Self Sufficiency: Spinning, Dyeing & Weaving

by Penny Walsh

From the fly leaf: In this comprehensive book, Penny Walsh reveals all you need to know to make your own fabrics: where different fibres come from and how to grow or source your own; how to prepare them for spinning; how to use various spindles and spinning wheels to create yarn; how to dye your fabric using entirely natural dyestuffs; plus how to weave your material by hand either with or without a loom. Finally there are a number of simple projects - including a rug, a hat and a scarf - to put your newly-learnt skills to the test.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crafts, Art, Knitting, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and fairly thorough (for such a thin volume) book that covers fibre type and the processing, spinning, dying and weaving of said fibres.

A nice little reference book that goes into detailed process recipes for specific dyes and mordants. I particularly liked the alternative fibres, and might hopefully try some dying at some point.

[Marceline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spin yarn (on a spindle) and dye yarn, most recently with natural plant dyes, so I found this book endearing from that perspective. It's written in a very straightforward way, and from a less modern perspective. The tips and information are given simply, and there's an assumption in the tone that these skills are very important. It was hard not to compare the information to all we have available to us now though. I did like being able to nod my head at some of the facts and advice (things I've seen elsewhere, but it's a good reminder of how longstanding this information is). I don't currently weave, but I learned a good bit about why certain weaving techniques are used to create a fabric and to preserve it.

[Lori Gautier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a nice overview of what it takes to produce textiles from the ground up. Most of the topics aren't delved into with enough detail to go from ground to finished product. It's definitely enough to be inspiring, though, and it's a great launch pad for a fiber adventure. I'm not entirely new to fiber arts and I still learned some new things and am inspired for several projects, including growing some plants for dye and using an old picture frame to weave a wall-hanging from some of my small amounts of art yarn.

[Teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good over-view of the topics, I think, but I would probably do more research before attempting anything but the simplest instructions.

Also, I'm a little confused by the instruction that cotton has to be spun on a short draw; I learnt on cotton when I was a kid, and short draw never went well, long draw with a lot of twist was the way to go.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little book, good as an overview of the basics of spinning (both on a drop spindle and a wheel), dyeing and weaving, all based around the idea of self-sufficiency (i.e. very much focused on doing it yourself, from preparing fleeces to making looms). Probably too simplistic to learn from scratch from, but a good basic introduction.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A handy little book to have when you're about to embark on learning to spin wool! I was reading the library copy. I may have to buy my own copy

[Melanie Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

UK-centric. A nice little book covering a large topic.