Member Reviews

Weaving with Natural Dyes offers a thorough introduction to the art of weaving with eco-friendly dyes. Lucy Rowan’s passion for the craft is evident, and the book features a nice range of projects that cater to various skill levels. The step-by-step imagery is helpful, making it easier to follow along and create beautiful pieces.

While I appreciate the focus on seasonal colors and natural materials, I found the book could benefit from more in-depth explanations about the dyeing process itself. Some readers may also wish for additional guidance on sourcing natural materials. Overall, it’s a solid resource for those interested in sustainable crafting, though there’s room for improvement in certain areas.

Was this review helpful?

Really nice book for craft lovers. This has a whole range of ideas for projects and the instructions make it easy to achieve successful results too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my feedback.

Was this review helpful?

Very well written and informative. Gorgeous pictures. I really enjoyed the thorough explanations and approachable writing style. I'm looking forward to learning more about weaving after reviewing this title. Thanks to Lucy Rowan and Pen & Sword for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Great natural dye recipes to use with your weaving or other projects. This has so many good ideas for dyes, projects, and more.

Was this review helpful?

Weaving with Natural Dyes is a well written guide with tutorials written by Lucy Rowan. Due out 30th April 2024 from Pen & Sword on their White Owl imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a beginner accessible, simple, and attractively illustrated tutorial guide to sourcing materials and getting started with weaving, with a special interest in naturally dyed materials. The author proceeds from the -very- simple tools and materials, including instructions for stretcher bar loom, to weaving materials and simple tool.

She proceeds through simple weaving techniques, to sourcing and using natural materials for dyeing.

The final chapters are arranged in seasonally themed groups; spring through winter, with an introduction, seasonal dye recipes, and 3 tutorials in each season. The projects are appealing and inspirational. They're simple enough for beginners, and appealing enough for more advanced artists to have a good jumping-off point for further embellishment.

The book's vibe is like a particularly well organised tutorial class, and I can imagine that the author is a patient and gifted instructor. All the tutorials include complete materials lists, multiple process and finished photographs in colour, and step-by-step instructions.

Five stars. This would make an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, maker's groups, activity groups, and home studio reference.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Was this review helpful?

Working with Natural Dyes is beautifully illustrated with clear instructions on how to do the different types of weaves. Weaving is a craft I've always wanted to learn and being a quilter this book perked my interested in working with natural dyes. I like that this book had several small projects for the beginner so you don't have to tackle a project as large as a wall hanging.

Was this review helpful?

Weaving with Natural Dyes is a comprehensive guide to the art of weaving with eco-friendly, natural dyes. Authored by textile designer and weaver Lucy Rowan, this book features 12 stunning woven projects with step-by-step imagery that will inspire and guide weavers of all skill levels.

This is a beautiful book filled with great photography and clear and easy instructions. I chose this book because I had an interest in learning to weave and this definitely helped clarify some questions I had. For any weaver with an interest in using natural dyes, this is the best I have read on this particular subject, the author is obviously passionate about her craft which carries throughout the book. Lovely projects and she encourages trial and error which I liked. Another excellent addition to the crafters library. Thanks as always to Netgalley and the great Pen & Sword for this excellent reference book.

Was this review helpful?

This book goes over basics like materials, tools, several basic stitches, and even info on dying your own wool. The projects included are varying and interesting, and includes a note on the difficulty level. Would be nice for learning and having on hand for reference! Great book for those interested in weaving.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of the book from netgalley in exchange for a review.
--
What a lovely little book! I'm predominantly a crocheter, but I've been exploring other fiber arts and just recently purchased a small flat loom to experiment with. I've read through a lot of books, but this volume has been the best! The author explores different loom types, different tools of the trade, and goes into step by step (and picture by picture) detail on every part of the process. It greatly improved my sparse foundational knowledge.

Even better is the fact that the book then explores different types of natural dyes, and breaks the dyes down by what vegetables, flowers, and spices are in season, and includes project patterns for each season!

This will definitely be a reference for me.

Was this review helpful?

This was is a great resource for people who want to get started with dyeing and weaving. It is a great combination between natural dyeing and weaving. So you get inspired to use the dyed yarn immediately in a project. The instructions are clear and the book is beautifully illustrated.

Was this review helpful?

I love the look of the home made dyed yarn. The methods look easy to follow. I will be attempting some of the cute loom techniques soon

Was this review helpful?

4.4 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book. It brought back childhood memories of weaving pot holders on my little plastic loom, and weaving paper baskets out of newspaper…which I had forgotten all about.

The author is self-taught with a background in textiles and graphic design as well as a passion for teaching this craft to others. The book is very visual, filled with cozy serene photography, and features a detailed “how-to” for beginners, followed by seasonal projects for beginner, intermediate and advanced weavers.

I love that she talks a lot about using existing or makeshift materials. She offers great tips on: yarn, tools, weaves, textures, patterns, stitches and dyeing your own wool using flowers, veggies, etc.

The last 4 chapters are devoted to project ideas like a pillow cushion, lampshade, clutch handbag, necklace, wall hanging and more. All the ideas were very inspirational and well done.

My only dislike of the book was the limited selection of project ideas. For a craft book, I like to see a broader variety, but this is still worth owning a copy if you plan to give it a go. I hope to try one out soon!

Thank you to NetGalley, White Owl, and Lucy Rowan for this wishlist ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Was this review helpful?

I am a weaver who has done some natural dyeing. My issue is always finding projects that use what I dye and this really solved that problem by giving you very detailed instructions and even illustrations and photos of how to use your dyed fibers. Highly recommend for anyone with project paralysis.

Was this review helpful?

This is a very cool approach to weaving and as a novice in weaving, I liked the implementation of choosing dyes as part of the crafting process. This is a great and informative book with clear instructions for weavers of various skillsets. A huge thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for my thoughts. I'm inspired!

Was this review helpful?

This is a lovely book. The main focus is on the weaving projects, not necessarily natural dyeing. There is basic information on natural dyeing with nettles, avocado skins and such but not as much as I hoped for. I did love that it was seasonal, with a few dye plants recommended for each season. If you are interested in weaving it’s very thorough on doing some beautiful projects.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

Was this review helpful?

I really like d this book, it includes information on basic weaving techniques, how to to build your own loom with inexpensive materials and general information on what tools you will need. It includes a series of projects that range from beginner to experienced to advanced and recipes.

This would be good for introducing someone to natural dyes and weaving!

Was this review helpful?

I thought this book was fantastic.

As someone who has been interested in weaving for awhile now, this book goes into tools you can use, different material you can use, different weaving looms, etc. She also shares many different techniques to weaving along with tips and tricks along the way.

I love that she doesn't try to upsell you on expensive supplies. She flat out tells you how to DIY an easy loom at home using inexpensive items or things you may already have.

This book has the general reference and technique area in the first half of the book. The last half is separated into seasons with dye recipes, and beginner to advanced projects you can try (with tutorials). I love the variety of everything.

A great book for someone interested in picking up the hobby!

Was this review helpful?

This is a light dip into natural dyes and fails to address fugitive dyes sufficiently, ethical harvest of dye materials, or proper mordanting of protein fibers. If one is looking for quick weave/dye projects then this title would suffice;however, if a reader is looking for a proper introduction to natural dyes I cannot recommend. On the positive side, the photographs and layout are appealing.

Was this review helpful?

A quick look at ways to dye wool throughout the seasons, and a series of projects that range from beginner to experienced to advanced. I think the dye recipes are easy to accomplish, but my favorite part of the book was seeing all the various non wall hanging projects she came up with, I was especially excited about the peg loom weaving of a throw rug!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?