This gorgeous book dropped onto my desk last fall: The Weaving Explorer: Ingenius Techniques, Accessible Tools & Creative Projects with Yarn, Paper, Wire & More.
The Weaving Explorer by Deborah Jarchow & Gwen W. Steege
The Weaving Explorer by Deborah Jarchow & Gwen Steege is definitely a welcome addition to my weaving shelf. Gwen had a huge hand in the production of my own upcoming book, The Art of Tapestry Weaving, and I was so thrilled when she asked to mention my work in her own book in process with Deborah.
As you can tell from the subtitle, this is one of those books that takes on a wide swath of the weaving world. It is an adventurous romp through all kinds of things you can make from fibrous materials. And as in all books by Storey Publishing, it is beautifully produced with large, clear photographs in brilliant colors, clear text, and excellent how-to sections.
There is a chapter in the book about weft-faced weaving. The approach is casual and gives you just a glimpse of the sorts of things that can be accomplished in tapestry weaving, but I’m grateful that they included my favorite form of weaving in the broader scope of the book. Gwen gives you some basic tapestry tips and beginning techniques and presents several projects.
They’ve included spotlights about artists throughout the book and I was thrilled to be included along with Michael Rohde, Sarah Swett, and Rachel Hine in the tapestry spotlights.
The book as a whole is accessible and full of fun projects. It is divided into two parts, Weaving on Frames and Weaving Beyond the Frame.
If you love new ideas and experimentation, this book is a lot of fun. The projects are all fairly simple with materials that you may have at home or can get relatively easily. There are projects for useful home items like a hemp washcloth, a twined parachute-cord floor mat, and a carry-all bag to small jewelry pieces and wall decorations. Honestly, it seems like just the thing for some distraction during a pandemic.
There is a short review of backstrap weaving with a scarf project and card-woven bookmarks. There are some projects using a lucet, a tool that someone gave me and I only just recognized as a fiber tool! There is a belt woven on a sort of loom made with two backscratchers (I’m not kidding! When I saw it I wondered if I could do that with one of the many temples that were my grandfathers that I never use for weaving.) There are some gorgeous projects using netting with thread and wire and a few projects that could probably be adapted for use with children.
I think this book will really appeal to people who love to make things out of materials they have around the house. It is infinitely creative and the projects are beautiful. And of course, it is so fun to see my own work included in such a beautiful publication. Thanks Gwen and Deborah!
