Simple weave by Kerstin Neumüller

Throughout January I have read a lot of tutorials and seen a lot of youtube videos on how to weave bands with a heddle backstrap (bandgrind in Swedish). I had it figured out, but since I have a tendency to run before I can walk I felt that maybe I needed to invest in a book on the subject. I had put in a reservation in my library for a book about it, but I am number 2 in the reservation queue so it will be a while until I can get my hands on it. There are a a number of books on bandweaving but in the end I decided to buy "Simple weave" by Kerstin Neumüller. It is available both in Swedish and English. I chose this book because it was the cheapest, and it was available as an ebook, so that I could get my hands on it instantly.

I had a feeling that the book wasn't quite what I needed and I was right. The book itself is an introduction if you are interested in starting with weaving, but without having to start with having a large loom. There is a focus on the backstrap heddle, but only one short section about making traditional patterned bands, what I am interesting in. I think that since there are quite a few books out there about just band weaving, then the focus was on other techniques, like weaving kelim and images and moving on to backstrap looms. Still the few pages on  patterns was exactly what I needed to get a clear idea on how I am supposed to warp up to make the patterns. It also had nice explanations of yarn weight and how to create striped bands. Overall the language and instructions are very clear and easy to follow, and that is the best part of the book.

One thing I missed was pictures. I suppose it's a budget issue, but the images are mostly hand drawn sketches, and for the band themselves it would have been really nice to see what they looked like when finished, not just on grid pattern. 

So all in all the book gave me a few hints and advice that I hadn't picked up on free web resources, but if you are willing to scour the web you will be able to start fine without this book. It is a book that is better suited for those interested in weaving, but not if your main focus is to make traditional bands. I will probably pick up a book that is just about band weaving in the future, as of now I will use this to try and make my first patterned band, and have it handy when I get curious on how to finish the bands.