Good Information?

AI seems to be having a good time generating garbage information for weavers.

Sometimes it is hard to know, especially if someone is new to the craft, and generally the ads now are getting really ‘polished’. Doesn’t make the article being sold any good, unfortunately.

This morning I was confronted with a very polished ad featuring a book and tools with the promise that weavers could weave Krokbrag easily – on a rigid heddle loom.

Um, no. Krokbrag is a three shed weave structure, weft faced, not a balanced plain weave – as the photos were showing.

The promises for ‘error weave weaving’ were laughable. And telling brand new weavers that doing a 3 shed weave structure, weft faced, on a rigid heddle loom is easy? Yikes.

(I’m not saying it can’t be done – just that it is *not* a ‘beginner’ project and it helps if the new weaver actually understands how the textile is constructed.)

I know a lot of people are pushing their rigid heddle looms to new heights, breaking barriers. But honestly, selling poor information about what the weaver should expect? Does a disservice to the craft and the new weaver.

Since I’m no fan of AI generated anything-related-to-weaving, I did the ultimate ‘sacrifice’ and visited the website.

I was astonished to see the price for the package. I tried to work out the actual ‘value’ of what they were selling.

First of all, they are sketchy in representing what Krokbrag is. Their ‘FAQ’ questions are ‘garbage’ as well as their booklet. There is enough terminology usage that it ‘looks’ like there is something of value in there, but only if you don’t know about the weave structure in the first place.

The full retail price is way higher than most comparable information packages being sold by actual weaving instructors. The discounted price is still more than the retail price of most weaving books.

And the promises are over blown, with actual dis/misinformation that will lead to a new weaver not succeeding and probably giving up in frustration.

At any rate, I took note of the website and will never recommend their products based on this item.

Of course, once I clicked on that link I am now being inundated with more AI publications. The most recent one had a pretty picture of a ‘frame’ loom, with the warp attached to the cross bar support instead of the top of the loom resulting in about a 6″ high warp instead of using the loom properly. I mean, you could, but…

I am not an expert in rigid heddle weaving or in krokbrag. But I know there are much better sources for *good* information than what the above mentioned package was selling, for a full retail price way beyond the value being offered. You *could* use the motif charts as supplied for a number of different crafts. But you could also go to a Dover publication and get the same information at a fraction of the price.

As always, buy weaving instruction from actual humans who actually know something about weaving.

My books are still available here and while I don’t talk about Krokbrag, at least you know that I have some actual knowledge about weaving as a craft. I suggest you save your money and buy a class from someone who understands the weave structure, and if you can’t afford a class, a proper book that will explain the structure and how to use it. And if you really want to weave Krokbrag on a rigid heddle loom, check in with someone who knows about pushing the rigid heddle loom beyond it’s limitations…