Back in the day I was interested in spinning, weaving and dyeing and so accumulated books on these subjects, thus the most recent book in this collection is over 35 years old. However, the processes still stand and I think that most, if not all, of these books will still be relevant today.
The Book of the Looms – Eric Broudy – Cassell Ltd (UK) 1979 ISBN 0 289 70873 7 – This book covers a lot of historical looms! There is not a huge amount of data on each one; typically a page to a page and a half, but there are wonderful black and white photos as well as detailed line drawings to help describe what the looms looked like and how they worked. Chapter one covers the origins of looms and weaving, covering the earliest looms used for linen, wool, silk and cotton. Chapter 2 covers the warp weighted loom, including Greek, and Scandinavian designs and the chilkat loom. Chapter three covers the two bar loom, horizontal and vertical types and their local variants. Chapter four covers Pueblo and Navajo looms, chapter five covers back strap looms and other primitive looms. Chapter six covers the treadle loom and chapter seven covers the draw loom. Chapter eight looks at the modern loom and the textile industry.
Technique of Weaving – John Tovey – B.T. Batsford Ltd (UK) 1983 ISBN 0 7134 3851 7 – This is quite a detailed and technical book. Section one covers types of looms including table looms and foot powered looms, mountings and harnesses, and additional equipment. Section two covers preparing the loom, including the warp and the loom itself, knots and the weaving process. Section three covers theory around calculations and the various weaves including plain, twill, satin and block weaves. Section four covers specialised techniques for using the rigid heddle. The book has lots of black and white photos and line drawings.
The Weaver’s Book – Harriet Tidball – Macmillan Publishing Co Inc – (US) 1961 ISBN 0 02 011960 7 – This is a small but detailed book with a series of short chapters, each covering a separate topic. Chapters include: Introduction; the loom; yarns; designing; preparation for weaving; dressing the loom; weaving; drafting and fabric analysis; weaves and pattern drafts; the plan weave class; controlled weaves on tabby foundation; the twill class; the twill derivative class; the unit class; the grouped thread class; the double weave class; the rhythmic weave class; weaving methods and weaving skills. The book has lots of B&W photos and line drawings.
Teach Yourself Handweaving – Eve Cherry - English Universities Press Ltd (UK) 1954 ISBN (none) – This book is a part of the original ‘Teach Yourself…..’ series published between 1938 and 1966 with a distinctive yellow and black (or blue) cover. The current series started in 1966 and continues to this day. It is broken down into eighteen chapters. Initially the book covers form card loom to table loom, making a table loom and how to set it up. This is followed by weaving on a two shaft and four shaft table loom, larger looms, warping with warping mills, treadle looms, yarns, counts and cloth setting weaving on a treadle loom and rugs, tapestries and inlay. The book is small, but information dense and has a couple of B&W photos and some line drawings.
The Four-shaft Table Loom – Anne Field – Nelson Publishers (AUS) 1986 ISBN 017 006841 2 – The book has sixteen chapters of anywhere between 5 and 15 pages per chapter. Chapter one starts with the structure of the loom and how to choose one and chapter two talks about yarns. Chapter three covers planning the warp, chapter four warping the loom and chapter five weaving. Most of the rest of the book talks about weaving various patters such as plain, twills, weft face, overshot weaves, one shuttle weaves and double weave. Chapter fifteen talks about summer and winter, crackle weave (whatever that is!) and chapter sixteen talks about fabric. The book has lots of B&W photos and line drawings, with the odd colour photo thrown in.
The Weaver’s Craft – L.E. Simpson & M. Weir – The Dryad Press (UK) 1969 ISBN 978 0 852190 61 6 – This book appears to have been used widely throughout the UK school system. Introductory chapters cover the value of weaving, how weaving got started and the weaver as an artist. Chapter four talks about simple weaving like raffia, straw table mats and finger weaving. Chapter five talks about preparing wool for weaving and chapter six talks about simple homemade looms and chapter seven covers rug making on a homemade loom. Chapter eight covers handling a longer warp than is usual on the home-made loom and chapter nine talks about making a four heddle box loom and chapter ten talks about the table loom including some ‘Dryad’ examples (note the publisher!) available for purchase. Chapter 11 covers the foot powered loom, chapter twelve covers tweeds, thirteen covers pattern drafting and fourteen covers analysis of woven fabric, so a pattern can be developed. Chapter fifteen contains notes on how to teach kids how to use a loom and chapter sixteen covers methods for calculating quantity of warp and weft. Lots of B&W photos and some line drawings.
