Books from Sweden, Finland, Estonia and USA

Weaving Patterned Bands: How to create and design with 5, 7, and 9 pattern threads. 

by Susan J Foulkes

This is my latest book. Weaving Patterned Bands: How to create and design with 5, 7, and 9 pattern threads


Hardcover: 152 pages
Publisher: Schiffer; 1 edition (July 28, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764355503
ISBN-13: 978-0764355509
Dimensions: 7 x 10 inches

'Narrow bands woven in colorful patterns are a centuries-old part of Baltic craft tradition. The double slotted heddle makes patterned band weaving quicker to learn and easier to do, and this is the first book that offers beginners instructions for using it. The craft doesn't involve bulky equipment―all you need can be stored in a shoe box! Learn how to weave these beautiful bands step by step, from the simple 5 pattern threads to the more complex 7 and 9 patterns. Color photographs illustrate the instructions for learning to weave. More than 140 patterns are included, along with principles for planning your own unique designs for contemporary uses such as straps, belts, bracelets, and even handfasting bands. The breathtaking range of colorful bands woven in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Norway are explored and offer additional inspiration.'

USA

In the USA, You can order this book through the Woolery.


UK

In the UK, you can order it through ABE books.  https://www.abebooks.co.uk/ and from the Braid Society.     https://thebraidsociety.wildapricot.org/Books-for-sale


Sweden

In Sweden, you can order this book though Stoorstalka.    

 https://shop.stoorstalka.com/en/products/books/


Here is another wonderful book about patterned bands. 

Three-Color Pickup for Inkle Weavers: a modern look at an Ancient Baltic-Style Technique. 

 by Annie MacHale

It is available from Taproot Video   https://taprootvideo.com  as a PDF or in book format

It is designed for experienced band weavers and introduces a fascinating technique - three colour pickup. This is the first time that this technique has been explained for modern weavers.  You will need to have experience in band weaving and pickup techniques before trying these lovely patterns.  Annie has provided 100 patterns so you can imagine the amount of work that has gone into producing this book. It is an important addition to any inkle weavers library.  


Here are two books about plain weave narrow bands.






In Celebration of Plain Weave.  by Annie MacHale
http://aspinnerweaver.blogspot.com/

Annie's 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.  The book is available as a downloadable PDF. 

 Check out my review on my blog.
https://durhamweaver64.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-new-band-weaving-book.html



Another excellent book about plain weave warp-faced bands.

Making Inkle Braids An introduction to weaving inkle braids

Steve Kennett             https://www.sussexspinner.co.uk/  Book is available from his site. 

 self published, Steve Kennett, 2017

The book starts with an introduction to inkle looms and basic instructions.  It then progresses to warping for patterns, then pick up and drop down for patterning with some ideas for use. He also looks at the pros and cons of using different types of yarn. The book is clearly illustrated with diagrams and photographs.



STOP PRESS!

These three books are now in print. See my blog for April 2020.

jnjissjkot ja lahtat  Samiska band fran Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog och Mala  (2000) published by Sameslojdstiftelsen Sámi  Duodji ISBN 91-631-0499-7

To weave and to braid; Sámi bands from Arvidsjaur, Arjeblog and Malå, by Edit Svakko

This lovely book has patterns for the distinctive Sámi bands woven in Arvidsjaur, Arjeplog and Mala in Sweden. Look at the instructions for weaving with the Sigga heddle on my blog to see how these bands are woven.

Girjjit Samisks vavmonster  Karesuando, Jukkasjarvi och Gallivare  (1999)  ISBN 91-630-9564-5

This is a beautifully produced book of band patterns for traditional Sámi bands woven in Karesuando, Jukkasjarvi and Gallivare in Sweden.

Girjjit Samisks vavmonster  Karesuando, Jukkasjarvi och Gallivare  (1999)  ISBN 91-630-9564-5


Handwoven Tapes by Susan Faulkner Weaver



ISBN 978-0-7643-5196-9  2016
This is a lovely informative book giving many traditional band patterns from the USA. There is a wealth of background information about these humble examples of the weavers craft.
Schiffer Press 2016     208 pages 
 ISBN 978-0-7643-5196-9


Traditional Finnish Decorative Bands by Theodor Schvindt 

in English

ISBN 978-952-5774-88-7  1903 and 2015
This little book is charming.  It was originally published in 1903 and has 159 band designs in colour. All the illustrated bands are in the National Museum of Finland in Helsinki which I visited in 2014. It has been translated into English. It has only 32 pages but a wealth of band details.  The colours are not accurate reproductions of the originals to avoid expensive printing costs so only six colours have been used.  There is also a similar book about tablet woven bands.

