Weave Week Round Up

During Weave Week one of my main sources for information has been “200 Braids to Loop, Knot, Twists and Weave” by Jacqui Carey. I’ve managed to try out many of the 200 featured designs and adapt some of them into tutorials I’ve posted over the last two weeks.  I’ve literally taken this book everywhere with me during this time, (I had a lot of interested glances whilst braiding on the train) so it’s lucky (or genius) that it’s the perfect travel size. Compact, without losing any of the detail.

Initially the cover of this book didn’t particularly excite me. The colours are dull and old fashioned, and the layout is a little dated. I’m never put off by a books cover, especially technical craft books. I know from experience that the old girls really know what they’re talking about and a lot of modern books that are all about appearances cannot compete with the technical wealth of knowledge in their older counterparts. I just feel it’s a shame the cover does not reflect the exciting bursts of colour and modern, clean layout that is throughout the inside the book.

The inside has been cleverly put together so you can either read about all the techniques and equipment, or go directly to the back, pick a design, and get going straight away. The instructions are clear and well illustrated. The lazy side of me did have a go at a couple of techniques from just the pictures. This did not turn out well. I highly recommend reading the instructions as well. After discovering this I easily completed each of the braids I tried.

As an avid DIYer I was particularly pleased with a make it yourself theme running throughout the book. As well as showing and explaining various pieces of professional equipment, it gave examples of where and how you can make and adapt everyday objects to achieve the same effect. My favourite has to be tying the threads to your foot to keep the tension. So simple, but I would have never thought of it!

The only negative I would mention is that many of the 200 braids are variations of a theme. This really refers to the amount of designs that are in the book rather than different techniques. Just a little deceiving but there’s still plenty to keep you busy.

Overall I’m impressed with how much I’ve learnt after reading the book. There are many new techniques I’ve never seen or tried before, so I’ll be keeping this book in easy reach for anytime I have my hands full of cords, or ribbon, or wool, or chain….

Once again I feel like I could carry on exploring this theme for another two weeks! But we need to move on. Come back tomorrow to find out what the next theme will be! Fran xx