The Key to Weaving – Mary E. Black – The Bruce Publishing Company (US) 1957 ISBN 978 0 025111 70 7 – This is a BIG and very technical book over 550 pages long and it is very information dense! There are seventeen chapters. The initial chapters discuss various looms and their construction, setting up the loom for use and plain weaves. Following chapters talk about weaving techniques in detail such as plain weaves (finger manipulated); twills; overshot; Crackle weave(!); summer-and-winter weaves (!!); Bronson (?); one-shuttle weaves; combination weaves; miscellaneous weaves; tartan weave sand tapestry weaves. The second last chapter covers the theory of weaving and working out how to read and understand threading drafts, the tie up, the draw down and fabric analysis. The last chapter – General information – is a mind boggling array of information on stuff you never heard of, like correcting crossed heddles, errors cause by uneven tying and faulty tension as well as how to prevent threads on shuttles from tangling when placed in a cupboard! Lots of B&W photos and line drawings.
Foundations of Weaving – Mike Halsey & Lore Youngmark – Pitman – (AUS) 1986 ISBN 0 85896 382 5 – The book is very information dense, with almost 200 pages. It has nine chapters, chapter one covering basic structure including early weaving, properties of threads and card loom weaving. Chapter two covers frame looms, chapter three talks about simple looms such as box looms, rigid heddles and simple warping. Chapter four covers colour and texture of yarns and weaves. Chapter five covers finger manipulated weaves including weft patterns discontinuous weft and lace-effect weaves. Chapter six covers two and four shaft looms while chapter seven covers basic two- and four-shaft weaves. Chapter eight covers double weaves and chapter nine talks about technique and design topics such as yarn, sett, warp, weaving, design and cloth finishing. The book has lots of line drawings and a few B&W photos.
The Weaver’s Workbook – Hilary Chetwynd – B.T. Batsford Ltd (UK) 1988 ISBN 978 0 7234 5734 1 – This is a basic book designed for those starting out as well as experienced weavers. There are ten small chapters covering looms and weaving accessories; designing and making the warp; threading the shafts and the reed; preparing the loom for weaving; weaving; how to solve weaving problems; warp tension and pattern drafting. The last chapter – pattern weaving – takes up the second half of the book, covering varying styles of weaving using lots of colour diagrams to illustrate how each weave is achieved. There are lots of coloured line drawings, a few B&W drawings and a few B&W photos.
The Joy of Handweaving (2nd Ed.) – Osma Gallinger Todd – Bonanza Books (US) 1964 ISBN 978 0 517104 57 6 – This is quite a large book at over 300 pages and is composed of 41 short chapters. The first three are an introduction to threads and weaving, chapters 4 to 7 cover a first weaving lesson around weaving a bookmark. Chapters 8 to 13 cover various miscellaneous bits like weaving a rug on a frame, Indian weaving, weaving a table mat or rug and colour/colour combinations. Chapters 14 to 24 cover setting up and weaving on a two-harness table loom, including making one! Chapter 25 to 35 covers various weaving techniques including plain, twill, overshot and diamond. Chapter 36 covers colour; 37 covers planning borders; 38 various draft notations; 39 thread sizes, counts and yardage; 40 is a web chart of warp settings and suitable wefts, and how to use it and Chapter 41 describes some practical projects for hand woven fabrics. The book has lots of line drawings and B&W photos plus a series of colour plates towards the back.
The Art of Weaving – Else Regensteiner – Van Nostrand Reinhold Company (US) 1970 ISBN 978 0 44211 442 8 – This is a large format book, almost A4 in size, composed of ten chapters. The first chapter, the weavers equipment, covers primitive to modern looms as well as other weaving equipment like bobbin and skein winders, shuttles and warping boards. Chapter two talks about yarns including animal, vegetable and mineral fibres. Chapter three covers designing and installing the warp. Chapter four explores the weaves, drafting and recording, with lots of patterns and B&W photos of the various weaves. Chapter five gives more detail on pattern weaves and chapter six, double weaves. Chapter seven covers designing more arty weaves while chapter eight covers tapestry, chapter nine covers rugs and chapter ten covers tapestry. Lots of B&W photos, a few line drawings and some colour plates towards the end of the book.
