Weaving

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General

Coppicing by Dino Labiste: Coppicing is a traditional practice of environmental management used by the Native California basket weavers. It involves cutting a plant back to its base and removing the weak shoots to encourage vigorous regrowth. The plant is allowed to regrow from the cut stumps. Willows are coppice to stimulate the propagation of newly formed long, slender, and flexible branches or shoots that are utilized in basketry. Coppicing provides an environmentally sustainable source of willow withes through periodic cutting, which actually prolongs the life of the tree...

The Blue Swan: a site that includes information on card-weaving, needle-binding and sprang, which include instruction video's on needle-binding and sprang. The site is in Dutch and English, the link is to the English part. [Link recovered 5/4/11]

Cloth

Small Scale Weaving describes alternative weaving technologies for eight types of cloth of particular interest to low-income groups in terms of both price and durability. It provides information on available equipment (e.g. looms pirning equipment, warping equipment), including equipment productivity, quality of output, required quality of material inputs, etc. Given the intricacy of weaving technologies and associated equipment, this memorandum does not provide - unlike the previous memoranda in the series - technical details (e.g. technical drawings) for the production of weaving equipment.

Textile Weaving The origin of fabric wearing is still not known. The evidence of the weaving items similar to fabric woven found at various archaeological sites, supports speculation that fabric weaving may have evolved from rope making and mat or basket weaving from prehistoric times. Therefore it could be said that the art of fabric making is one of the oldest crafts in the world.

Mayan Weaving Techniques Fine Mexican and Mayan Handicrafts ... The belt loom is the most common traditional Mayan way of weaving cloth. The vertical threads of the warp are held taunt between two wooden end rods. The top rod is fastened at each end by a cord which is tied to a tree. The bottom rod is attached to a belt. The kneeling weaver wears the belt to control the looms tension.

Beyond the Loom: Understanding Southwest Weaving [PDF] All text, but pretty interesting. See also: cabc

Regia Anglorum - Anglo-Saxon and Viking Crafts - Sprang Sprang is an intricate form of plaiting which is made with threads which are stretched in tension and secured at both ends. Sometimes called twined plaiting, it is a technique in which the lengthways threads are twisted in such a way that a net-like textile is produced. The elasticity of this method of plaiting becomes apparent when the tension of the threads is released and the fabric can be stretched across it's width.

Hurstwic: Clothing in the Norse Era Fabric was woven on a vertical loom (left). A vertical loom is little more than a wooden framework that leans against the wall. It stands about head-high, which puts the working area at a convenient height for someone standing in front of the loom.

NativeTech: 19th Century Seminole Men`s Clothing ~ Fingerweaving ... This first article will cover the basic details - how to calculate the amount of yarn, how to arrange it, etc. - and the simple chevron pattern. The next will be concerned with arrow pattern and the process of braiding several bands simultaneously. The final article will explain the flame and reflex patterns and some ways of treating fringe.

Rugs

Weaving Rugs the Easy Way NOT ONLY are the rugs simplicity itself to make; but the frame on which to make them costs very little and the weaving material nothing at all. Of course, if I were to concentrate on quantity, I would need a source of more used material: rummage sales, Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries. Because new material is neither necessary nor advisable, this paying hobby could never become too expensive.

Rug Weaving Notes by Beverly J. Weaver ~ Originally printed in the Pikes Peak Weavers Guild Newsletter, April 2003: Before taking my first weaving class with Mary Rawcliffe Colton in St. Louis in the early 1980's, I already knew that I wanted to make rugs. It wasn't until 1989 that I finally bought my 45-inch, 8-shaft J-made loom and started weaving rugs. Since that time, I have woven approximately 70 rugs, most of which were rag rugs. I have taken many (too many?) workshops, including several that were specifically about weaving rugs. Below is a subset of things I have learned.

Navajo Rug weaving The article is not of much use, but there is a terrific drawing of a Navajo loom.

The Weaving of a Rug Demonstrated by Carol Ann Rak

Make A Round Work Base Or Table Mat The Basket Base Table Mat is an old pattern that first appeared in George Wharton James' classic book from the turn of the century, Practical Basket Making. It can be used by itself or the technique can be used to make a round basket base for many other round work basketry styles.

How To Weave A Lauhala Mat Step by step illustrated instructions for weaving a mat from lauhala, the long flexible leaves (lau) of the hala tree.

