The Hal Painter Studio

After preliminary chapters on specialized equipment, yarns and methods of setting up a rug loom, the main part of the book is devoted to that immense range of rug weaving techniques about which most handweavers know so very little. These are described in three chapters, on various types of weftface rug in plain weave and in chapters on weftface weaves needing up to eight shafts, on blockweaves, on pick-up weaves, on corduroy pile rugs of many types, on warpface rugs of all kinds, on warp and weft twining, and on all types of rug finish. A large part of this material, the majority of which has never previously appeared in print, stems from the author's research into old techniques, but more especially from the development of new techniques which has been the hallmark of his workshop over the past years.

After preliminary chapters on specialized equipment, yarns and methods of setting up a rug loom, the main part of the book is devoted to that immense range of rug weaving techniques about which most handweavers know so very little. These are described in three chapters, on various types of weftface rug in plain weave and in chapters on weftface weaves needing up to eight shafts, on blockweaves, on pick-up weaves, on corduroy pile rugs of many types, on warpface rugs of all kinds, on warp and weft twining, and on all types of rug finish. A large part of this material, the majority of which has never previously appeared in print, stems from the author's research into old techniques, but more especially from the development of new techniques which has been the hallmark of his workshop over the past years.

This is the definitive book on rug weaving, but even if you aren't a rug weaver, you will find an amazing variety of techniques and information in this rather large text. Warp and weft faced fabrics are covered in detail, along with weaving pile and finishing warp ends. The book contains black and white photos to illustrate the various rug weaving techniques and throughout the text, there are numerous drafts and illustrative process drawings. I believe that this book is available for free download due to the generosity of its author, but I think owning the book itself makes sense for anyone interested in rug weaving. ( )

The classic book about rug weaving by Peter Collingwood.