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Whether you’ve been a subscriber for years or are new around here, we’d like to encourage you to check out the Handwoven Library.
Why? It’s full of projects and information to make your weaving better—including more than a few freebies available to everyone, with or without a subscription. It has so many wonderful resources that we wanted to highlight how to best use it, as well as the goodies you can get at every subscription level.
How to Use the Library
When we put together our library, one of our goals was to make it as easy as possible to find what you’re looking for. While you can use the search bar if you want something specific (such as the Fall 2025 issue), you might also notice that on the left side of the screen, we have a column of filters with checkboxes. Here you can narrow down your searches by:
- Access level (Free, Subscriber, and All Access)
- Format (project, eBook, magazine, etc.)
- Project type, loom type, number of shafts and treadles, techniques used, and more.
Free Without a Subscription
If you don’t have a subscription, use the filter column to check the “Free” box under Access to find downloads available to anyone with a free account. You’ll find projects, eBooks, WIFs, and tutorials, as well as project charts and extra instructions we couldn’t fit in the magazine. Among our personal most-used freebies are the front-to-back and back-to-front warping instructions, because we all feel a bit lost when we need to warp a loom differently than usual.
The Bamboo Baby Blanket by Robin Lynde is just one of the free project downloads available without a subscription. Photo by George Boe
Magazine Subscribers Get More
If you’re a subscriber, you have even more available to you in the library, including access to all 225 (and counting!) back issues of Handwoven. To find issues with projects you want, check the format filter for Magazine and then check any filters you’re interested in under Project Type, Loom Type, and Structure to narrow things down.
Along with back issues, you’ll also find dozens of subscriber-exclusive projects—including some that were never published in the print edition.
To browse all the subscriber exclusives, just check the Subscriber box under Access.
Looking for a beautiful scarf to weave? If you're a subscriber, you can get the Autumnal Mosaic Tiles Scarf project by Eileen Lee. Photo by Matt Graves
All Access Subscribers Get It All
If you’re an All Access subscriber who isn’t using the library, you are missing out on so much! Every single Handwoven original project WIF is available as a download for All Access subscribers. Use the filter column to narrow down the type of project, then you can browse the results without having to search through an issue.
What’s a project WIF good for? You can use it to audition different colors, or add borders, or try a different threading, or any of the other ways weavers like to make projects our own.
And if you’d like to weave a project as published, WIFs will still help you out. Did you know that you can use them to easily generate end-by-end threadings and treadlings, rather than trying to navigate brackets and repeats? Read more about how to do that here.
All Access subscribers can read and download every All Access exclusive eBook. They’re filled with projects from Handwoven, and also from our sister magazines Easy Weaving with Little Looms, Spin Off, and PieceWork.
We have something extra-special to look forward to: We’re in the process of adding all individual project PDFs from each print issue—look for many, many more of them in the months to come. They’ll all be instantly available to All Access subscribers for download.
Final Thoughts
The Handwoven Library is one of our favorite reference tools as editors, but we also rely on it for our own personal weaving. Whether we want to find a particular WIF or scarf project or are looking for an eBook about a specific topic, it’s a piece of cake with the library’s filter feature.
No matter what level of subscription you have, there’s something for you in the Handwoven Library. We’re constantly adding items to every tier, so make sure you regularly check in to see what’s available or, even better, subscribe to our newsletter so you can learn all the details about what’s new without delay.
Happy Weaving!
Lynn and Christina
P.S. Not a subscriber yet, or thinking of upgrading your subscription? Learn more about the different levels here!