Making a great rug from the rag bag

Ways to Join Fabric Strips When Making Rag Rugs to save everyone time here is a primer on the types of joining methods. There are three general groups of methods of joining fabric strips: sewn, friction (unsewn), and knotted joints.

Crocheted Rag Rug Patterns: How they work... and why some don't. here is a primer on how crocheted rag rug patterns developed and how they work.

Rag Rugs--Square Footage Calculator In order to know how much fabric you'll need for a rug, you first need to know how many square feet there will be in the finished rug. For square and rectangular rugs, that's easy, (just multiply the length by the width), but for round and oval rugs, the calculation can be a bit messy. So here are charts of some typical sizes of round and oval rugs, and how many square feet are in the rug.

Advice: Making Money Making Rugs Yes, you can make money making rugs at home, but you have to go about it the right way. Don't expect to get rich, but if you follow some simple rules you can make a steady income.

Rugmaking Tips & Tricks

Novelty and Fad Rugs from the 20's to the 90's Some of these are historical novelties-- rugs made with materials at hand which can seem very quaint today. Others are "fad" rugs, most often associated with a marketing scheme, either for a gadget or a certain type of material. While these aren't traditional rugs, some of them are pretty fun, and interesting.

1932 Braided Rug Instructions two articles on braided rugs and mats from the August, 1932 "Needlecraft" Magazine. The prose may be a bit florid from a modern view point, but the text is quite touching. Remember these articles appeared at the depths of the Depression, and I know many of you will recognize the phrase "making something from nothing" in the second article on braided rugs from gunny sacks.

1885-1929 Various Rag Rug Instructions Rug making was very much a part of everyday life a hundred years ago, and was often a topic in old cookbooks (which were a household reference for women on everything from stain removal to home doctoring). This is really an assorted sampling of the type of minimal instructions from which women of the day had to work.

1871 Rag Rugs Article This piece appeared in the "American Farm Journal" and was intended for farm wives, who presumably already knew the basic procedures for rug making so the instructions are sketchy at best. The real interest in this article, though is the variety of rugs which were being commonly made just after the civil war.

1907 Rag Rugs Article the complete chapter on "Rug Making" from "The Woman's Book", published by "Woman's Home Companion", with an introduction by Margaret E. Sangster in 1907. It covers various sorts of rugs including crocheted, braided, knitted and loom woven. The writer presumes a good deal of knowledge of rug making in the reader ("Directions are almost superfluous, the process is so simple") and knowledge of the home making practices of the day ("Cut wool or silk rags as for carpet weaving").

Baskets

Bare-Handed Basket by Norm Kidder: Back in the Bulletin of Primitive Technology issue #21 (pg 37), Alice Tulloch posed a lithic challenge. Her "Figure 2" showed twiner sized stems harvested by pulling them from the main stem of willow or redbud. These showed a characteristic lump where they were torn from the branch (and a tail of bark). Her challenge had to do with harvesting material too large to break off this way, but too small in diameter to cut with a stone saw or axe efficiently...

How To Make Basket Dye From Walnut Hulls A simple How to on making black walnut hull basket dye.

Anatomy Of A Basket Handle Explanation of the various parts of a basket handle and instructions on how to lay out the handle blank for carving.

Basketry Techniques: Coiling, Twining, Weaving, Plaiting Learn the differences in four major basketry construction techniques.

Basketry Techniques: Learn How To Twine Instructions on incorporating twining into your basketry.

Basketry Tips From Readers Do you have a basketweaving tip to share with other readers? If you do, send it in an email with "Basketry Reader's Tip" in the subject.

Gourd Tutorials Gourds For Basketmaking. The instruction, tips, techniques and guidance you need to grow, cure and use gourds in your basketry projects.

Harvest Red Osier Dogwood For Basketmaking A simple Arts and Crafts How to on harvesting red osier dogwood branches for basket weaving or other hobby.

Harvest Spruce Roots Spend a lazy afternoon gathering spruce roots to use in your baskets. This feature article offers instruction on harvesting spruce roots.

Lay Out An Eight Spoke Spider Woven Basket Base Use these instructions for laying out the base of an eight spoke spider woven round basket in a sequence that will lock in each spoke as you do your first round of weaving.

Matchstick Border Free pattern for a flat reed cone shaped basket that incorporates instruction for a matchstick border. Authored by Ester Grigsby on the Noresta Cane & Reed site. Another free pattern with a matchstick border from The Country Seat.

