Amsden, Charles
Avery. Navajo Weaving:
Its Technic and Its History. The Fine Arts Press,
1934.
Reprint.
Chicago: Rio Grande Press, 1964.
This
is one of the better
older books on the subject.
Bennett,
Noël. Designing with the
Wool: Advanced Techniques in Navajo Weaving. Flagstaff,
AZ:
Northland Press, 1979.
This
is the second book
written by Noël Bennet. It includes quite a bit of
material
that was left of out of Navajo Weaving Way, including a description of
how to do raised outline technique.
Bennett, Noël,
and Tiana
Bighorse.
Working with the Wool: How to Weave a Navajo Rug. Flagstaff,
AZ:
Northland Press, 1971.
This
book popularized
the dream of weaving in Navajo techniques for many
non-Navajos.
It
went through several subsequent printings and most, if not all, of the
material is in Navajo Weaving Way. If you use the loom
design,
make
sure you move the pipe strap that holds the lower beam onto the frame
of
the loom. If you don't, your loom will tend to pull
forward.
The method of binding the warp onto the dowels which are mounted on the
loom is very difficult to do, and there are alternatives.
Refer
to
Navajo Weaving Way and Mary Pendleton's Navajo and Hopi Weaving
Techniques
to see them.
. Navajo
Weaving Way: The Path from
Fleece
to Rug. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1997.
Noël
Bennett and
Tiana Bighorse collaborated again on this book, which was published
last
year. The problem with the loom design in Working the Wool
was
corrected,
and material was added on dyeing, spinning and culture. This
book
makes as good a text as you can easily find. Weaving in
general
is
not the easiest thing to learn froma book, and Navajo techniques are no
exception. Hopefully, you'll find someone who can demonstrate
the
techniques and will watch while you try. The books make a
good
reference
when you need a reminder.
Blomberg,
Nancy. Navajo Textiles: The
William Randolph Hearst Collection. Tucson:
University of
Arizona
Press, 1988.
Lots
and lots of pictures
of really beautiful rugs.
Bonar, Eulalie H.,
ed. Woven by the
Grandmothers:
Nineteenth Century Navajo Textiles from the National Museum of the
American
Indian. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1996.
I
love this book.
I loved the Woven by the Grandmothers exhibit. This is a book
about
Navajo weaving written mostly by Navajos, and contains descriptions of
each piece in the Navajo language as well as in English. The
articles
are written mainly from the Navajo point of view, and help place
weaving
in the context of the lives of present and past weavers. If
you
are
a weaver, read what Wesley Thomas says about the finishing process at
the
bottom of page 41. I really agree with his analogy to a child
leaving
home. See what you think.
Brown, Rachel. The
Weaving, Spinning
and Dyeing Book. 2nd edition. New York: Knopf,
1983.
Contains chapter entitled “Weaving on a Navajo
Loom”.
If
you can't find Navajo
Weaving Way, this is an alternative.
Eddington, Patrick and
Susan Markov.
Trading
Post Guidebook. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Press
I
realize that this book
is not about Navajo weaving on the surface of it, but it might stop you
from just driving by a really great place where you'll meet a Navajo
weaver
demonstrating her craft. It also has some wonderful pictures
of
rugs.
But, you really need to quit just driving by all those
places. If
you don't stop it, they'll all be Thriftways, or worse.
Hedlund, Ann Lane.
Beyond the Loom:
Keys to Understanding Early Southwestern Weaving.
Introduction
and
observations by Joe Ben Wheat. Boulder: Johnson
Books, 1990.
Ann
Lane Hedlund is a
leading authority on Navajo weaving and a terrific and thoughtful
person.
.
Reflections of the
Weaver’s
World: The Gloria F. Ross Collection of Contemporary Navajo
Weaving.
Denver: Denver Art Museum. 1992.
This
book is another
one of my favorites. It is one of the first books that
focused on
the weavers as well as on the textiles.
. Contemporary Navajo Weaving: Thoughts That Count. Flagstaff, AZ: Museum of Northern Arizona Press, 1994.
Hollister, U. S. The Navajo and His Blanket. 1903. Reprint. Chicago: Rio Grande Press, 1937.
