I have been having a great time finding and reading books to fill up my Hot Reads Bingo Card. The one I’m reviewing for you today is for my Reader’s Choice box. I read The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory: 400 Warp-Faced Weaves by Anne Dixon.

As a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, I have done a fair bit of handicrafts that have been done for many many centuries. One of my favorites is weaving. I love to sit down with a bunch of string and get up a while later (sometimes a long while later!) with a decorative band of fabric. A while ago, I took a class at one of our events, and the teacher recommended Dixon’s book. I am glad I finally took her advice and read this for myself!

Dixon has been weaving inkle bands for more than 20 years, and she shares her experience and patterns with the rest of us in this spiral-bound book. She describes step-by-step how to setup the warp to make decorative bands and trims using a variety of methods. She breaks down each type of weaving so that anyone can follow along and learn from her book. I am not an inexperienced weaver, but I learned a better way to start and stop a piece in the first 10 pages of her book.

The book begins with straight weaving, called tabby weaving. This is the basic over/under you probably think of when someone says “weaving”. The pattern here comes directly from the colors you used in your warp string. She then progresses through warp manipulation (also called pickup weaving), Baltic-style pickup weaving, Monks Belt and many more ways to create beautiful bands.

I have been on a weaving kick since reading this book and here are some of the bands I’ve created recently.

*****