Straw Plaiting by Veronica Main

An engaging makers' guide to the history and craft of straw plaiting,
brimming with helpful step-by-step diagrams.
Straw plaiting is a method of manufacturing textiles by braiding straw and
other materials, and has been used for everything from hats to baskets,
handbags, trimmings and homewares. Once employing tens of thousands in
the UK alone, the craft is now listed on the Heritage Crafts Association Red
List as a Critically Endangered Heritage Craft.
This book aims to change that, drawing on more than 50 previously
unpublished patterns and techniques that will help you to unlock the history
and preserve the skills of straw plaiting. Colourful, inspiring photographs and
more than 400 diagrams allow you to replicate traditional techniques from
around the world, explaining how they were developed and providing
comprehensive information about materials, tools and preparation.
Modern plaiters use a wide variety of materials including paper, woodchip,
grasses, palm, cereal crop straw and synthetic fibres. Once familiar with the
plaiting techniques, you will be able to mix the materials and develop your
skills, possibly blending in recycled materials, which are increasingly being
used to produce beautiful, unique pieces.

Veronica Main is the most experienced traditional straw plaiter in the UK. For
more than forty years she has rigorously researched the industries of the UK,
Europe and the United States, unlocking information and learning how to
recreate plaits using authentic techniques. She was awarded an MBE in the
2021 New Year's Honours list forServices to Straw Hat Plaiting and
Endangered Crafts

Bloomsbury
On Sale: Oct 17/23
8.5 x 11.02 • 336 pages
Step-by-step colour illustrations
9781789940756 • $80.00 • CL - With dust jacket
Crafts & Hobbies / Baskets