Customer Reviews

The Techniques of Sprang: Plaiting on Stretched Threads

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I purchased a hardcover edition of Techniques in the mid-70's and have guarded it carefully ever since. I was first introduced and attracted to the sprang technique through a fun little spiral bound craft book entitled How to Make Your Own Hammock & Lie in It, by Denison Andrews (copyright 1972, Workman Publishing Company, ISBN 0911104186), which I also value highly. Andrews' book very clearly describes how to make sprang (and several other kinds of) hammocks. Andrews shows how to set up a basic loom arrangement which I simplified even further - using a configuration depicted and explained by Collingwood - to two 1" dowels, a pegged 2x6 warping board, 3 thin/narrow "sword" boards from standard wood trim stock, and a few screw eyes and hooks - the whole affair about $15 or less in today's money. Andrews gives a direct, simple, fun and quick technique to make a large rectangle of fabric for the hammock body (about a day and a half's effort) as a great introduction to the craft of sprang.

Collingwood's book is biblical and introduces the techniques of the art of sprang (pronounced "sprong [with 2 dots over the o]", as Collingwood explains). The author covers only sprang, as you would expect from the book's title, and his coverage is in complete, intimate, readily grasped detail, with many helpful and useful illustrations and instructions. The book is exhaustive and engaging, covering sprang history, looms, fabrics, uses, materials, techniques, patterns, and possibilities. If you want to actually fully understand and do the art of sprang weaving to make a wide variety and nature of projects, as well as know about the craft of sprang, this is THE book!

superb, like all of collingwood's books. the instructions are clear and easy to follow the book is full of primary source references and diagrams. if you have an interest in sprang this book will tell you everything you could ever concive wanting to know in an interesting and lucid fashion. this review makes it sound stupid but the book will speak for itself -if you have an interest in fiber arts just order it!

Collingwood's book is the authoritative text on sprang. It has the clearest directions, the most details, and the best (and most) illustrations. Other books are okay for basic directions, but if you're serious about sprang, you need this book in your library. Only minus is that it's severely out of print and tends to be ridiculously expensive.

Collingwood's famous study on sprang still stands alone as a detailed text on the many ways to work sprang and how the reader can do them himself (or herself). The book also incorporates useful pictures and information about the history of sprang. Though I've always wished that it had more history than it does, there's no denying that this book is a good starting place for anyone wishing both to learn about sprang and how to work this ancient and useful textile-creation technique.