Ursula's Alcove

Books : Other Textile Arts

The Techniques of Ply-Split Braiding
by Peter Collingwood

Hardcover, 8" x 10", $60.00
ISBN 1-85725133-4
Bellew Publishing Limited, 1998.
120 pages.

From inside cover:

Ply-split braiding is a thread technique which is still too little known in Europe. This book is the first in-depth investigation of a technique which due to its extremely localized distribution, has only recently come onto the textile map.

Peter Collingwood, as in his other definitive works on rugs, sprang and tablet weaving, has deleved deeply into the technique of ply-split braiding. On five visits to India he has travelled to isolated off-the-map villages and homesteads in Rajasthan and Gujurat to gather knowledge fron the few remaining practitioners of this craft and also acquire a unique and impressive collection of artefacts.

The latter have been the foundation for the present book which contains detailed practical instructions for the reader and records these arrestingly beautiful objects. The plates - both of Indian work and the author's own innovative samples - illustrate the range of designs and structures of this simple method, which needs practically no equipment, can produce. Ply-split braiding will become an exciting new addition to the textile worker's craft.