Plant A Willow Bed A simple How to on planting willow for basketry.

Birch Bark Seamless Containers In her NativeTech site Tara Prindle offers diagrams and instruction on creating sap buckets and trail kettles of Birch bark.

Birch Bark Sewn Containers In her NativeTech site Tara Prindle offers diagrams and instruction on making sewn containers of Birch bark such as tray, cylindrical and cone shaped forms.

Coiled Basketry Construction Illustrated description of types of foundation and stitching for coiled basketry. Methods of starting coiled baskets and a detail showing the method of producing a braided rim. In her NativeTech site Tara Prindle offers illustrated instructions for basic coiled pine needle basketry.

Figure Eight Coiled Basket Start Instructions for a figure eight start for coiled baskets with photo illustrations. Peggy Arnoldussen, of Peg's Basketry demonstrates this coiled pine needle basket start technique in an online tutorial.

Filling-In For Ribbed Baskets Tony Stubblefield offers illustrated instructions on how to "fill-in" or compensate for the bulbous shape of a ribbed basket.

How To Weave A Simple Braided Border Linda Hebert of V.I. Reed & Cane offers an illustrated tutorial that will teach you how to create a simple braided round reed border.

Plaited Coil Star Instructions for a plaited start for coiled baskets with photo illustrations. Using iris leaves that have been wetted and mellowed, Pamela Zimmerman demonstrates a Tohono O'odham style beginning for a coiled basket.

Shapes and Uses of California Indian Basketry Basket weaving methods such as coiling, simple open-work twining and tightly woven twining are described.

Shaping Tips From Linda Braun's Baskets, Etc., site an explanation of shaping techniques Judith Olney wrote to share.

Willow Spoke Baskets by Travis Brown Willow baskets are simple, practical containers that can hold anything from berries to flint blade blanks. Not only can the techniques discussed here be used to make willow baskets, but they can also be used to make a basket of any style or shape. Willow is a very valuable teacher. Once you have mastered these techniques with willow, you can use them with any material. [PDF link recovered 5/4/11]

Hopi Baskets - Basic Basket Weaves Very detailed with good images. Follow the "next page" links for more!

Coil Basketry Coiling is one technique of basketry used by Native Americans across North America. Native American coil baskets of different regions have various styles of construction depending upon the materials used in the coil, and the type of stitch used to fasten or interlock the coils together. All coiled containers are made by starting from the center (or sometimes starting around a flat disk of bark or wood) at the bottom of a basket using a flexible coil which is spiraled outward, one coil placed on top of the previous, and fastened to former coils by some stitching material.

Pine Needle Basket Pine needles, or any other plant material, should be gathered and dried thoroughly in the sun (for bleached colors) or in the shade (to retain green color). Before the basket can begin dried vegetal material should be soaked in warm water for at least a half an hour to regain its flexibility. Over-soaking for hours may damage some basket materials.

California Indian Basketry These photos and dimensions won't tell you how to make any of the useful objects depicted, but may give you some ideas of what to do with the knowledge you've already gained.

Equipment

Hand Looms (Weaving) HANDLOOM CONSTRUCTION A Practical Guide for the Non-Expert By Joan Koster

LEARNING HOW TO WEAVE ON AFRICAN'S DRAG LOOM Before leaving, I wrote to the director of the Blakhud Research Center outlining a quite ambitous project. Luciano, having constructed a replica of a Ghanian loom, had taught me some basic weaving methods. I therefore wanted to learn the Kpevi (brocading patterns) technique —a most complex weaving technique involving double warps...

Growing and Curing Gourds An Ohio State University Extension Service Fact sheet on growing and curing gourds in the home garden.

Sharpen Your Tools Step by step instructions for three methods of keeping your tools sharp.

Selecting a Weaving Loom - learn about weaving looms before you buy. Information, facts and terminology to help you select a weaving loom just right for you. Sales site, but good info.

How to Build a Frame Loom Easy to follow diagrams for building your own simple frame loom.

Prism Heddle Loom This simple loom encodes patterns into a prism-shaped piece of cardstock.

Technique

How To Weave Here is an outline of the basic weaving process, for those of you who want to see what goes into weaving something. Click on the highlighted words for definitions.

