I’ve been thinking about our upcoming GHG event From The Loom to the Hanger which will be held on February 22. With that in mind, I have found six books in our little library about weaving garments. Some of the clothing pictured in these books is lovely and quite wearable. Other garments are honestly pretty outlandish and yet I did get some basics of pattern making from them. Here is a quick round up:

Fashions From The Loom by Betty J. Beard, 1980 This book seems very practical for those who wish to design and weave garments. It is written and illustrated in a do-able way, and much of the clothing looks like something you could picture yourself wearing.

Simple Woven Garments by Sara Goldenberg & Jane Patrick, 2014. Most of the clothing in this book is very simple, including shawls and basic tunics, and it seems like a good starting point for a first foray into garment construction.

Weaving in Style by Catherine Gourlet, This one is aimed at a more ambitious weaver and maker. Everything here feels a bit like something one might wear in the French countryside. The clothing makes me imagine myself living in Southern France, slipping on my clogs, walking to the market, and buying a baguette, in the best and most aspirational way possible.

Weaving You Can Wear by Jean Wilson with Jan Burhen, 1973 Cue the Peruvian pan flutes because our next one a classic well-meaning 1970’s craft book. The first chapter has the cringeworthy title Ethnic Body Coverings. The photography evokes dreamy exotic imaginings of far off unspecified lands. Some of this clothing would require a complete change of lifestyle if you were to wear them as-is. For example, if you become a traveling mage or an abbott of a medieval monastery, this book has your wardrobe covered. However, if you plan to stay right here in the real world, there are some basic clothing patterns made of rectangles that could be used as a starting point for sewing clothing from fabric you have woven.

Clothing From the Hands That Weave by Anita Luvera Mayer, 1984 This volume contains lots of useful pattern and garment construction ideas and some of the clothing is really stunning. There is a bit of style advice ( such as what not to wear if one is “stout”) that can-and should-be ignored.

Shaped Weaving by Nik Krevitsky and Lois Ericson, 1974 Another tome from the 1970s universe where“anything goes” in terms of wearable art. Perhaps some of these ideas could be useful for a summer camp art teacher.

Handwoven Clothing Felted To Wear by the ever popular Anita Luvera Mayer (this is the 2nd book by this author in our library), 1988 We have all seen the gorgeous felted garments made by Patti Barker. The items in this book do not exist in the same sphere as Patti’s wearable art. These are not constructed with wool roving as Patti’s are—the author felts her own woven yardage. I honestly would rather have the textiles left as they were before felting them. That being said, there may be some basic pattern construction ideas to be gleaned here.

I will bring these books to the February meeting or you can message me if you’d like to borrow any of them before that.

Happy weaving and happy reading,
Dina