Learning to Weave

One of the top books recommended to me as a new weaver & I couldn’t be happier with it! It walks you through everything step-by-step, explaining things clearly and concisely. I can see myself using this as a reference for years to come.

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This is a terrific book for someone who wants to learn to weave. It starts off with a very brief introduction to looms and ancillary tools needed by the weaver. It then provides a very detailed discussion, complete with many pictures, of how to warp the loom. The book then leads the reader through a home-study course starting off with a simple weave sample, a good explanation of reading drafts, and an interesting as well as comprehensible explanation of various twills. My favorite chapter was that on reading drafts----I had looked at a couple of weaving magazines previously and was completely puzzled by them. The author's explanations were so delightfully clear that after reading the chapter once I was able to understand all the patterns I had looked at in the magazines. Throughout, the author explains the details of how to perform each step, what problems might arise, how to prevent them from doing so, and how to fix problems that do arise. Deborah Chandler has a real gift for imparting complex information, and this book amply reflects that gift. Since I am a complete beginner and have never touched a loom before, I would have liked a much lengthier discussion (with diagrams) covering how the various types of looms work as well as their advantages/disadvantages. That said, even if you don't know how a loom works (which I didn't before reading this book carefully), you can puzzle it all out from the book by seeing what the different steps in warping and weaving are and relating them to the physical structures involved. It took me a while to puzzle this all out & this is where it would have been nice to have more information on "loom theory" in general. I was interested in buying a loom and getting started in weaving, but I wasn't sure I could learn how since there doesn't seem to be anywhere near where I live to take lessons. Since I didn't want to buy a loom I couldn't use, I bought this book first to see if I could learn how to weave from a book without an instructor. Although I will not know for sure until I give it a try, the book explains things so well and in sufficient detail to make me confident I can do it. So, reading the book made me decide to take the plunge and order a loom. Wish me luck (and buy this book)!

This is the very best book I have seen or used to learn to weave. It is extremely detail oriented and procedes in a step by step manner. I have been involved in spinning and weaving for 9 years and still refer back to it. Get it in a spiral bound ed if you can so you can lay it flat as you work.

Forget all the other books on weaving. This is the one. Anyone who has problems warping their loom, designing patterns, learning new patterns will wear the pages of this book thin with reading and rereading and rereading and more rereading. There is barely a day that goes by that I do not in some way refer back to this fantastic book! All we ask is that the writer give us more! Bravo!

This is by far the best book on weaving I have ever seen. It is an excellent learning tool as well as reference tool. Easy to understand directions and illistrations. This is the perfect book for anyone interested in weaving.

Deborah Chandler's book is the next best thing to attending an excellent weaving class in person. Then after you learn to weave, it is a reference book that can aid you for years to come. Even after weaving for more than 10 years, I often turn to this book. It has plain detailed instruction with wonderful illustrations. Photos and drawings as well as the fabulous explanations guide you right along. Whether you are just learning to weave or want to add to your weaving library, I strongly recommend this book!