Learning to Weave Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2009

This book informative and easy to understand, with clear explanations of complex topics, with great illustrations and diagrams. It is worth the price is an essential weaving resource. The book covers basic weaving on large looms and different warping methods. It starts off with a very brief introduction to looms and ancillary tools needed by the weaver. Then it provides a very detailed discussion, complete with many pictures, of how to warp the loom, then leads the reader through a home-study course, starting off with a simple weave sample. 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. It is a good resource for beginners.

Even though this book is above my head, I’m reading it. I just have a frame loom/lap loom, not the fancy one in this book. BUT there is a LOT of information on fabric and thread types. Weaving patterns, etc. I’m glad I bought it because I’m learning a lot.

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 book is not spiral bound as I thought it was by your pictures.I wish it was.

I purchased a paperback version of the "Learning to Weave" by Debbie Redding and Deborah Chandler. This is an economical way to buy this classic reference. The spine is a spiral so it is easy to keep the book opened to any page you want.The book is extremely detailed, from position of the hands when you dress the dress to numerous illustrations on various topics. I am attaching a photo of the page addressing the topic of warping the yarn. The amount of fine details and explanations is better than in any other book I read. I had high expectations based on everything I heard about this book and it totally lived up to my expectations.This book helped solve some beginner problems I had earlier. It made it easier and faster to dress the loom. And my weaving edges are looking better with floating selvedges, a technique I learned in this book! The chapter on troubleshooting and various options to fix mistakes is very helpful. This book also has a large section on various weaving patterns.I currently thinking about upgrading my first loom to a bigger one. I was pleased to find a chapter about buying the right loom for you. It has several useful considerations that I will keep in mind.I am sure I will be coming back to this book again and again. I join the chorus saying that this book extremely helpful if you are just learning to weave. It will curb your learning curve!Ali Julia Review

This was recommended somewhere, maybe a group I'm in, or on a youtube video, I don't recall, but it is a VERY informative book for walking you through weaving as a beginner. I've you've been looking at looms thinking that you might want to get into a new crafting technique (and a new excuse to hoard more materials, lol), but can't quite wrap your head around all of the terminology and technique, this is a great book to get before you invest a chunk of money and also, to have on hand when you actually start using it.