James, George Wharton. Indian Blankets and Their Makers. A.C. McClurg and Co. , 1914. Reprint. Chicago: Rio Grande Press, 1937.
James, H. L.
Rugs and Posts.
West
Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing Co., 1988.
This
book presents the
various trading posts and traders, and the rug designs that are
associated
with them. Many of the posts are history now, so it is a good
reference,
with more pictures than text.
Kaufman, Alice, and
Christopher
Selser.
Navajo Weaving Tradition: 1650 to Present. New York, NY:
NAL/Dutton,
1985.
The
focus here is on
the textiles rather than on the weavers. The pictures
chronology
is very complete.
Kent, Kate
Peck. Navajo Weaving: Three
Centuries of Change. Santa Fe, NM: School of
American
Research
Press, 1985.
Kate
Peck Kent is another
leading authority on Navajo textiles and presents excellent technical
analyses.
McQuiston, Don, and Debra
McQuiston.
Woven
Spirit of the Southwest. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
This
book isn't strictly
about Navajo weaving, but about the context of it and other
southwestern
weaving traditions. The pictures are wonderful!
Monument Valley High
School.
'Ndahoo'aah
Relearning/New Learning Navajo Crafts/Computer Design.
Monument
Valley,
1996.
Each
year, Monument
Valley
High School brings together Navajo high school students and elders,
computer
scientists and math teachers for three weeks to learn and relearn what
crafts, science, and culture have to offer each other. These
are
some of the best narratives from Navajo weavers that I have ever
read.
The booklet is available from the Monument Valley High School for $10
postage
paid. Send a check or money order for the booklets and
shipping
and
handling to MVHS, P.O. Box 360008, Monument Valley,
UT
84536.
Some of the narratives from the booklet are in the 'Ndahoo'aah
website.
Pendleton,
Mary. Navajo and Hopi
Weaving
Techniques. New York: Collier Books, 1974.
Mary
Pendleton owned
and operated a fiber arts shop in Sedona, Arizona, for many
years.
She has now retired, but I really hope that she will someday consider
updating
this wonderful book. It is many years out of print, but look
for
it at yard sales and at used book stores. I have seen copies
sell
for $65. This book is worth $65, particularly if you are
interested
in Hopi techniques.
Reichard,
Gladys. Spiderwoman: A
Story of Navajo Weavers and Chanters.
1934.
Reprint.
Glorieta, NM: The Rio Grande Press, 1968.
Gladys
Reichard made
many trips to Navajo country in the 1930's and learned to weave through
a referral from the Hubbell Trading Post. Reichard's views
may
not
be politically correct from a 1990's perspective, but the books are
interesting
reading, as long as you remember that much of what you read about
reservation
life has changed along with the rest of the world.
. Navajo
Shepherd and Weaver.
1936.
Reprint. Glorieta, NM: The Rio Grande Press, 1968.
Reichard
describes many
of the techniques used in weaving in detail. Her description
of
double
faced weave is probably the best there is.
Rodee, Marian.
Weaving of the
Southwest.
Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1977.
This
is a very complete
and beautiful book. Rodee did some of the first writing from
the
weaver's perspective.
Roessel, Monty.
Songs from the
Loom:
A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave. Minneapolis: Lerner
Publications,
1995.
If
you are interested
in Navajo weaving, read this book.
Schiffer, Nancy
N. Navajo Weaving
Today.
West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1991.
Good
overall review of
rug designs.
. Pictorial
Weavings of the
Navajo.
West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 1991.
Good
overall review of
pictorial rug designs.
Wheat, Joe Ben and H. P.
Mera. The
Gift
of Spiderwoman: Southwestern Textiles, The Navajo Tradition.
Philadelphia:
The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1984.
This
book is out of
print,
but well worth the time to find in a good library.
Willink, Roseann Sandoval
and Paul G.
Zollbrod. Weaving a World: Textiles and the Navajo Way of
Seeing.
Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1996.
This
unique book
describes
Navajo textiles from the perspective of Navajo elders.
Wonderful
photography and thoughtful text.
Please
let me know if there are other books that should be included .