Next Steps in Weaving: Book Review

Next Steps in Weaving: What You Never Knew You Needed to Know
by Pattie Graver
Available for purchase at multiple retailers for approximately $15.00-$20.00 softcover.  
Published through Interweave.

I first checked this book out from my local library not knowing what to expect.  As a novice weaver, I was not sure if the book would be suited for my skill level.  However, I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, I renewed my check-out three times and when I could no longer renew, I went out and bought the book.  This book is wonderful.  The title states that the book focuses on the "next steps" in weaving, which at first may seem intimidating to someone new to the craft.  However, I think this book makes a lovely companion for the beginner weaver.  The pages do not include tutorials on choosing fibers, using warping boards or warping your loom, but as long as you have a working knowledge of these steps there is so much you can gain from Pattie Graver's book.

I loved her introduction.  It really captured how I sometimes feel in my crafting life- that I love the art, but I somehow missed the gene that allows people to spontaneously create from scratch.  Ms. Graver really wants to capture the "why" in these pages, not just the "how," so that she can show that it is not a gene that allows people to create.  It is a deeper understanding of the craft, the mechanics behind it, the reasons for why things work the way they do on your loom.  I say this, but I do not wish to imply that this is a technical textbook, bogged down with hard to understand diagrams and riddled with jargon.  Quite the contrary.  Pattie Graver organized this book in such a way that through doing you gain understanding.  

Each chapter is labeled as "Learning with...."  The book starts with the twill, so the first chapter is "Learning with Twill." I love this.  It is so appropriately named.  Through the chapter, the skill is defined, demonstrated and expanded upon.  That means there is a journey in each chapter.  You can start simple and work up to the more complex and as you go, gain a real understanding of what you are doing.  This is not only for the novice weaver.  This is for any weaver who may not understand the why, even if they are quite good at the how.  

And there is nothing I love more than great photographs in a reference crafting book.  This book has photographs for everything.  It has samples of all the weaves discussed, shows them with various warp/weft combinations as well as the front and back of the woven cloth.  And after a visual demonstration of all the different weaving patterns in a given chapter, there are numerous complete projects that can be attempted. The nice thing about the projects is that they are designed with creativity in mind.  Pattie Graver intends you to make changes, expand on the projects and make them your own.  She has crafted launching points.  However, if you aren't ready to take off (or you just like the look of her project) the projects are all quite nice just as they are.  As a bonus, all the patterns are for a four-shaft loom.  Yay!

Bottom Line:  I really enjoy this book.  I am currently making my own set of kitchen towels as samplers of the rosepath twill.  (I'm experimenting with different iterations on the same warp.)  It has been a treat because I feel like I really understand what is happening and it is all thanks to this book.  Pattie Graver organized the book well, included great and appropriate pictures, and really explained things in an accessible way.  This book provides the why to what you may already know as how.  It is a great addition to any weavers library. 

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