hadn’t learned from my mom and grandmother because warping, or dressing, the looms is kind of a tedious process,” she says. “I never got in on that, so there was a gentleman who was also a weaver who showed me some, and the rest I figured out on my own, watching videos and that sort of thing.”

Doty says her mathematically minded husband also helped her to figure out some of the methods.

She uses a two-harness Union 36 loom originally made in the 1920s. Her materials are rarely new. She prefers to upcycle old clothing or other items whenever possible, including jeans, shirts and bedspreads.

“Almost anything I can get my hands on, I’ll weave up,” Doty says. “There’s a lot of textile waste that goes on. I’m glad I can be a part of keeping some of that out of the landfills and putting it to another good use.”

Rugs are just the beginning of her vast array of products. She also weaves tote bags, pillows, table runners, place mats, hall runners, hot pads and coasters, which she calls mug rugs.

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The Fabric of Her Life

While some weavers have begun using poly-cotton warping for their looms, Doty continues to use 100% cotton, also a preference of previous generations.

“Polyester fabrics and warps aren’t kitchen safe,” Doty explains. “I try to use cotton material so my woven items can be used all around the home.”

Warp refers to the thread that runs vertically and holds the rugs together. Weft is the upcycled material being cut and sewn into strips. The warp then gets tied off to make the fringe at the end of the rug.

Doty sees how lightweight and loosely woven the rugs are in many retail stores, and this inspires her to weave a heavy quality, tightly woven item that will last for years.

“I keep the tension tight on the looms, and when I warp my looms, the space between the threads is closer together, so it makes the rugs tighter,” she explains. “I still have rugs in use that my grandma made when I was a teenager.”

Preserving a Craft

The original craft center building no longer exists, but Doty works out of a small shop on the same property as her home, with hours by appointment only. She takes custom orders including memory items made from family members’ clothing.

Doty also sells her crafts at area festivals and special events. She feels strongly about teaching weaving to the next generation.

“I saw my mom and my grandma work very hard at it. When my grandma was passing, she was still weaving rugs. She would hold her hands up like she was sewing thread,” Doty says. “Upcoming generations don’t know how to do these things. It’s important for me to keep that traditional craft alive. I feel like the younger generations are losing out on some of the traditional crafting, and I wanted to make sure that didn’t leave with me.”

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