Handweavers Pattern Book

Diagnose and fix uneven, loopy, or drawn-in selvedges in your weaving. Practical causes, cures, and habits for clean edges on any pattern book project.

Learn how to calculate warp and weft yarn before you weave, including take-up, loom waste, and shrinkage, so you never run short mid-project.

Master weaving sett: learn the wrap test, ends-per-inch math, and how to pick the right density so your handwoven cloth drapes instead of stiffening.

A practical guide to converting weaving drafts between 4 and 8 shafts so you can weave any pattern book design on your own loom without guesswork.

Practical fixes for uneven selvedges and excessive draw-in, from weft angle and bubbling to floating selvedges and temples, for cleaner, even woven edges.

Uneven warp tension ruins handweaving. Learn the real causes of loose and tight threads and proven fixes so your cloth weaves evenly, edge to edge.

Learn to read a weaving draft with confidence. Understand threading, tie-up, and treadling so you can weave any pattern from a handweavers pattern book.

A weaving draft is the written language of the loom. To someone new to the craft it looks like a cryptic grid of filled and empty squares, but every one of those squares carries a precise instruction. Once you can read a draft fluently, an entire cloth structure fits into a diagram no larger than…
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Every woven fabric in the world, from the finest silk scarf to a heavy canvas tarpaulin, is built from two sets of threads crossing at right angles. The lengthwise threads are called the warp, and the crosswise threads are called the weft. Learning to think clearly about these two elements is the single most useful…
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Sett is the number of warp threads packed into an inch of width, and it is one of the most consequential decisions a handweaver makes. Choose a sett that is too open and the cloth will be sleazy and shifting, with threads sliding around and gaps opening at the edges. Choose a sett that is…
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