Pattern Weaving

Rabbit Goody is a nationally recognized textile historian and consultant to major museums and the film industry. Her reproduction fabrics have appeared in many movies. She owns, directs and designs for Thistle Hill Weavers, a custom mill that has been producing reproduction fabrics, trim and carpet for more than 20 years. She has written for periodicals including American Life, Old House Interiors and Heritage.

Autumn 13Subtitled ‘Basics for the Handloom’ this book is intended as an introduction to four-shaft weaving on a floor loom (although the principles and projects are equally applicable to a table loom). Starting with an introduction to the names and purposes of parts of the loom and accessories, the author takes the reader step-by-step through basic skills from winding the warp, through dressing the loom to starting to weave. The clear and abundant photographs are a definite plus for beginners, and in general I found the combination of text and illustration very easy to understand. I found several instances however where information was provided in later chapters rather than where it would have been most appropriate, indicating the importance of reading the whole book before attempting to wind your first warp and dress the loom.To apply the basic skills learnt in the first part of the book, the author details four projects for the beginner to explore the versatility of their loom through a good variety of techniques in wool, cotton and linen. These range from checked scarves in plain weave and twill, through placemats in Ms and Os, a herringbone blanket involving stitching together narrower lengths and a table set in Bronson Lace. There are many helpful hints throughout which more experienced weavers could find useful, for example a recommendation to include a little extra warp length in each project to weave a notebook sample. On the downside there are several photographs that do not correlate with the text descriptions and could confuse a beginner weaver.Christina Chisholm, Online Guild