When Morgan Farren was pregnant with her daughter, Scout, she searched long and hard for a statement piece for the nursery. The Queensbury resident couldn’t find anything that she absolutely loved, so she ended up taking matters into her own hands. After watching a few online tutorials, Farren created her very first piece of fiber art—a woven wall hanging—and with that, Scoutwoven was born.
Farren produces her Scoutwoven weavings on a loom—the Niskayuna native has upwards of 20 of them in all different sizes—and implements an array of techniques to produce different patterns using fibers such as yarn, velvet and jute (a rough fiber normally used to make twine or rope). When the weaving part is complete, Farren attaches the finished product to a wooden rod and adds fringe to the bottom. A lot of fringe. “I’d definitely say I’m known for my fringe,” she says. “It’s something people see, and they know it’s me. Velvet and fringe are my big things.” So where can people see Farren’s wares? Mostly on Instagram, where her account, @scoutwoven, has more than 20,000 followers. (Weaving is huge on the social network; the hashtag #weaversofinstagram has more than 750,000 posts.)
In addition to creating custom pieces for her clients, Farren also sells colorful fibers to other weavers online. “During the coronavirus, people were home and looking for something to do,” she says. “My shop exploded.”
There’s no question that Farren has “made it” in the world of weaving, but does her first creation, the one she hung in her now 4-year-old daughter’s room, still make the cut? Well, does a warp yarn run longitudinally on a loom? Yes, the answer is yes.