Making Marigold: Beaders Of Bulawayo is a portrait of a women’s beading co-operative specialising in loomed beadwork, based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Over 200 photographs reveal the sumptuous glamour of the Marigold beadwork and necklaces. Short, stand-alone narrative vignettes offer background insights into the making and development of the Marigold co-operative.

How did these women, whose skilled practice and creative impulses evident in every necklace, perfect this practice? And what has sustained their efforts across the decades?

These eight beautiful Swedish weaving afghan patterns by Katherine Kennedy are designed especially for Monk's Cloth. Stitching on Monk's Cloth is easy and it is the perfect fabric for creating cosy afghans, throws and baby blankets. The repeating patterns featured in these eight designs allow you to easily create other projects such as pillows, table runners and more. Stitch an afghan for your own home or gift it to a special friend or newborn baby. Your stunning afghan will be sure to become an heirloom piece to be cherished for years to come.

In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, a large indigenous population lives in rural communities, many of which retain traditional forms of governance. In 1996, some 350 women of these communities formed a weavers' cooperative, which they called Jolom Mayaetik. Their goal was to join together to market textiles of high quality in both new and ancient designs. Weaving Chiapas offers a rare view of the daily lives, memories, and hopes of these rural Maya women as they strive to retain their ancient customs while adapting to a rapidly changing world. Originally published in Spanish in 2007, this book captures firsthand the voices of these Maya artisans, whose experiences, including the challenges of living in a highly patriarchal culture, often escape the attention of mainstream scholarship. Based on interviews conducted with members of the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative, the accounts gathered in this volume provide an intimate view of women's life in the Chiapas highlands, known locally as Los Altos. We learn about their experiences of childhood, marriage, and childbirth; about subsistence farming and food traditions; and about the particular styles of clothing and even hairstyles that vary from community to community. Restricted by custom from engaging in public occupations, Los Altos women are responsible for managing their households and caring for domestic animals. But many of them long for broader opportunities, and the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative represents a bold effort by its members to assume control over and build a wider market for their own work. This English-language edition features color photographs - published here for the first time - depicting many of the individual women and their stunning textiles. A new preface, chapter introductions, and a scholarly afterword frame the women's narratives and place their accounts within cultural and historical context.

"Palmetto Braiding and Weaving" is the definitive book for creating a variety of crafts from palm fronds, straw, rush, and grass. In this well-illustrated volume, artists and authors Viva Cooke and Julia Sampley explore thoroughly one of the most fascinating traditions of the southern United States: palmetto basketry. This tradition of crafts made from palm leaves has been passed on through generations. "Palmetto Braiding and Weaving" includes techniques and patterns for braiding and weaving-from simple to complex-for a variety of creations. In addition to baskets, "Palmetto Braiding and Weaving" explains how to make hats, handbags, trimmings, mats, fans, belts, and more.

"Palmetto Braiding and Weaving" explores a wide array of uses of this native plant. Cooke and Sampley give full instructions for basketry, including samples of popular braids that have been developed and passed on by word-of-mouth, from generation to generation. Instructions are clear and accurate, and samples and fi nished pieces are shown with drawings and photographs of the authors' creations. The combination of drawings, photographs and thorough instructions makefor the perfect how-to resource for palmetto basketry, and are adaptable to the use of other fibers including straw, rush, and grass.

"Mountain Homespun will be of special interest to those studying southern Appalachian handicrafts, the 1890s handicraft revival, and northern Protestant missionary work in turn-of-the-century Appalachia." --North Carolina Historical Review
"Mountain Homespun is much more than a memoir. It offers unrivaled specific information on the processes of mountain crafts--not only on weaving, spinning, and dyeing, the author's primary interest, but also on basketry, quilting, and other pursuits. All in all, the book is an important publishing event."
--Berea College Newsletter
"This is a wonderful book. It belongs at the bedside of every spinner and weaver everywhere." --Jude Daurelle, Handwoven

Every good knitting project begins with great yarn. In the quest for one-of-a-kind fibres, many knitters and weavers have discovered the deep satisfaction of spinning one's own. An art in itself, spinning requires an array of basic technical skills and decisions to produce a particular style of yarn. While knitters have long had stitch dictionaries to guide their hands, no similar resource has existed for spinners. Until now. The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs is a step-by-step guide to creating 70 distinctive yarns, from classics such as mohair boucle to novelty features like supercoils. Lush, full-colour photographs illustrate the process of turning fleece into yarn, reveal the architecture of each yarn, and demonstrate exactly how to manipulate and combine the fibres to achieve the desired result. Images of knitted and woven pieces reveal how the spun yarn looks in a variety of projects.

