Sharon Alderman

Sharon Alderman's comprehensive volume starts at the beginning (plain weave) and works through twills, satin, waffle, compound weave structures, distorted threads, cords and piques, crepes and pile weaves. The book is beautifully illustrated with color photos and clean, easy to read drafts. As Alderman takes you through the various weave structures, she also educates you on how to do your own design work. There is also a very nice description of profile drafts and what they are Most of the show more drafts use four to eight shafts; a very few are for multishaft looms. This is a book with much to teach weavers of all skill levels. show less

The author shares her years of experience in a study course for weaving the best, most interesting, most successful fabrics you can imagine. She also shares her understanding fibers, setts, and color interactions and in finding the most accurate and efficient ways to manage the weaving process. You will find both inspiration and useful information in the scores of color photographs of her fabric samples, the product of more than thirty years of serious exploration.

As a beginning weaver, I found this book useful in detailing what happens when different fibers or warping configurations are used. The book is very broad, the patterns shown take from 2 to 16 shafts to weave. Since I only have a 4-shaft loom I won't be able to make use of a lot of the book until I add some more shafts, but it was useful to see what could be done, and there are some instances where the author was able to give 4-shaft versions of a usually 8-shaft weave such as a crepe. In show more all a worthwhile book. show less

If you know the fundamentals of weaving and sewing, it is within your power to create a more beautiful, unique and flattering wardrobe than you could hope to buy at any price. This your comprehensive guide to designing and weaving luxury fabrics, and sewing them into well-fitting contructed garments following commercial patterns.