As a response, a vibrant Do It Yourself movement has risen to reclaim age old traditions that reconnect us to slower and simpler times. A sewing renaissance has been set in motion at a time in history when economic instability and an awareness of the importance of using sustainable resources is peaking.With this in mind, award-winning blogger Maya Donenfeld offers a guide to working with her favorite recycled materials. You’ll find linen, burlap, wool and more with details on their history, deconstruction techniques, sewing tips, and information about their environmental impact.Reinventing everyday materials into extraordinary items of beauty and utility for the modern home and family will excite new and experienced sewers alike. To add an element of personalization, Maya draws on her experience leading print workshops to share easy methods for transforming gently-used fabric with paint and ink. Stenciling templates and thorough instructions are provided, as well as encouragement to invent your own designs. Stories, a favorite recipe, and nature activity are tucked between and around the projects to offer the reader an invitation to slow down, and create with intention.

    Jessica Alexandrakis has traveled the world with her on-to-go sewing kit and small stash of fabric, creating strikingly modern patchwork along the way. Now she shares everything she's learned about this addictive, beginner-friendly technique. • Sewing kit essentials that you can slip in your bag so you'll always be ready to stitch • Color theory and stash organization tips for dramatic effects or scrap-happy results • Creative patterns to combine hexagons, half-hexagons, diamonds, stars, squares, and triangles • 10 step-by-step projects, including the hand-pieced Laptop Bag, Tanuki Stripe Throw, Falling Stars Baby Quilt, and Jessica's signature Travel Quilt • 10 customizable quilt patterns with 40 vibrant color palette suggestions Whether your style is classic or modern, Jessica offers a range of stunning projects, from small home accessories to full-size quilts, for all skill levels. So leave the sewing machine at home. Take your quilt to go.

    Dive into a special section on the health benefits of the craft, catch a glimpse of knitting’s superstars in conversation with Howell, or try your hand at loads of how-tos and projects from the likes of Bristol Ivy, Kaffe Fassett, Diva Zappa, Amy Small, and many more.  “Pick up some yarn, start where you are, get creative” is the message Howell weaves through the book and her online series, The Knit Show. Gathering inspiration from all facets of the knitting universe, the book offers chapters on The Makings (go-to knitted gifts), The Surroundings (cool projects for your knitting space), and The Intention (vibe-y rituals, yoga, and self-care all every knitter—and would-be knitter—craves).

    (See cute book cover if you're having trouble with the translation.) It's the latest and hottest craft craze among young and trendy crafters.Crobots features a 20-strong army of charming, cuddly amigurumi designs such as BigBot, BabyBot (don't let his age fool you), Geisha, DogBot, CatBot, and Thinker.The pattern for each design is simple enough for crochet novices, yet can be adapted to keep the experts interested and amused.

    The Weaver's Idea Book presents a wide variety of patterns for the simple rigid-heddle loom, accompanied by harness drafts for multishaft looms. The techniques include leno, Brooks bouquet, soumak, and embroidery on fabric. Each chapter contains weaving patterns along with swatches illustrating the techniques, accompanied by step-by-step photography.The book is arranged by structure or type of weave, from variations on plain weave to doubleweave. With traditional patterns from around the world, bands, and fabrics woven on two double heddles, The Weaver's Idea Book brings together a variety of ways to create exquisite cloth. Weaving tips and tricks help weavers at all levels achieve their textile dreams. In addition to pattern drafts, Jane offers project ideas that guide the reader through creating functional woven projects, from wearables to home decor.Weaving, especially on rigid-heddle looms, is enjoying a resurgence, and contemporary weavers are in need of a book to bridge the divide between basic books and complex text designed for advanced weavers with sophisticated tools. Celebrating the immense potential for creativity possible with the simplest of tools, The Weaver's Idea Book opens new avenues for exploration on both the rigid-heddle and multishaft looms.

    This spiral-bound book lays flat for easy reference and features full-color photographs of 16 sample skirts, with illustrated step-by-step instructions for completing each one. Encouraging you to experiment with bold patterns and unique fabrics, Francesca DenHartog and Carole Ann Camp provide simple guidelines for translating body measurements into panel dimensions. Create a custom-tailored wardrobe that fits perfectly and showcases your unique and personal style.

    Styled as a cookbook for the beginning miniaturist "chef," the introductory chapters discuss the "basic ingredients" and techniques used for polymer clay and jewelry-making. The remainder of the book offers 20 "recipes" grouped by category: fruits, breakfast, lunch and dinner, sweets and snacks, and holiday foods. Each recipe has a list of "ingredients," step-by-step directions with photographs, and suggested variations. Each piece is presented as a particular finished jewelry item, such as a necklace, but readers are encouraged to adapt the piece into any type of jewelry they choose. Each chapter also includes one of the authors' own cherished recipes for real food, including Sunday Morning Cinnamon Rolls, Grandma's Pasta Sauce, Decadent Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes, and Mom's Holiday Sugar Cookies. Throughout, the authors--who are sisters--share their enthusiasm for family, sisterhood, and the tradition and feelings surrounding our favorite foods.

    The 27 projects and 30 variations feature vintage ephemera soldered within glass, for finished works that tell a romantic or whimsical story. All exhibit Sally Jean Alexander's signature style - a style that brings new life to antique papers, vintage photographs, found projects, scavenged text, and more.