Weaving You Can Wear – Jean Wilson with Jan Burhen - Van Nostrand Reinhold Company (US) 1973 ISBN 978 0 442295 14 1 – Another large format book, this one is fascinating because it concentrates on wearable weavings! Chapter one covers ethnic body coverings from a number of cultures with B&W photos and line drawings. Chapter two covers general specifications such as dimensions, sizing and measurements like length, neck openings and sleeve width and armhole openings. Chapter three, taking up half of the book covers ‘handwoven coverings for people’, and provides dimensions and instructions for weaving various clothes including various tunics, a Portuguese shepherds coat, African shirt, sherpa coat and poncho. Chapter four is entitled ‘cut and sew, loom shaping, tubular weave; chapter five covers accessories, extras, small stuff like belts bags and umbrellas made on the loom. The book has lots of B&W photos and line drawings, with a few colour plates at the back.
The Craft of the Weaver – Ann Sutton, Peter Collingwood & Geraldin St Aubyn Hubbard – BBC (UK) !982 ISBN 0 563 16363 1 – This book was designed to accompany the BBC television series ‘The Craft of the Weaver’ first broadcast in 1980, and I am guessing that each chapter of the book would line up with a TV program. The first three chapters cover fibres and yarn, spinning and dyeing. Chapter four talks about the frame loom, chapter five covers tapestry weaving while chapter six is more general, covering various looms and equipment. Chapter seven covers making a warp and dressing the loom, chapter eight covers weaving on a table or floor loom, chapter nine talks about plain weave, variations and possibilities. Chapter ten discusses weaving with four or more shafts and chapter eleven covers designing, weaving and finishing cloth. Chapter twelve covers weaving rugs, chapter thirteen talks about the backstrap loom, inkle weaving and tablet weaving, fourteen covers woven hangings and chapter fifteen covers historical textiles. The book has lots of B&W photos and some line drawings with a set of colour plates near the start and towards the back.
Native American Weaving
Navajo and Hopi Weaving Techniques – Mary Pendleton Macmillan Publishing Co Ltd. (US) 1974 ISBN 0 02 595500 4 – This is really two books in one – Navajo Techniques (pp 9 – 98) and Hopi techniques (pp99 – 157). Navajo techniques: Chapter one covers how to make a Navajo loom, tools and warping frame; Chapter two talks about yarns to use for warp and weft, twinning and Navajo selvage threads. Chapter three talks about preparing the yarn, carding, spinning, plying and dyeing and Chapter four is a page on design, chapter five is about selecting the technique and chapter six is about selecting yarns. Chapter seven is about mounting the warp, chapter eight is about things you should know before weaving and chapter nine covers beginning the weaving. Hopi Techniques: this book is along similar lines and coverage to the previous book but goes deeper into design, winding the warp and weft tension. Both books have B&W photos and some line drawings and there are a series of colour plates between the two books.
Weaving a Navajo Blanket – Gladys A. Reichard – Dover Publications Inc. (US) 1978 ISBN 0 486 22992 0 – This book follows the usual pattern, starting with the weaver, wool and how it is prepared for weaving, deciding on the yarn colour and how to make natural dyes, weaving implements and setting up the loom, how to weave and using a pattern. The book then focusses on ‘saddle blanket patterns’ and how to weave them. Warp weaving, used by the Navajo to make belts, sashes, garters and headbands is discussed. Also covered are sandpainting tapestries, how to tell the origin and age of a Navajo blanket, their symbolism and how to buy one. The book doesn’t have a lot of illustrations for its size but there are some B&W photos and line drawings.
Navajo Weaving: its Technic and its History – Charles Avery Amsden – The Rio Grande Press Inc. (US) 1934 (this printing 1974) ISBN 978 1 16451 078 9 – This is book is over 200 pages long. Part 1 – the technique of Navajo weaving: chapter one covers finger weaving, chapter two, loom development in America and chapter three covers the Navajo loom, chapter four covers the weaves of the Navajo, chapter five covers development of native dyes and chapter six covers methods and formulae for native dyeing. Chapter seven covers the types and uses for Navajo textiles. Part 2 – The history of Navajo weaving: Chapter eight covers The first sheep (!); chapter nine covers early Navajo weaving; Chapter ten covers Bayeta 1800 to 1863(?); Chapter eleven cover the taming of the Navajo 1863 to 1868 Chapter twelve covers Blanket to rug, the transition period 1870 to 1890; Chapter thirteen covers the rug business 1890 to 1932; Chapter fourteen covers the growth of design 1800 to 1920 and chapter fifteen covers the revival, 1920 to the present. The book has quite a number of B&W photos and two colour fold-outs at the front of the book.
