Mary M. Atwater’s Shuttle-Craft Courses in Weaving is a short illustrated prospectus for her hand-weaving instruction and pattern drafts. Published in 1922, it describes the aims of the courses, the subjects of the lessons and the kinds of textiles students were expected to make. It is a valuable historical introduction to Atwater’s teaching program, rather than the full set of course lessons or the separately supplied blueprint drafts.
Atwater presents weaving as a satisfying household craft, a possible home industry and a subject worth teaching systematically. Her discussion ranges from Colonial coverlets to card weaving, with photographs of looms, textiles and the weaving process. The booklet makes her educational priorities visible: students should understand patterns, develop their own designs and connect technique with useful finished work.
Book details
- Title: Shuttle-Craft Courses in Weaving
- Author: Mary M. Atwater
- Author’s location: Basin, Montana
- Copyright: 1922, Mary M. Atwater
- Printer: Standard Publishing Co., Anaconda, Montana
- Edition: No numbered edition stated
- Length: 24 PDF pages
- Scope: Course descriptions, introductory essays, photographs and a pattern-draft catalog
A plan for learning hand weaving
The loom-weaving course is described as a sequence intended to occupy roughly six months. Its first section concerns four-harness overshot pattern weaving. The proposed lessons begin with loom parts, materials, knots, hanging harnesses, warping and tie-up, then move into drawing in patterns, sleying, tying in and weaving. Pillow tops, runners, towels and samplers appear among the assigned work.
A rug-weaving lesson considers preparation of rags, plain or tabby weave, borders and the adaptation of overshot patterns to rugs. The description helps readers see how Atwater connected elementary loom preparation with progressively more demanding projects. The booklet outlines these lessons; it does not reproduce all their detailed instructions.
Draft writing and a wider range of weaves
Draft writing receives its own section. Atwater describes developing patterns on cross-section paper, correcting faulty drafts, enlarging or reducing patterns and arranging borders. She considers this work particularly important for teachers and for weavers who want to create original designs. It shows a deliberate move beyond copying a finished textile toward understanding its structure.
The later course descriptions include linen and curtain weaves, Scandinavian examples, tufted and embroidery weaving, summer-and-winter work, double weaving and twills. A final design assignment brings several household textiles together as a coordinated room set. Photographs of coverlets help give these subjects a visible setting, including the relationship between a central pattern and its border.
Card weaving and the pattern catalog
A separate course uses square cards with holes in their corners to make narrow textiles. Atwater discusses girdles, hatbands and similar articles, and describes her experience using the craft in occupational-therapy work. The photograph of card weaving is especially useful for understanding how different this equipment is from a large floor loom.
The final catalog lists groups of separately issued drafts for hand weaving. Colonial coverlet patterns, designs associated with the John Landes book and summer-and-winter patterns reveal the range of historical material she was studying and organizing. These are catalog entries for additional material, not a complete collection of ready-to-weave drafts within this PDF.
Reading this booklet today
This is a good choice for textile historians, readers interested in Mary M. Atwater and weaving teachers examining the development of organized craft instruction. It offers a concise view of the projects, skills and ambitions behind her program. Its practical value is as a map of study and a record of the hand-weaving revival, with clear distinctions between introductory discussion and the fuller lessons that students originally received separately.
