A new publication exploring notable weavers and several weaving periodicals of the 1950s, this limited hand-bound edition includes detailed weavers interpretations of the vintage drafts along with actual woven swatches. It will be available for purchase on our website and at our booth at HGA’s Convergence 2026.
Inspiration from the 1950s: Handwoven Swatch Periodicals tells the story of four mid-twentieth-century periodicals that included actual handwoven samples. Their editors, along with other master weavers of the time, explore a fascinating period when handweaving reacted to the loosening of wartime shortages, the availability of new colorful, textured man-made yarns, and the acceptance of modernist decor in the exploding new suburbias.
However, this is not simply a history book with images of 70-year-old samples. It is meant to be an example of how we can use historical swatches as inspiration for our own weaving.
Fourteen members of the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin selected one or two handwoven samples from the four publications in the guild library to study, then presented their findings at study group meetings. Each wove 130 samples for the book.
For the limited edition, twenty inspired swatches are captured in three booklets that fit in a portfolio with the hand-bound book. This beautiful collection represents the work of many more members of the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin – who researched, wrote, designed, wove, sewed, photographed, cut, assembled, punched, folded, and bound copies of this book.
Inspiration from the 1950s is meant for weavers of all skill level, and both casual and professional historians. While it is intended to stimulate creativity, we also want to encourage further research into the mid-twentieth-century weavers and their influence on handweaving today.
