I have just received a copy of this lovely new book about band weaving. I met Annie in Tacoma in 2016 at the International Braids Conference. Her blog is a real inspiration to anyone who enjoys weaving narrow bands. http://aspinnerweaver.blogspot.com/
Her enthusiasm for inkle weaving is infectious. The book has over 100 patterns in the most glorious colour combinations for 39, 59 and 79 warp threads. I could hardly wait to try one of her patterns. The layout of the book is very user friendly and the patterns are large and clear to read. Here is the pattern that I wove. It is number 11 in the book. I asked Annie if I could put a picture of her drawdown on my blog, so here it is.
The rows below are the drawdown which is a picture of the final woven band.
Here is the band that I wove. I used Rowan cotton glace, a thick, shiny cotton, that weaves beautifully. I use it for guitar straps as it comes in a range of colours and is very sturdy. I use Annies guitar strap fittings for the straps from her Etsy shop. You can see how useful they are when you compare it to the actual band that I wove.
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| Actual woven band |
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| close up of drawdown in Annie's book |
The band is 1 inch (2.5 cm) in width. There are 39 warp ends.
You can see how the drawdown
illustrates the woven band very clearly.
All of the patterns in the book are clear and
enticing.
What will be my next choice? There are so many to choose from.
Annie's book gives lots of useful advice about colour and colour combinations. This is a real strength of the book. You will be rushing to the nearest yarn store to buy some colourful yarns. Her own designs are inspirational.
It is always a thrill to find new books about the craft of band weaving. Annie has been weaving for many years and her creativity shows through in this lovely addition to any weavers bookshelf.
The book is available from her Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ASpinnerWeaver
A PDF version is due out soon.
Recently I was contacted by a weaver who has become interested in band weaving. Lynne has two small band looms. She allowed me to use her pictures here.
One is a Norwegian cradle loom,bought last year from Vesterheim,the National Norwegian-American museum and heritage centre. The other is a home made tape loom made from an old Port box! It measures 91/2” by 4” by 41/2” high. Lynne managed to put a 6 foot warp on it. The pattern is from Annie MacHale's blog. Once you have caught the bug for weaving bands it is amazing how creative you can be.
Annie uses an inkle loom but there are many ways of weaving these bands.
Here is my YouTube video: Five Ways of Weaving Narrow Bands. https://youtu.be/ZzhuDomPtxE
My own book on narrow bands is The Art of Simple Band Weaving
https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/6375234-the-art-of-simple-band-weaving
In the UK, the Handweavers Studio sells a wonderful range of yarns which are excellent for band weaving. Their yarns come in small quantities so that you do not need to buy a lot of yarn in one colour. I am sure that other craft stores in the
The Woolery in Kentucky has a lovely colourful selection of yarns. https://woolery.com/about-us/
They invited me to write a guest blog recently which was a great honour.
https://thewooleryguy.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/guest-post-weaving-patterned-bands-with-susan-j-foulkes/
Happy Weaving
Susan J Foulkes May 2019
