Weaving theory is presented in a clear & straight-forward text. What is the most valuable are the photos of the samples themselves (the weaving the work of a small group of weavers, including Doromay Keasbey, and the photos the work of Allen Bress, the author's son). As a beginning weaver, it is often very hard to visualize a fabric from a draft, and until you learn to do that, drafts are nearly useless. These thousands of samples are presented in a way that makes the relationship between draft and fabric clearer. Not only will a novice find plenty of inspiration here for original projects, but will come away from working with this book better able to understand and productively use the classic pattern books, as well as those books which treat in depth the weave structures introduced here.

A greedy reader (like myself) could wish that the samples were illustrated in color -- the color pages of examples are tantalizing -- but the author and her colleagues wisely understood that color reproduction would have made the book far too expensive. Even with the significant discount available from Amazon.com, THE WEAVING BOOK is still a serious investment. If you are a novice weaver, buy this book before almost any other. If you are an experiecned weaver, there is plenty within its covers to make it a valued reference and idea source.


A Great Resource for Weavers   January 21, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

The Weaving Book is one of the most used volumes in my fiber library! Ms Bress illustrates four common threadings on the loom and then demonstrates the myriad possibilites by altering only the treadling and tie-ups. The book has many, many photographic illustrations and is easy to read. A tremendous resource.