Meeting with Betty Briand, author of L’Art du tissage

Betty Briand, born in 1964, grew up in France. As a child, while she attentively watched her grandmother busy with textile work that was more or less usual at the time, her grandfather built a weaving frame for her. It is surrounded with tenderness and in this spirit of intergenerational transmission that Betty's interest burgeons. An interest that will continue to grow.

In the 1980s, Betty Briand, then a mother of four children, devoted herself to agriculture and at the same time to the textile arts: weaving, spinning, vegetable dyes, etc. Years later, after a decisive encounter with Erica de Ruiter, she pursued a rigorous self-taught apprenticeship punctuated by internships, readings, creating samples. This learning will allow her to develop her own language and her own philosophy of weaving.

Initially Betty, can you tell us what attracted you to weaving?

“The rigor of the design, the sensuality of the production, the beauty of the fabrics, its universality. I am fascinated by the diversity of the weaves, even though they are only interwoven threads. »

You say that the meeting with Erica de Ruiter was a turning point for you. Can you tell us why?

"It was Erica who made me discover the language of weaving, how it was read, how it was written, the premises for understanding weaves and writing for the creation of one's own projects. During the international internships with Erica I discovered a wide variety of weaving patterns and I entered an infinite universe... Erica educated me in the search for perfection, while teaching me the methods and the requirements allowing me to achieve it”.

You have been teaching for years and have had your Artissage school in Chinon, France since 2019. Why did you choose teaching?

"I like more than anything to share and pass on my knowledge, and teaching forces me to search again and again to create a wide variety of samples by constantly innovating. My trainees, through their questions and their achievements, also make me progress and prevent me falling into a routine. So I never get bored. »

This book L'Art du tissage (The Art of Weaving), why did you want to write it?

"Because it's the one I wish I had found when I started weaving. In France, we haven't had a weaving book for 45 years..."

Who is it specifically for?

“I wanted to address both beginners and weavers curious to learn the theory of creating weaving patterns. »

Thanks, Betty, for writing it.

I will tell you, Betty Briand's book is a marvel.

Overall, it is an extremely comprehensive book. One of those books that presents rich content that is aimed at beginners, and that goes well beyond.

The book is divided into three main parts. The first part deals with materials, accessories and yarns and details all aspects related to the project. The second part is devoted to the fundamental structures and their derivatives as well as to the creative possibilities around stripes, colour effects, different yarns, density, manipulations... Finally, the third part proposes to continue with the study of blocks, the analysis of a fabric, the evolution of a structure and suggests ways to go further.

Throughout the book, detailed technical sheets accompany practical exercises.

On the form, the presentation is superb, clear and the book is filled with inspiring images.

This is the book to own and treasure.