Want to learn a wonderfully expressive new skill? Saori freestyle hand weaving originated in Japan. It’s open to everyone regardless of age, gender or physical ability, with no rules, no tricky patterns, no worries about straight edges and no mistakes!

The ‘sa’ of Saori comes from Zen vocabulary, meaning everything has its own individual dignity, the ‘ori’ means weaving.

In a Saori Studio the looms are set up with warp threads so you can come in, sit down and weave. Saori weaving began when Misao Jo was 57 years old. While hand weaving an obi (belt) for her kimono, she noticed a warp thread was missing and was delighted to find this ‘mistake’ made a beautiful pattern. Her ‘flawed’ obis were so full of life, people wanted to make their own. Students learned the basic techniques of using a loom and then had the opportunity to ‘paint with yarn’, be adventurous and express themselves freely with pure joy. This spontaneous approach to weaving finds ‘the beauty with lack of intention’, inspiring confidence in your own creativity. It’s a generous invitation to consider the difference between a machine and a human being, inspire one another and ‘look out through eyes that shine’. Magical!

The Saori Shed is part of a fantastic East Anglian creative studio in Diss. Through their charity, designermakersCIO, this vibrant community of craftspeople and artists nurtures local talent and makes arts accessible to all. Check out their Save Our Story campaign, aiming to secure a bright future.