Getting Started with Tablet Weaving

Your average Viking man or woman would have considered themselves seriously underdressed if they didn't have some nice decorations on their clothing, probably including tablet woven bands. My Gallery shows some of the bands I've woven over the years, including some of the less successful ones...

I've written an article which attempts to explain the basics of tablet weaving, for anyone who fancies having a go:

I always used to begin by teaching people how to make "threaded in" patterns, but in this article, I've started by introducing "woven in" patterns. This is partly because I think it may actually be an easier way to begin, and it certainly makes threading up quicker, but also because I have since learned that "threaded in" patterns are quite a modern development. As far as I've been able to find out, all the tablet-weaving from earlier times (from say the Bronze Age up until late medieval times) was made using "woven in" techniques. Before anyone asks me, in this context I count the Saxon Threaded-in Weave shown on Mistress Thora's excellent site as being a "woven in" pattern, because although the tablets are not threaded identically, you do not turn all the tablets together. There is a sample of this weave in my Gallery, under Linen Bands.

If you do try to learn tablet weaving from my article, I'd love to hear how you get on! In particular, please let me know what you found confusing, so that I can try to improve it.