looking for reading advice on textiles and weaving

[tweeds]

picked up a book at the library today, 'Mastering Weave Structures - Transforming Great Ideas into Great Cloth' (Alderman, Interweave Press) and some of the info there is great. she begins by looking at the basic 1.1 weave, examing the structure of the weave, introducing colours and writing about possible problems encountered. she later moves on to twill (2.1, 3.1, broken, left and right hand), satin, bedford cords and piques, compounds, etc.

okay so the problem is that this is a book that obviously assumes some level of familiarity with the subject matter of fabrics and weaving. my question is, is there a book that is more or less a good introductory to this area? basic stuff like warp and weft, looms, yarn, etc. people in the know please chime in with recommendations? i really want to find out more about these aspects of denim and fabrics in general - call it a free time hobby.

[keri]

http://yarn.com/webs/0/0/0/0-1106-1144-1145/0/1450/2801/

http://yarn.com/webs/0/0/0/0-1202-1208-1222/0/1222/2719/

http://yarn.com/webs/0/1/0/4-0-1204/

for me, it's about learning how, that's how I learn the most, trial and error.

[tweeds]

do you have like a loom at home or something? yeah i wish i could get my hands down to learning how but that would involve spending more cash (especially since looms are not going to be cheap) and i have plenty of channels to drain money away as it is.

thanks for the links!

[mizanation]

i was thinking about getting a small 36" hand loom, but my wife vetoed it. i think if i buy here a big house, she'll be down.

if you want to do denim, you will need at least a 4 harness loom. there are books and internet sites that have plans to make one, but i wouldn't recommend it unless you are very mechanically inclined.

[tweeds]

big house + happy wife = hand loom? sounds like a plan.

where did you learn to work a loom, miz?

[keri]

I dotn have a loom, but I wanted to learn about fiber and such, so i took up spinning, knitting, and crochet. i am thinking of starting weaving, but planning on making my own loom.

[tg76]

this book will let you wow your superfriends with your knowledge and wisdom

published in australia

ISBN 0582 87414 9

i know it all im just a hold out

[batorizer]

http://www.paradisefibers.net/product_p/192-100.htm

that's a nice loom for pretty cheap... $575 for 24", 4 harness with the ability to upgrade to 8. it's a table loom with hand controls for the harnesses, but i think you can get a stand and threadles when ready.

[tweeds]

tg thanks mate you do know it all

on a related note i'm going to go hunting for denim books at the library as well, got myself copies of Denim: from cowboys to catwalks (Marsh, Trynka), Vintage denim (Little, Bond) and Denim: an american legend (Finlayson) reserved for collection. any other titles could be recommended? i already own This is a pair of Levi's Jeans

[mizanation]

actually, i don't know how to weave, but there is a handweaver's association in new york that would guide me. also, there is a class at FIT that teaches weaving on 4 harness looms.

[Lars]

I just noticed that used looms are like 100-150 bucks where I live. I'm starting to be a little bit curious about this. The thing to look for is that the loom has to have a minimum of four harnesses, right?

[mizanation]

well, to weave twill you will need 4 harnesses. also, a lot of the cheaper looms are for making rugs and stuff. they don't have fine enough combs for fabric.

[dasman989]

i picked up a used one of these a few weeks ago.

http://www.harrisville.com/html/36_4.html

I also have a dyebath of natuarl indigo set up and about 50 lbs of ringspun cotton yarn. I'm working on churning up a few fabric samples. I've lerned a lot so far. Like how to dye with indigo and how to weave.