This book is available from http://www.salakirjat.com/  They are very efficient and the book arrived very quickly.


Reflections from a Flaxen past - for the love of Lithuanian weaving by Kati Reeder Meek


ISBN 0-9700648-0-2


This beautiful book has some glorious pictures of traditional Lithuanian costumes. I will be reviewing this book next month. (June 2019)



Moraband  by Barbro Wallin              in Swedish.



ISBN: 978-01-978632-5-4              2012
This beautifully illustrated book is published by the Zorn Museum in Mora, Sweden. It is in Swedish but the band patterns are clearly set out. Barbro has carefully recorded the bands that she has woven over many years.  The bands are woven on a Swedish band loom using coloured heddles to choose the pattern threads.  The bands use a threading which has three background threads in between each pattern thread.  As the band loom is not easily available outside of Sweden, I made a YouTube video showing how these bands can be woven using an inkle loom or a backstrap and rigid heddle.
The book is available from the Zorn Museum and Stoorstalka.


Esti Kirivööd by Piia Rand               in Estonian.



ISBN: 978-9949-9363-2-8                  2013
This is a well designed and illustrated book.  The photographs showing how to set up a rigid heddle and backstrap and an inkle loom are very clear and easy to follow even without an English translation.  All the bands are from the Museum in Tartuu.  Each band has a clear graphed pattern accompanied by a photograph of the front and back of the original band from the museum. All the bands are constructed from the familiar 'Baltic' threading which has two background threads in between each pattern thread.  All these bands can be woven using a double slotted heddle.

Lapilised Vööd by Merike Freienthal and Veinika Västrik  

In Estonian




ISBN: 978-9949-9363-0-4                 2012
This is another well designed and illustrated book in  Estonian. These bands have a supplementary warp thread which makes the pattern.  The photographs show how to set up an inkle loom, a backstrap with heddles and a four shaft loom.  The pattern threads are raised and lowered in groups.  The background threads weave tabby.  In the book, each band has a weave pattern and is illustrated with a photograph of the front and back of the original band.
Here is one of the patterns which I wove on my four shaft table loom. Both sides of this band are identical.

Band on page 111.  Woven in wool.
These two Estonian books are available online from  Apollo store.



Gjord av din hand         in Swedish

ISBN 978-91-982042-0-9  2014
Vav Kompaniet in Boras, Sweden have just written their first book called Gjord av din hand. It is in Swedish and beautifully illustrated with a variety of craft projects. It is available from their online shop.




Norwegian Pick-up Band Weaving by Heather Torgenrud  in English

Schiffer Publishing 2014


176 pages hardcover.  Lots of beautiful illustrations and band patterns.  Very clear instructions for weaving.

Virumaa Seelikud by Kersti Loite in Estonian



ISBN 978-9949-33-310-3

2013  ISBN 978-9949-33-310-3

112 pages hardcover.  Lots of beautiful illustrations of skirts and other striped material from the museum collection.  There are close up pictures of the stripes which would enable reproductions to be made. This book is a treasure trove of ideas for designing stripes. 




Patterned Sashes: The Common Cultural Layer by Anete Karlsone,
Latvijas Nacionalais Kulturas Centrs, 2014 ISBN 978-9934-528-09-5
In Latvian with a few pages in English.

Patterned Sashes: The Common Cultural Layer by Anete Karlsone, Latvijas Nacionalais Kulturas Centrs, 2014 ISBN 978-9934-528-09-5






Out of Print Books


The following books are out of print but it is useful to know the details in case second hand copies are available.