    Even if you're unfamiliar with the term "steampunk," chances are you've already discovered it through the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Tim Burton, Mary Shelley, or Lemony Snicket. Steampunk is an artistic movement that includes stories involving steam-powered versions of modern technology in a fictionalized Victorian setting.Staying true to steampunk style, Skeate and Tedman's inventive Steampunk Softies feature prominent science fiction and fantasy elements, as well as anachronistic inventions and props. In addition, many have dual roles that add practicality to their punk existence—the Lady makes an excellent paperweight, while the Illusionist's cloak doubles as a screen cleaner. Despite their meticulous detailing, Steampunk Softies are simple enough for even a sewing novice to construct. A short biography accompanies each softie, providing a background story for each character. Also included are a complete list of supplies, illustrated step-by-step blueprints, and a handy, back-of-the-book reference section that provides tips on aging and distressing project materials.Venture full steam ahead into your next crafting project with Steampunk Softies.

    Known as a “modern” quilter, she actually draws much of her creative vision from quilts of the past. In Denyse Schmidt: Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration, Schmidt pays homage to the quilters and quilts that came before her. Each of the 20 traditional quilt designs she has reinterpreted here (among them are Irish Chain, Mariner’s Compass, and Orange Peel, to name a few) is introduced with a lively overview of the pattern’s history. Instructions are illustrated, templates are provided at full size on a pullout pattern sheet, and a complete techniques section is included at the back of the book.Praise for Denyse Schmidt: Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration:"Denyse Schmidt's contemporary art quilts are things of enduring style and beauty, but few fans realize her 16-year career as a textile artist began when Schmidt fell in love with tried-and-true, centuries-old traditional quilt patterns . . . Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration is the artist’s return to this fertile terrain, featuring her colorful and updated take on 20 time-tested designs. Full-page photos of gorgeous quilts full of those bold geometric shapes that first inspired her provide ample motivation, while detailed instructions, a pull-out book of templates, and a section detailing tools and techniques offer plenty of how-to support, even for novice makers." —American Craft Magazine"The book contains 20 traditional quilt styles that look exceptionally modern, hip, and fresh, with limited color palettes and minimal use of prints. To me, it is the best of both worlds—tried-and-true patterns with stories to tell, interpreted by this talented woman who helped define modern quilting. The modern/traditional debate is moot here, which is refreshing and wonderful." —Sew Mama Sew!“It's been 7 years since Denyse Schmidt's first book, and believe me, this new volume was well worth the wait...Whether you consider yourself a traditional or modern quilter, there is plenty of inspiration here, in projects that play with the tantalizing pairing of vintage patterns and contemporary colors. Although Denyse explains the origins and alternate names of many of the patterns, she rarely offers them straight: she riffs off old patterns like Mariner's Compass and Wagon Wheel and strips them down to stark basics." --Meg Cox, Journalist, Author, and President of the Alliance for American Quilts"Denyse Schmidt never ceases to inspire us . . . We are very excited to announce her latest book, the simply breathtaking Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration. Delving back to the traditional styles that first sparked her passion for quilting, Denyse gives these twenty quilt patterns a modern spin with bold, beautiful fabric choices." —The Purl Bee "In this book, [Denyse] shows off a new gamut of wonderful quilts . . . She writes in such a quiet and contemplative way, reminding me that quilting at its best isn't meant to be done in a hurry to crank something out." —Spoonflower.com

    With an emphasis on recycling, making projects from scratch, and improvisation - as well as detailed, easy-to-understand instructions - this title gives crafters the skills they need to self-express, by shaping their own environments, whether they're working on their bodies, their bedrooms, their lockers at school, or their first apartments.

    Ultimate Crochet Bible is the ideal guide for anyone casting the first time, but is also the definitive reference for more experienced practitioners who just need to brush up on a technique. Filled with more than 400 images, it explains exactly how to create garments, jewelry, accessories, and more, from the basic chain stitch to finishing touches like a picot trim. Additional topics include creating texture, structure and shaping, color work, and embellishments.

    The essential guide to beads and beading techniquesIllustrated techniques for beading on and off the loom, threading, stringing and fringingCombines beading with knitting, crochet, embroidery and wirework for unique resultsIncludes 30 "Bead Something Now" projects, from striking jewelry to stunning accessoriesFeatures useful guidance on taking each technique further to extend your skills

    They knit while traveling or commuting, while waiting for their kids, while socializing. Times like these call for projects that are easily transportable and have stitch patterns that are simple to memorize. Véronik Avery has created 30 such projects for Knitting 24/7, a collection of stylish clothing and accessories that make use of those “in-between” times when we’re busy, yet our hands are free. Ranging from sweaters, scarves, and shrugs to hats and mitts, the projects represent both what women want to wear and what they actually have time to knit. The book’s gorgeous color photographs capture women in a range of settings—a morning at work, a dinner with friends, a relaxing weekend afternoon—evoking the time of day when each wardrobe item might be worn.

    This work teaches you everything you need to know about colour theory, fabric selection, and design, as well as providing expert advice on piecing, hand and machine applique, and finishing techniques."