This" "one-of-a-kind photographic encyclopedia features more than 200 animals and the fibers they produce. It covers almost every sheep breed in the world from the longwool breeds of the United Kingdom to the Tasmanian merino, the Navajo churro, the northern European Faroese, and dozens and dozens more. It also includes goats, camelids (such as alpacas, llamas, and vicunas), bison, horses, musk oxen, rabbits, and even dogs. Each entry includes photographs of the featured animal; samples of its raw fleece, its cleaned fleece, and yarn spun from the fleece; and samples of the yarn knit and woven. You ll find everything you want to know about each animal and its fiber, including the fiber 's color, density, strength, and staple length, and recommendations for processing and using it. This is the essential reference no fiber-lover can be without.

Learn to weave your own stories and make personalised woven wall art with this guide to tapestry weaving. A collection of wonderful woven hangings for you to build your tapestry weaving skills. Learn all the techniques you'll need to create your own woven tapestries with a unique, personalised element. Author, Kristin Carter, explains all the skills required to make heirloom woven wall art with a very personal theme and how to recreate images of people, pets and places to create your own 'paintings with thread'. Learn all the basic techniques for tapestry weaving including a quick and easy way to make your own loom using an old photo frame, how to choose the right yarn, working with a template and how to start off a weave. Kristin then explores all the tapestry weaving techniques you will need to make your own stunning wall hangings. All of these techniques are accompanied by step-by-step photography so the instructions are super clear and suitable for absolute beginners. Learn how to do rya loops, weft facing weaving, soumak, pile weaving, diamond twill, overweaving, boubles, and an inverted rya fringe. There are 17 incredible projects for you to experiment and try out your new skills. Each of these can be adapted in order to create your own personalised wall hangings so you can make special heirloom woven art for friends and family. Kristin explains how to set up the loom, gives guidance for yarn amounts and what other tools and equipment are needed for each project. All of the projects are suitable for a an A3 sized loom so you only need one size to try out all of the variations. There are projects for abstract patterns, gradient weaving, blending compatible yarns, pet and people portraits with special techniques for recreating the texture of fur and hair, how to play with transparency in a weaving and creating texture using different yarns. Other techniques covered include cartooning (how to make a cartoon template from photographs); creating templates from your own sketches, how to create a marble effect and advice about colour theory and weaving.

The basic principles of spinning are described by the text and line drawings, and are supplemented by descriptions of methods of testing spun yarn quality; different types of small-scale spinning machines; and how to plan (Published in the Small-scale Textiles series).

Narrow bands of woven tape were important to Americans in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, before the days of elastic and zippers. This book documents the fascinating American history of handwoven tape and offers patterns and instructions to enable today's weavers to make it. Many Early American households had a tape loom for making the tape needed by the family, and this book offers a discussion of the people who wove tape, the patterns woven, and the types of looms used, along with over 280 color images. The book also gives step-by-step instructions for setting up a tape loom with warp threads, and explains how to weave your own tape. You can weave tape for similar practical uses as our forebears, or to create one-of-a-kind gifts and decorations like key chains, holiday garlands, or lanyards.

For the first time in English, a complete book about Norwegian pick-up bandweaving from its fascinating history to beautiful bands you can make yourself, with more than 100 pattern charts from bands in museum collections. Part 1 tells the story of how these bands were used in the rural communities of 18th and 19th century Norway, as stocking bands, swaddling bands, sending bands, and more. Part 2 looks closely at twenty bands brought to America by Norwegian immigrants, and what they tell us about traditional patterns, colors, and materials. Part 3 has clear and concise instructions for weaving pick-up on simple, traditional band heddles, and these instructions can also be adapted to other kinds of looms. Meticulously researched, easy-to-read, and profusely illustrated, this book is destined to become a classic in the field. It will interest not only weavers but anyone who appreciates textile arts, folk costumes, and Norwegian culture."

An introduction to weaving without large looms, with 15 weaving projects and a guide to making your own tools. In Simple Weave, the world of weaving opens beyond gigantic looms and inaccessible patterns. Kerstin Neumuller demonstrates how you can weave with tools that are easy to make yourself and often small enough to fit in your pocket. Here lies inspiration for those who have never woven but are eager to try, as well as for experienced weavers interested in working with flexible and portable tools. Practical and beautiful keepsakes to make include Scandi-style bands, bracelets, pencil and laptop cases and a wall hanging. Kerstin also shares her journey from textiles to woodworking, offering instructions for how to make your own pocket-sized weaving tools. The book is divided into three accessible chapters: 1. Techniques and basic weaving theory. 2. 15 achievable weaving projects including bands, a pencil case, coasters and tea towels. 3. Making your own tools. This section includes descriptions of how to carve a heddle, make a weave stretcher, carve a backstrap loom and make a frame loom. Enjoy the mindfulness and rhythm of this traditional craft and create bespoke, contemporary pieces to fit your own style.

