Collapse Weave : Creating Three-dimensional Cloth

After striving to create flat, consistent fabrics for most of her career, Anne Field discovered a new kind of weaving that emphasized the flexibility and movement of yarns. Suddenly, Anne began to find this new method of weaving, termed "collapse weave," everywhere she looked in museums and books - it was an ancient form of decorative weaving largely overlooked by modern weavers. Collapse weave can be created by contrasting yarn factors, or combining weave structures that react with each other to create ridges and hollows. The deliberately pleated and puckered fabric produced has a flexibility of movement that makes it lovely to wear, and the uniqueness of the weave means the artistry of the weaver can be seen in the cloth. As Anne says, "the hand of the maker" is evident in the fabric, making each piece created an original artwork. Instructions are clearly written and easy to understand, and the book is fully illustrated with examples of the kinds of cloth produced, and clear, easy-to-follow diagrams.

Anne Field has been weaving and spinning since 1962, and for the past 25 years has been teaching regularly in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. Her work has been entered in many exhibitions, both in New Zealand and overseas. Anne's published books include Weaving with the Rigid Heddle Loom (1980); The Four-shaft Table Loom (1986), The Ashford Book of Spinning (1986), The Ashford Book of Weaving (1991), Devore: For Weavers and Knitters (2010) and Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics (2nd ed. 2010). Anne has her studio in the Arts Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she works on her 16 shaft AVL, computer-assisted loom.