The Coverlet Book:
Early American Handwoven Coverlets.
is on its way from our printer in Hong Kong!
We expect to ship it October 20th.

Warmth, beauty, and art: our early American handwoven coverlets have it all. And, each one is unique and interesting.

Here is a fascinating study - all based on original research from primary sources: from the coverlets themselves, the early draft books and collections of early individual drafts. The author, an intensely curious weaver, explores all the facets of each coverlet, each of their many structures and variations and then, with gusto, passes this information along to the reader in a readable, meaningful and interesting way.

These volumes are filled with photographs, many in color, some in black and white, and many with close-ups. There are drawdowns of each coverlet. Charts, fascinating facsimiles of early drafts and explanations galore fill the pages. The author incorporates these photos, drawdowns, facsimiles and charts to make complex concepts easy to understand.

A chapter is set aside for each weave system and its variations: Overshot, Twill in its many forms, Turned Twill, Double Weave, Summer and Winter, Star and Diamond, and some miscellaneous weaves. For each of these chapters there's an overview of the coverlets analyzed followed by a detailed discussion and explanation of its structure. Then there's a gallery featuring a wide range of coverlets, a drawdown and photograph of each plus an off-the-cuff description of it and a box containing its vital statistics. Always, there are anomalies and they're discussed with great delight. How do you read early drafts? What do they look like when woven? What can we learn from them? All this is explained and shown. Many of these patterns are extraordinary!

There's a chapter devoted to the motifs found on the coverlets, with charts showing the progression of each motif from its simplest to most complex form. If you're a pine tree admirer, look in the Trees and Churches chapter for a host of trees, their origins and how to weave them. Ever wonder how patterning evolved? Possibly the way explored in the Evolution of Patterning chapter, a just-for-fun chapter with room for serious thought.

There's so much more. From the casual coverlet lover or collector to the serious weaver, each will find much to learn, much to add to his or her repertoire - and so much to enjoy.

Perhaps the best thing about the book is the author herself! She writes as if she is speaking to you as a friend. You get the feeling that she is right there with you as you are going through the book - explaining, clarifying, just holding your hand making sure that everything is crystal clear.

The Coverlet Book is a two-volume hardcover boxed set.
The Coverlet Book is over 1,100 pages long and contains over 1,000 photographs, over 2,000 drawdowns and over 300 diagrams. Helene Bress is also the author of: Inkle Weaving, The Macramé Book and The Weaving Book.