Fabulous Woven Jewelry: Plaiting, Coiling, Knotting, Looping & Twining with Fiber & Metal (Lark Jewelry Books) [Paperback]

Mary Hettmansperger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lark Jewelry Books | Publication Date: January 28, 2006

Award-winning fiber artist Mary Hettmansperger reveals the secrets of using traditional basketry techniques to create 28 striking pieces of jewelry. It's a new and exciting approach that yields remarkable results--even for beginners. She covers four basic procedures--plaiting, knotting, looping, and twining--and incorporates materials such as copper, colorful wire, natural fibers, even bottle tops and bark. The array of projects includes soft-fiber necklaces as well as one made from looped linen over a forged silver mold: small retro pins, bright and colorful in twined pattern shaped; and a variety of pieces made from wire twisted with beads. There's no other book like it, and it's sure to appeal to a diverse range of crafters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (January 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579906141
• ISBN-13: 978-1579906146
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars or more accurately....Fabulous Woven Pouches, Pendants, and Pins, July 5, 2006

By 

Sara R. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fabulous Woven Jewelry: Plaiting, Coiling, Knotting, Looping & Twining with Fiber & Metal (Lark Jewelry Books) (Paperback)

This book has really nice looking projects and nice photos, but I am not sure that the book cover photo and title really gives an accurate portrayal of the contents. I was expecting bracelets, necklaces, etc, made of fiber AND metal, as the sub-title and photo suggest. About half of the projects include no metal or wire, to speak of.
Also, more annoying, about half of the projects are of amulet style pouches (bag on a string,) and pins. The other half of the projects are "necklaces." However, the "necklace" projects are really for the pendant ATTACHED to the necklace. In other words, there are no fully woven necklaces or bracelets, except for the ONE bracelet on the cover. That one cover bracelet is, in fact, the ONLY bracelet, in the book.
This is a nice book for weaving or macrame... good technique, easy to learn, beautiful projects. But, it is a weaving/macrame book, and should not even have mentioned metal in the title, or used a wire woven bracelet on the cover. Also, I think the term "Jewelry" is a little broad for the projects in this book.
I will probably make some of the more modern looking projects, such as the one on the cover, and the fishbone "necklace" pendant. I would not, however, have purchased this book if I had taken a preview.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars better for fiber artists and crafters than jewelers, January 4, 2007

By 

Jewelry Artist (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fabulous Woven Jewelry: Plaiting, Coiling, Knotting, Looping & Twining with Fiber & Metal (Lark Jewelry Books) (Paperback)

Best thing in the book was the cover photo. I think that most people think of metal and colored glass, stones, etc when they think of making jewelry. This book had little to interest someone who wanted to make or learn something like that-but my friends who are weavers, or who knit, LOVED it. My friends who make jewelry hated it.
It is possible to do all of these fiber techniques with metal instead of fiber, (ie: Arlene Fisch, Mary Lee Hu, Barbara Berk, etc.) and that is what I thought the book would be about. It was disappointing. I loved the piece on the cover.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Inspiring Jewelry-making book..., December 31, 2006

By 

J. Wang (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fabulous Woven Jewelry: Plaiting, Coiling, Knotting, Looping & Twining with Fiber & Metal (Lark Jewelry Books) (Paperback)

This book is eye-opening and inspiring. The designs have an old-world feel to them and the pictures are simply stunning. The designs were unique and seem to stay with you for a long time. The author applies (basket) weaving techniques and uses different mediums and rewrite the meaning of woven jewelry for many. The instructions are well-written and specific, and the illustrations are easy to understand. In fact, when I took a class with a known wire artist Dallas Lovett, he commented that this book is very well-written. I would definately recommend this book for beginners as well as beaders who are interested in exploring different mediums and techniques.