Some Rigid Heddle Books Reviewed

One of the best way to teach yourself to weave on a rigid heddle loom - in addition to watching videos on YouTube and other sites - is to have a good book to start with. Choosing that book is important - I know because I chose the wrong one when I got my rigid heddle loom and became so frustrated trying to figure out the details of getting started, that I almost gave up - until another book was recommended to me - which got me going in a day. There are a handful of books specifically about the rigid heddle loom. Here are the ones in my personal weaving library that I will share my impressions about with you.

The first book - and the book that saved me from taking the new loom right back that first week - is Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom by Syne Mitchell. This published by Interweave - and most of the rigid heddle books are.  This book is the absolute best book for anyone who is going to learn to weave on a rigid heddle loom who has never woven before. This book covers all of the basics in detail with clear full color photos and diagrams and clear descriptions of what to do. The first 109 pages of this large book will teach you just about everything you need to know. Then from page 111 to the last page of 285 before the index pages start, the book goes beyond the basics and takes you into advanced weaves and weaving patterns,  the use of colors, and much more - all the way to weaving on a rigid heddle loom with double and even triple heddle (not all RH looms are capable of three heddles). Interspersed in these pages are project patterns to weave that give you what yarn to use, how to warp the pattern, and what to do to weave it. All illustrated clearly.  I have been weaving for three years now, and I still go back to this book to check on something I am not sure about and to learn something new for a technique that I have not tried yet. When there is a problem, this is my go to book.  Many rigid heddle weavers feel the same way about this book. I only wish that someone had told me to buy this book first when I was starting.

After you have gotten down the basics, the next very good book is The Weaver's Idea Book by Jane Patrick. This is NOT a book for a beginner. This book mirrors some of the techniques in the advanced part of Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom, but goes into more detail and covers techniques that are not covered in Inventive Weaving... With this book you are going to learn to use your pick up sticks and start doing pattern weaves with fairly good detailed written instructions - and photo illustrations. The only draw back I find with this book is that some of the photo illustrations are not clear enough to see what you are trying to achieve - and her use of color yarns in some illustration photos is poor when it comes to defining the look of the pattern. This is a good book, even though I will search other illustrations of what is being shown in this book to be sure I understand what I am looking for when I do it on my loom. This is a hardcover book with an inner spiral wire binding so that the book lays flat and the pages open to put on a table next to you as you follow the directions. Despite some illustration photos - not all - she give very clear step by step numbered directions. #1 Do this. #2 Next do this. And it goes on like that until it says REPEAT. Once you know what you are doing with the basics and once you are very comfortable with your loom and are ready to move ahead, this is also a must have book. BUT there are no basic rigid heddle instructions in this book. It starts advanced and keeps going.  There are also no project patterns to weave in this book with the exception of some sampler projects that use all of the various weaves from that section in the book - but you are not coming away with a scarf or usable item. This book is also published by Interweave.

The next book that I will share with you is a book titled, Weaving Made Easy by Liz Gipson. This is a slim paperback book that contains some basic weaving instruction and then 17 projects to make on your rigid heddle loom which include household items like towels, cushion covers, placemats,bags, things to wear (even slippers), a rug, belts, etc. This book has some detail on how to weave from the beginning on a rigid heddle loom but does not go into the detail that Inventive Weaving... does.  I would not get this book instead of Inventive Weaving..., but it is a good book to get for the different types of projects (if you learn to make towels from the pattern in this book you can then make any towels you would like to make - and that goes for bags, etc.) and it is especially a good book because it goes into detail - on just a few pages on something not covered in any of the other books I have or have seen. That is to fix warp and weft floats discovered after your weaving comes off the loom. These result when your shuttle goes under or over the warp when it should have gone through. This book tells you and shows you with good color photos what to do to fix these. Frankly, that was what led me to buy this book and I have since found it good for the project patterns in the book. Again this book is published by Interweave.

The next book is the one I bought and received just before my rigid heddle loom. The title of the book is Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving by Betty Linn Davenport. I was told it was good for a beginner. It wasn't. IF you are not a beginner it is an OK book as it does contain a lot of nice project patterns and goes into how to make those patterns. Here is the problem with this book. The illustrations on what to do are not photographs but roughly drawn pen and ink drawings.  Basically sketches that to a total beginner are not clear to follow at all. Some of this book reads like it was intended for a college course on rigid heddle weaving and there is nothing wrong with that - as long as one has a teacher to guide you through it, but not for an on your own, total beginner. I kept this book. I bought from a retailer to which I could have returned it for a full refund, but I didn't. There are things in this book that if you can figure them out - and also project patterns - that are very good. I do not find myself picking this book up to look in often. If the illustrations would have been better and full color large photos, with do this, then this in detail, it might have been much better This too is published by Interweave. 

The last book in my collection - for the moment - is titled Simple Woven Garments by Sara Goldenburg and Jane Patrick - the same Jane Patrick from The Weaver's Idea Book. This is a book on how to weave clothing accessories with cloth you weave on your rigid heddle loom. The book has over 20 projects including jackets, shawls, tops, etc. I bought this book for the first 21 pages because in those pages are how to weave the cloth needed for making clothing, etc, how to cut the cloth you have woven, how to deal with the edges once cut, and how to sew the cloth to make clothing and other woven items that are assembled. It is only a small section of this book but it tells you what you need to know. The next really nice thing about this book is if you don't want to make what is exactly shown in one of its projects there are techniques described and illustrated that could apply to similar things in other types of projects. I had been looking at this book at full price on the shelf of a Barnes and Nobles bookstore and was interested. I lucked on a copy of this book in a closeout store and then could not resist the price for what can be a very valuable book to have if you intend to cut the cloth you weave and assemble it into something to wear or use. And if you don't find the patterns for things that are your taste - there is enough here to turn it into something that is something you would like. This book also is published by Interweave.

So there you have my rigid heddle weaving book collection. There are many more books for rigid heddle weaving and if you go to the Interweave website and look through the books specifically for rigid heddle looms (and do make sure the book is for an rh loom and not another type - as not all techniques apply from one type of loom to another) you will find a few other books that may be interesting to you. Also don't forget to check local libraries as many of these books are available in them.