The method is simple and magical — knit the project large and loose, wash it in hot water, and see it transformed into a soft and cozy garment or accessory. Kathleen Taylor encourages you to explore the possibilities of felted knitting with 25 spectacular projects that include mittens, slippers, hats, bags, stuffed animals, and more. Embellish your life with unique and stylishly comfortable creations.

    Sewers will discover what supplies to buy and how to use them, the best fabrics to choose based on drape and weave, how to understand patterns and alter them, and the essential general techniques to master — plus patterns and detailed step-by-step instructions are provided for a skirt, dress, shirt, tee, jacket, and pair of pants — including suggested variations!Finishing up with tips and inspiration on alterations, repairs, and customizing any clothes, from dealing with holes and tears to lengthening and shortening sleeves, this handy guide is the dressmaking bible no budding seamstress should be without.

     Select from 12 strikingly simple quilts and recharge your creative batteries Discover skill-building projects that move from squares and strips to designs featuring stitch-and-flip corners, half-square triangles, pinwheels, a Rail Fence layout, and more Enjoy patterns that are just right for quilt retreats and make-in-a weekend gifts

    Your One-Stop Source for Crazy Quilting Know-HowFrom Victorian quilts to contemporary works of art, crazy quilting has evolved into a beautiful mixture of piecing, embroidery, and fabric techniques.Crazy Quilting: The Complete Guide tells you everything you need to know to create your own beautiful heirloom crazy quilts, including:10 different methods for piecingMore than 100 embroidery stitches for ribbons, flosses and threadsTechniques for dyeing, painting, stamping, printing, and embroidering on silk, cotton, rayon, wool and linenInstructions for adding buttons, beads, tassels, cording and other dimensional embellishmentsTips for finishing your quiltsWhether you are just getting started or have been quilting for years, Crazy Quilting: The Complete Guide is guaranteed to be the most crazy quilting resource you turn to the most.

    With simple step-by-step instructions that are accompanied by templates and pattern pieces, each project is designed to be completed in just a few hours. Get inspired and turn a yard of your favorite fabric into a quilted lunch bag, bright sundress, or a cuddly plush turtle.

    Angela Walters creates the complementary finish and surface texture for each design, resulting in the perfect marriage of color and style for each of the featured 17 quilt projects.Pairing one shape with one color family in each chapter, you'll step through quilts of varying sizes, at the same time enjoying a front row seat to the creative collaboration between these mavens of style.In addition to the 17 signature Tula Pink quilt designs and 42 quilt design motifs from Angela Walters, you will also be treated to useful tips on choosing fabrics and mixing up prints and approaching the quilt process.Featuring bold illustrations and gorgeous photographs, Quilt with Tula & Angela is the comprehensive approach to intuitive color choices you've been waiting for.

    Featuring a beautiful layout and magnificent photography, this keepsake volume features stitch pattern flowers, petal constructed flowers, cord flowers, and the extremely popular felted flowers. Some make fanciful pieces of jewelry; others can adorn handicrafts for a fabulous finishing touch. Epstein offers yarn suggestions and colors, and encourages crocheters to experiment with all the interesting choices in the market today to create breathtaking corsages and bouquets. Among the pretty garden blossoms: a calla lily, blue and purple pansies, a delicate and lacy white wedding boutonniere, complete with a pearl center; and a selection of floral corkscrews.A Selection of the Crafter’s Choice Book Club.

    ""Learning to Weave" is a four-shaft weaving course which makes learning to weave, with or without a teacher, easy and fun."

    The quirks are what show the maker’s intimate involvement in the process, and it’s that unique quality that first attracted textile designer and illustrator Lena Corwin to hand-printing. Even though decorative prints are more in vogue than ever, there was until now no up-to-date hand-printing guide—no single source explaining the tools and materials that are used today, or reflecting a contemporary aesthetic. Corwin has given us that guide. Using step-by-step instructions and up-close photos, Corwin teaches crafters everything they need to know to master stamping, stenciling, and screen printing, from making their own printing devices to trouble-shooting when plans go awry. Her inimitable collection of projects ranges from stamped stationery and simple-to-sew pouches, to stenciled tote bags and furniture, to screen-printed bed linens and upholstery fabric. There’s even a silk-screened dog bed. The author has created original artwork for each project (full-size patterns are included in an envelope at the back of the book), so that every crafter can achieve the same beautiful results. Or maybe not quite the same. Remember: It’s the subtle differences that make hand-printing so special and alluring.

    Try your hand at 9 projects, including an elegant sampler with 51 mix-and-match blocks. For quilt as-you-go enthusiasts, Jera shares 3 optional joining methods, including her new technique that makes your quilt reversible! No matter how busy your schedule, you can set attainable goals and practice quilting patchwork blocks in small, manageable pieces.

    Making curtains neednt be left to the professionals ; withEasy to Make! Curtains & Blinds you, too, can create stylish window dressings for your home.

    To describe them all would be to describe the entire history of sewing. In "The Art of manipulating Fabric," Colette Wolff has set herself just this task, and she succeeds brilliantly. Working from the simplest possible form - a flat piece of cloth and a threaded needle - she categorizes all major dimensional techniques, show how they are related, and give examples of variations both traditional and modern. The result is an encyclopedia of techniques that resurface, reshape, restructure and reconstruct fabric. More than 350 diagrams support the extensive how-tos, organized into broad general categories, then specific sub-techniques Handsome photos galleries showcase the breathtaking possibilities in each technique and aid visual understanding by emphasizing the sculptured fabric surface with light and shadow Textile artists and quilters, as well as garment and home decor sewers, will expand their design horizons with the almost limitless effects that can be achieved

    With her novel approach to traditional techniques, and the use of repurposed materials, Ekrem has devised creative fun for book artists of all levels. Choose from three categories: Vintage, Nature, and Leather. Make books from mason jars and seashells, a classic leather-bound photo album, and other works of art.

    Food is instant, ready-made, and processed with unhealthy additives. Dry cleaners press shirts, delivery guys bring pizza, gardeners tend flowers, and, yes, tailors sew on those pesky buttons. But life can be much simpler, sweeter, and richer–and a lot more fun, too! As your grandmother might say, now is not the time to be careless with your money, and it actually pays to learn how to do things yourself!Practical and empowering, How to Sew a Button collects the treasured wisdom of nanas, bubbies, and grandmas from all across the country–as well as modern-day experts–and shares more than one hundred step-by-step essential tips for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and entertaining, including how to• polish your image by shining your own shoes• grow your own vegetables (and stash your bounty for the winter)• sweeten your day by making your own jam• use baking soda and vinegar to clean your house without toxic chemicals• feel beautiful by perfecting your posture• roll your own piecrust and find a slice of heaven• fold a fitted sheet to crisp perfection• waltz without stepping on any toesComplete with helpful illustrations and brimming with nostalgic charm, How to Sew a Button provides calm and comfort in uncertain times. By doing things yourself, with care and attention, you and your loved ones will feel the pleasing rewards of a job well done.

    Several projects are easy enough for children to make for their own toybox, but you'll want a bunch of these irresistible cuties for yourself, too! Socks Appeal is a finalist in the 2010 Foreword Book of the Year Awards.