How To Pound A Black Ash Log Into Woodsplints A simple How to on pounding a black ash log into woodsplints. Follow these instructions to learn how to identify, harvest and pound a black ash log into woodsplint for basketmaking.

How To Hand Split a White Oak Log and Make an Oak Basket Owen Rein is a traditional White oak basketmaker from Mountain View, Arkansas. His site includes a reprint of an article he wrote for Woodwork Magazine that describes in depth the process of selecting a log, reducing it into traditional hand-split oak basketmaking materials and making an oak basket.

Knotless Netting Stitches Knotless netting a textile stitching technique that forms a mesh without any knots. Learn several stitch variations with these instructions.

Make Cordage To Use In Your Basketry Instruction and resources to make cordage from plant fibers for your baskets.

Cordage Instructions In her NativeTech site Tara Prindle offers instructions for making cordage from a variety of plant fibers.

Cutting Nut Slices For Pine Needle Basketry Step by step instructions on how to cut black walnut, butternut, heartnut or hickory nut slices to use in coiled pine needle basketry.

Dyeing Porcupine Quills Using natural dyes to color porcupine quills is described by Nancy Fonicello on the NativeTech site.

Five Strand Braid From the Primitive Pursuits site, Anita Cheek Moon offers instructions for a five strand braid. [PDF link recovered 5/4/11]

Pyroengraving On Gourds Tips and techniques for woodburning designs onto gourds from Laurie Parker.

Rope Making Read how Ann Norman makes her own rope materials for ply-split baskets and other fiber arts.

Sectional Warping Sectional warping is a quick way to warp a loom with a sectional warp beam and is best suited for very long warps (15 yards or more), any size or style of yarn and 2 inch repeats (most sections on a sectional warp beam are 2" wide). It is not very well suited for mixed warps with many or random yarn changes. It also requires more space and equipment than other warping methods - spool rack with bobbins, bobbin winder, sley hook and a tension box or warping paddle/guide. [PDF link recovered 5/4/11]

Card Weaving by Bart & Robin Blankenship. This is an ancient technique for making a strong strap quickly. A five foot strap can be woven in a couple of hours. You don't need a loom, only cards with holes in the corners, and about two hundred feet of cord. See also: File recovered from now defunct AboTech website and converted to Onsite PDF.

Cordage, Rope & String from Plant and Animal materials Native Americans have always possessed a vast knowledge of cordage. The basic methods of this ancient technology have remained relatively unchanged. Cordage is made from two or more strips of fibers that are twisted or plied together.

Finger Weaving - Northwest Journal Finger Weaving a Voyageur Sash, By J. Gottfred, Calgary. Instructions on how to make a chevron pattern sash using traditional finger-weaving methods.

Backstrap Weaving in Jacaltenango In Mesoamerica, weaving was a woman's domain until the introduction of the treadle loom by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Most Maya women continue to weave on the pre-Columbian backstrap loom between chores. Although backstrap weaving is not as fast as treadle loom weaving, the loom parts are inexpensive and the loom is portable.

Fulling Methods Fulling refers to the use of heat, moisture and extreme agitation to make a wool fabric shrink and therefore become stronger and warmer. This fabric can be made by felting, by knitting, by weaving, by crocheting, by knotless netting, or any textile construction technique that can use wool fiber or yarn to create it. When fulling is being done, the fibers continue to move (we call this migrate) and entangle on each other. Even though the size of the fiber diameter does not change, the air between the fibers is removed as they tangle around each other, so the fabric "shrinks".

Other

How to weave a wallet out of paper money Beautifully-made site shows you how to make a wallet out of 20 one-dollar bills. Caution! Some language...

Tapestry Crochet Instructions for tapestry crochet technique by Carol Ventura. This technique allows the use of two or more colors worked at the same time to create figural patterns.

Instructions for Finger Weaving Belts Fairly understandable for those with a bit of manual dexterity

Cameron Fibre Arts Pro Weave, designed by a handweaver, is a textile design program with capability to handle up to 64 shafts.

Designer Software Designer Software are the makers of Weavemaker One, Weavemaker Professional and Surface Magic, software for both hobby and professional weavers.

PWS Maple Hill Software's PWS Patternland Weave Simulator

A to Z Basketry Directory All the basketry topics indexed in an alphabetic order. Pages are often cross listed for ease in locating what you need. If you don't find what you're looking for, post your request on the Bulletin Board and you'll get an answer fast.

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