This is a large size 'bible' of 600 different weaves of loom. It is organised by type, from basic 4-shaft structures to block drafts and double weaves, providing a wide range of herringbone, twill, zigzag and diamond designs. Each weave is rated according to degree of expertise required, and features a recipe of materials, a clearly photographed swatch showing the intricacies of each design and an easy-to-follow colour chart indicating the threading sequence and order of work. There are also basic explanations of basic weave structures and information on choosing and using looms and shuttles. There is also advice on working with colour, selecting and dyeing yarn, finishing techniques and suggested applications for the finished yarn.

Discover how to make incredible woven yarn mandalas in a mindful, meditative way. This is a practical book of instructions for woven mandalas, starting with very simple four sided mandalas through to more complex designs, with an emphasis on how they can be a tool to aid wellbeing. Yarn mandalas are a wonderful way to create bright and beautiful woven wall art in a mindful, meditative way. The use of pattern and colour can help to reduce stress and aid wellbeing at the same time as developing your creativity. Author Inga Savage, explains how to start your mandala journey with a simple four sided version, as well as how to choose the right materials including dowels, yarn and other hardware. There are step-by-step instructions for 17 wonderfully colourful yarn mandalas, ranging from some very simple, basic versions using just two dowels, right up to more complicated 12 sided mandalas (using six dowels). All of the key techniques are accompanied with step-by-step instructions and photography so you can see how to prepare the dowels, marking them up and how to join them as well as what the best yarn to use is and how to ensure that your mandalas have the correct tension which allows the pattern and colour to shine. This skill-building approach to weaving mandalas will help you to develop your skills by practising the techniques on simple mandalas and building up to the more complex designs. The instructions include step-by-step tutorials for all the key patterns used in yarn mandalas including the daggers design, the square design, and how to add embroidery, tassels and other elements into the mandalas as your skills develop. The intricate layers and patterns of mandalas have been used to aid meditation and mindfulness for centuries and this collection explores how makers can tap into these benefits while creating beautiful woven mandala art, with the practise of intention, colour therapy and visualisation during the making process. This collection explores these ideas in the form of a practical guide to making woven yarn mandalas in a meaningful way to allow you to express your creativity via this mindful, relaxing craft. Inga highlights some 'Mindful Moments' throughout the book where she draws on her experience in order to encourage you to get the most from the creative process and to be present in the moment while you are working with the mandalas. All you need to get started is yarn and some dowels and before you know it you will be creating beautiful woven wall art to adorn your home.

Portable and productive, the hand spindle has been responsible for creating the world's yarn for millennia. Many contemporary spinners view the hand spindle as a beginner's tool, suited to learn the basic steps of spinning before moving on to a spinning wheel. In Respect the Spindle, Franquemont emphasizes the spindle's importance and use to make yarn in advanced ways for high-end to novelty cloth. In fact, the yarns and cloth made for thousands of years-Viking sails, Egyptian shrouds, Roman togas-all were created with the use of hand spindles. And, in other parts of the world, the spindle still reigns supreme, supplying astounding volumes of yarn for every purpose imaginable. The perfect how-to book for any spinner with a growing collection of spindles or even just a dowel, Respect the Spindle combines step-by-step photography with detailed illustrations, making the spindle spinning techniques clear to even the novice spinner. Franquemont teaches techniques from the basics, such as getting started on the spindle, to more specialized techniques, such as using the spindle to make specific kinds of yarn faster than imagined. Profiles of spindle spinners from various traditions are presented in sidebars throughout the book, which introduce heartwarming and historical fiber stories from around the world. Images of gorgeous yarn and spindles provide inspiration and plenty of eye candy for any fiber lover. Franquemont also includes five simple projects give spinners practice in creating a variety of yarns and patterns.

Techniques, advice and inspiration for would-be and experienced basket makers. Basketry is experiencing a resurgence of popularity, and enjoying an exciting comeback at the hands of a new and dynamic generation of makers who are not afraid to experiment with mixing materials and techniques. While based on traditional techniques, this book gives you all the information you need to learn basic methods as well as discover exciting hybrid approaches, mixing both materials and methods to achieve fabulous pieces. Through illustrated step-by-step examples, get the confidence and inspiration to expand your making as far as your imagination can take you. The projects are suitable for beginners and provide a handy reference and inspiration guide for more experienced basket makers.