Lithuanian Sashes by Anastazija Tamosaitiene and Antanas Tamosaitis, Toronto:Canada, 1988, ISBN 0-9191187-04-8
Although this is out of print, The Lithuanian Folk Art Institute in Toronto has a few copies for sale.  Here is the link: 




Haugen, A (1987) Samisk Husfild I Finnmark

Haugen, A (1987) Samisk Husfild I Finnmark, Oslo, Norsk Folkemuseum  
ISBN 82-529-1073-4

This book was reprinted a few years ago but again out of print.  It has band patterns and knitting patterns and has a wealth of detail about Sámi costume in Norway.



Latvian Band Weaving




Latvian Belts by Aleksandra Dzervitis and Lilija Treimanis.
This glorious book is a treasure trove of Latvian woven band patterns.






8 comments:

  1. Hi Susan, firstly I just want to say that I'm having a great time learning from your books which I discovered on Storstalka originally. I'm still just a beginner and have really only completed about 2 bands (not the finest work yet but I'm practising). I'm a bit hooked in general now on the subject of band weaving so I decided to get myself a copy of Patterned Sashes by Anete Karlsone and I'm not disappointed as it's a very well presented book in spite of the fact I cannot read Latvian. I have a question however. Can the warp drafts be converted to rigid heddle such as the Sunna? While studying them I can somehow picture it working on a Sunna heddle but I'm not sure I yet understand fully the technicalities of weaving. The patterns also list border pattern threads but from what I can see the borders are in plain weave.

    I hope I'm not bothering you with my beginners questions but I would welcome your advice.

    Thanks and kind regards,

    Patrick Collins
    Barcelona

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is a beautiful book. Yes the patterns themselves can be woven using the Sunna heddle. This works well for 11 and 13 pattern threads. The difficulty is that many of the patterns in the book have a large number of border threads. The Sunna heddle has spaces for only 14 on each side. So, you can reproduce the pattern in the centre but not all of the coloured border if it is wide. One very important skill it to identify when to raise and lower the heddle for the pattern when you copy the graph. As you can see in the book, many of the belts would have been woven using a shed stick and heddle rod. This is the simplest form of loom, usually used as a back strap and is very portable. There is not limit other than the weavers skill as to the width of belt and number of pattern threads.
    happy weaving

    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good evening Susan, thanks for your response it's very helpful. I'm glad to know that once I try these patterns I can adapt them to a Sunna heddle. Since you have shared such a wealth of source material for free I am really grateful as I also discovered a chapter of your Sami Bands course from the Braids Society that provides a helpful guide on how to determine whether to raise or lower the heddle.

    Keep up the great work as your material certainly was a motivation for me to take up this craft. Looking forward to reading your next blog posts.

    Take care,

    Patrick

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Susan, I'm having trouble posting on the Braids and Bands group (Yahoo is behaving strangely for me again) so I shall post a message for you here. I noticed that you mention Čuoldin / Samisk grindveving by Sara K. Haetta in your equipment list for your new class in October. I spotted this book too in January and knowing how quickly these books go out of print I searched everywhere and eventually discovered that a small publishing and recording group in Norway produce the book, guldalrec.no, which promotes Sami arts. I contacted them back in February to enquire if it was possible to get a copy shipped to Spain and they were very obliging. Just go to the "Kontakt oss" link and you'll find their email address there. They appear to be quite a small outfit so you might be in luck and get your hands on a copy, they're not very used to shipping outside Norway however but they managed to get me a postage quotation which was quite reasonable in the end (for Norway).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patrick
      Thank you for the information. I am in Helsinki so I will have to wait until I return home to see if I can order the book. I hope that you will join in the workshop in October.
      Happy weaving
      Susan

      Delete
    2. I'm looking forward to your workshop, I've been a bit out of practice recently so it'll be good to participate in a workshop that's live - virtually at least :). Enjoy Finland.

      Delete
  5. Hi Susan,
    I have no experience in weaving, but I'm hoping to learn so I can weave some Estonian belts. I am trying to source a copy of Eesti Kirivood at the moment. You mention that you can do these using the double slotted heddle. What size is best to purchase?
    Thank you!
    Zee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the Estonian patterns use a large number of pattern threads. In particular they often have a border pattern of three pattern threads on each side. The double slotted heddle would not really be suitable. An inkle loom can be used for any number of pattern threads. Like any craft it is best to start small and have lots of practice before moving up to anything too wide. Estonian patterns are lovely.

      Susan

      Delete

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