Krokbragd: How to Design & Weave

Imagine the most perfect book ever to teach a weaving structure or technique. This is that book. Debby Greenlaw has taken her love of krokbragd, the colorful, weft-faced Scandinavian weave structure, and explored and explained it in the clearest, most thorough, and most inspiring way imaginable.

Greenlaw begins by sharing her love of Norwegian krokbragd textiles, traditionally used for bed coverings, and showing historic examples from the Vesterheim Museum collection. Next, she presents a simple, concise explanation of how krokbragd patterns are produced before moving on to show its many variations, including four-shaft, turned, and doubleweave versions.

Greenlaw’s chapter on weaving basics is a gem. With charts and illustrations, she shows exactly how color areas are built up and how to read a krokbragd draft. Weavers not experienced with boundweave will find her explanations helpful and easy to understand, and those who are familiar with the weave structure will enjoy her fresh approach. The section on weaving tips is also invaluable, especially the advice for handling color control at the selvedges, which is always a challenge with this structure. She has even included a chapter about weaving krokbragd on rigid-heddle looms.

Beyond the basics, Greenlaw offers design inspiration with an exploration of pattern variations and color interactions, plus step-by-step finishing techniques with excellent photographs. Finally, she includes charming and useful projects to help weavers explore the krokbragd variations, from a whimsical double-point sampler with figures of farmers and sheep to a pretty turned-krokbragd bookmark and a sturdy double-faced pad for your loom bench.

Krokbragd is a wonderful weave structure, simple, versatile, and accessible with the simplest loom. I expect and hope that Greenlaw’s book will inspire a multitude of weavers to explore its infinite possibilities.

—Anita Osterhaug

San Bernardino, California: D. Greenlaw, 2019. Softcover, 128 pages, $24.99. ISBN 978-1-79665-546-9.