Andean Pebble Weave

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by Laverne Waddington
63 pages, copyright 2010, available from WeaveZine

What weaver has not been intrigued by the beautiful and complex designs of Andean pebble weave? 

Yet it has been difficult to find instructional information to learn how to weave it.   In her new monograph, Laverne Waddington opens up this wonderful weave to contemporary weavers.  Her enthusiasm for pebble weave is apparent from the first page.  Not only is this her favorite weave, she says, it is also the easiest and fastest of the Andean weaves because sheds for every second weft pass can be loom controlled.  The variety of patterns she has charted in the book are amazing. 

The author was taught in Huancayo, Peru in 1996 by a mother and her daughter who spoke Quechua.  Their teaching method was for the student to observe and they did little actual verbal instruction.  Eventually the author could pick out frequently used Quechua words and began to make sense out of the weaving.  As you can see from the photographs of her work, she is truly a master of her craft. 

She uses clear language in the monograph as well as easy-to-follow examples and photos.  In each step, every detail that the weaver needs to know is explained simply and shown in a photo.  It felt just like I was looking over her shoulder as she showed me every movement that I needed to make. 

Pebble weave can be woven on a backstrap loom or any other loom that has adjustable tensioning, such as a rigid heddle, inkle, or tapestry loom.  The author assumes that you know how to weave and to use your loom.  Otherwise, she describes everything you need to know about pebble weave from warping to complex weaves and charts. 

There are four lessons and it would be wise for a weaver to work through the lessons in sequence.  Every lesson builds on the last one and she starts very simply.  In the beginning, she discusses looms, materials and warping.  The first lesson starts with a very narrow band and we learn how to form the cross, weave a plain background, and read a chart. 

She also teaches one of the most important weaving lessons for any type of pattern: how to look at your weaving so that if you are distracted, you can easily see where you were.  Twice in the book, she goes over this and shows photos of what each shed looks like. 

We learn how to weave a pattern and some shortcuts in lesson two.  Lesson three is about wider warps, pebble sheds and using two background colors.  The final lesson covers weaving a thicker border and horizontal lines.  Appendix A-G contain more information and further explains some techniques in the lessons.  Each lesson progressively teaches you how to weave pebble weave in the most efficient way but the author makes the learning curve as gentle as possible. 

There are many lovely bands to study throughout the book and nearly all are charted at the end.  The one thing that I wish the author talked about a little more in detail is the best sort of yarns to use and ones to avoid.  She had a short discussion about yarn but that was the only part of the book that left me with a couple questions although there was enough information to get started.  She does give several ways to contact her and learn more. 

A few years ago, I taught myself to weave Andean pebble weave and finished a couple of short bands, but never fell in love with the process.  After reading Andean Pebble Weave, I realize that I'd been doing it the hard way.  This time I'm going to take the time to work through the lessons and get it right. 

If you have ever wanted to weave pebble weave or tried and just couldn't get it, you need this monograph.  It will make the learning experience pleasant and easy.  I am so excited that Andean Pebble Weave is available and we can finally weave all those beautiful patterns for ourselves.