The Weaver's Idea Book: Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom by Jane Patrick

This book showcases the broad range of possibilities that can be achieved with the rigid heddle loom. Included are chapters on plain weave, using color and texture, finger-control, pick-up, and warp-faced weaving. Two heddle weaving explores warping and weaving as well as a double weave. Step-by-step instructions with photos that make understanding each technique easy. Includes 10 engaging projects.

Weaving, especially on rigid-heddle looms, is enjoying a resurgence, and contemporary weavers are in need of a book to bridge the divide between basic books and complex text designed for advanced weavers with sophisticated tools. Celebrating the immense potential for creativity possible with the simplest of tools, The Weaver's Idea Book opens new avenues for exploration on both the rigid-heddle and multishaft looms.

"As a guide for beginners and practiced weavers, Jane Patrick's book is inspirational. Although specifically aimed at the rigid heddle loom, the 200 pages hold a wealth of information on weave structures and patterns that can be used on many looms. The spiral-bound, the textbook-style layout is good, with clear section separation, and the chapters take you up a hierarchy of difficulty. I felt comfortable with plain, finger-controlled and pick up weaves, then I marveled in awe at sections on the warp and weft-faced fabrics and working with two heddles. There is a nod to garment and item construction in the guise of a few set pieces, but the book's real strength is in opening a treasure chest of weaving possibilities to new or relatively inexperienced weavers. Each section provides a soft kaleidoscope of samples that I have already been tempted to replicate. The book will doubtless remain a good sourcebook to refer to for new creative ideas and inspiration. However, the book might give the absolute beginner a puzzle at times, as it is not always clear and sometimes repetitive. Generally, though, the book was a joy to read and is unlikely to gather dust on my bookshelf." - Journal for Weavers Spinners & Dyers

• Spiral-bound: 240 pages
• Publisher: Interweave; Spi edition (Aug. 17 2010)
• Language: English