band weaving Archives - Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

If you’re searching for the best inkle and band weaving books, I’ve got some favourites to share with you! Over the years I’ve built up quite a collection of weaving books – some old and some new.

Whether you want to learn the basics of inkle weaving, try new band weaving techniques, get started with tablet weaving or simply find fresh inspiration for your next project, there’s something here for every weaver!

I’m a firm believer that a good weaving book never goes out of style. Even with so much information available online, there’s something special about sitting down with a well written book, studying the photos and diagrams, and discovering techniques and ideas at your own pace.

I think of my books as my weaving buddies, in fact, I learned how to get started with most of my weaving looms from books. As weavers, we are so blessed to have a wide range of excellent weaving books to choose from. You can read my favourite rigid heddle books list here and my favourite multi shaft weaving books list here.

There are many band weaving books out there, this is certainly not an exhaustive list. These are the inkle and band weaving books that have earned a permanent place on my bookshelf and in my heart ❤️

Books For Beginner Inkle and Bandweaving

The book I started with when I purchased my very first inkle loom was Anne Dixon’s The Weaver’s Inkle Pattern Directory. I would absolutely recommend this comprehensive book for beginners. It includes simple bands for beginners but also covers a variety of other inkle weaving techniques, so it’s a book that grows with you.

Some new inkle weavers may find the pattern charts and written instructions challenging to follow but Anne’s explanations are very clear and well laid out. I found that this book gave me the kickstart I needed to start weaving simple bands, which then allowed me to continue exploring and learning on my own. This is my most typical learning method for all my weaving looms.

If you are someone who responds better to visual life learning, my online Inkle Weaving Course would be the perfect solution to get you started with an inkle loom.

I also have an inkle loom weaving resource page here that includes many free resources and patterns.

Annie Machale’s In Celebration Of Plain Weave is another book that is suitable for beginner inkle and band weavers. Annie is a band weaving veteran and has a lot of knowledge to share. This book covers colour theory and design, how to weave plain weave patterns, weaving tips and over 200 designs to try.

Best Tablet Weaving Books

Card Weaving by Candace Crockett is a great book for starting out in tablet/ card weaving. It is comprehensive, but not so much so that it’s confusing. There is a brief historical section at the beginning and Candace’s focus is on keeping it simple. She shows how you only really need a very few materials like clamps, cards and a belt shuttle to start tablet weaving (no, you don’t specifically need an Inkle Loom). She explains how to set up a body tensioned loom.

There are many colour and black and white charts, diagrams, photos and illustrations that are clear visual cues. There are also some project example inspiration photos throughout.

It starts with beginner bands and moves up to more advanced, including finishing techniques and ideas for further exploration. I like this book very much and would recommend it as a tablet weaving resource.

I’m not going to lie – The Techniques of Tablet Weaving by Peter Collingwood is a bit like a thesis! It’s a thick, 320 page book that, fair to say, covers pretty much everything! I have to admit that although I’ve owned this book for many years, it’s not always my go to reference for tablet weaving.

This is not a reflection of the quality of information in the book, the problem lies more with me. I find the book very technical and, to be quite honest, some of it is a bit beyond me. If you love technical weaving with loads of information, and you follow charts and illustrations well, this book could be perfect for you.

I think if I had ever had the chance of meeting Peter, I probably would have said something like “Peter, you’re just a bit too clever for me!” 😆

If you’re looking for a step by step course for weaving with tablets on an Inkle Loom, I recommend my Tablet Weaving on an Inkle Loom.

Best General Band And Project Weaving Books

Something I hear from a lot of inkle weavers is: “I love band weaving, but what do I do with all the finished bands?” Having a very healthy stash of completed bands myself, I totally get this!

Heather Torgenrud, author of Norwegian Pick Up Bandweaving and Pick Up Bandweaving Designs has just published a brand new book that addresses this question. The Bandweaver’s Project Book includes 34 designs for projects you can complete with woven bands – whether you have made them with a band weaving loom, inkle loom, floor loom or rigid heddle loom.

Here is where I get to blow my own trumpet for a moment, but only because it’s relevant! 😆 My Inkle Bands and Bag ebook is super useful because, not only does it give you 6 band designs to use, it also has a completed bag project made entirely of your finished inkle bands!

This ebook is directed at the inkle weaver who already knows how to warp and weave on their inkle loom. If you are an absolute beginner, scroll to the bottom of this post for beginner resources 👇

Vintage Band Weaving Books

Weaving Inkle Bands by Harriet Tidball is a monograph (more like a booklet) from 1969 Shuttle Craft Books. Harriet passed away suddenly the same year this was published. Gives instructions and materials for making a board loom, which is the first time I came across this kind of loom. Harriet also discusses other basic looms for band weaving, as well as the basics of weaving a band itself.

This booklet is no longer in print, so unless you’re a very keen collector (🙋‍♀️) you likely won’t be laying your hands on it. But if you do love to collect vintage weaving books, keep an eye out on places like Facebook marketplace, which is where I scored this one.

Inkle Weaving by Lavinia Bradley was published in 1982. Can we refer to 1982 as vintage now? I think we can! This book is all about inkle looms, as the title suggests.

Being of the vintage era, it contains the typical black and white photography and illustrations. There are a few project ideas and Lavinia does go into some more advance techniques like pebble weave and lettering.

I wouldn’t recommend this for an absolute beginner, but more of an optional extra for the collector.

Traditional and Historical Band Weaving Books

Lithuanian Sashes by Anastazija Tamošaitienė and Antanas Tamošaitis is a fabulous, quality hard cover historical book.

Part 1 talks extensively about the history, uses and symbolism of traditional Lithuanian sashes. A huge collection of colour photographs of sashes as well as lithographic plates to illustrate pattern layout.

Part 2 covers tradition Lithuanian techniques and tools used for sash weaving.

This is not an instructional weaving book, it’s an academic work for those who love Lithuanian sashes and want to find out more about them. If you love to learn weaving history as well as drink in the beautiful colours and patterns, you will find this book a great source of inspiration.

Although I already mentioned Norwegian Pick Up Bandweaving by Heather Torgenrud, it deserves a section of its own under the title of tradition and history. It’s a fabulous historical book, written from a modern perspective.

Part 1 covers the history of band weaving in Norway during the 18th and 19th centuries and includes photos and stories. In this section you can learn all of the interesting ways in which the bands were used.

Part 2 focuses on 20 woven bands that were brought into America by immigrants from Norway.

Part 3 is instructional. Although this section uses traditional band heddles, the bands can easily be adapted to other looms. This book is also a hardcover with excellent quality paper, images and instructions.

A Word Of Caution

Unfortunately there are now AI books flooding the market, and the weaving niche has not been spared from the onslaught. I’m not talking about an actual author who used AI to help formulate a layout for their book. I’m talking about someone who knows nothing about weaving and asked AI to write them a book on a weaving topic.

The result is usually an extremely poorly written, mistake riddled publication that never should have been. It’s worth knowing what to look out for so you don’t get caught out and waste your time and money in purchasing one of these books. I made a video about it to help guide weavers through the minefield of online weaving book shopping.