With names such as City of Paris, Penn Traffic, The Maze, Maison Blanche, or The Popular, they suggested spheres far beyond mundane shopping. Nicknames reflected the affection customers felt for their favorites, whether Woodie's, Wanny's, Stek's, O.T.'s, Herp's, or Bam's.      The history of downtown department stores is as fascinating as their names and as diverse as their merchandise. Their stories encompass many themes: the rise of decorative design, new career paths for women, the growth of consumerism, and the technological ingenuity of escalators and pneumatic tubes. Just as the big stores made up their own small universes, their stories are microcosmic narratives of American culture and society.      The big stores were much more than mere businesses. They were local institutions where shoppers could listen to concerts, see fashion shows and art exhibits, learn golf or bridge, pay electric bills, and plan vacations - all while their children played in the store's nursery under the eye of a uniformed nursemaid.From Boston to San Diego and Miami to Seattle, department stores symbolized a city's spirit, wealth, and progressiveness. Situated at busy intersections, they occupied the largest and finest downtown buildings, and their massive corner clocks became popular meeting places. Their locations became the epicenters of commerce, the high point from which downtown property taxes were calculated. Spanning the late 19th century well into the 20th, their peak development mirrors the growth of cities and of industrial America when both were robust and flourishing.       The time may be gone when children accompany their mothers downtown for a day of shopping and lunch in the tea room, when monogrammed trucks deliver purchases for free the very same day, and when the personality of a city or town can be read in its big stores. But they are far from forgotten and they still have power to influence how we shop today.       Service and Style recreates the days of downtown department stores in their prime, from the 1890s through the 1960s. Exploring in detail the wide range of merchandise they sold, particularly style goods such as clothing and home furnishings, it examines how they displayed, promoted, and sometimes produced goods. It reveals how the stores grew, why they declined, and how they responded to and shaped the society around them.

    Now, in The Modern Natural Dyer, expert Kristine Vejar shares the most user-friendly techniques for dyeing yarn, fabric, and finished goods at home with foraged and garden-raised dyestuffs as well as with convenient natural dye extracts. Demystifying the "magic," Vejar explains in explicit, easy-to-follow detail how to produce consistent, long-lasting color. With stunning photography of the dyes themselves, the dyeing process, and 20 projects for home and wardrobe (some to knit, some to sew, and some just a matter of submerging a finished piece in a prepared bath), The Modern Natural Dyer is a complete resource for aspiring and experienced dye artisans.

    These ingenious projectsfrom ultra-feminine and vintage chic to whimsical color-playinclude waist and bib aprons, pinafores, smocks, cobblers, and even something for the pint-sized cook. All of the projects are photographed in a playful style. And templates, sewing basics, and quick and easy projects for sprucing up store-bought aprons and whipping up aprons from recycled materials are here too!"

    Packed with modern computer-aided designs, cutting-edge advice on tools, supplies, and fabrics as well as a new, inspirational fabric gallery, and hundreds of specially commissioned full-color step-by-step photographs--the book maintains its original appeal, while enticing a whole new generation of readers.

    Once kept demurely concealed, lingerie now pervades every fashion category, inspiring designs for day looks, loungewear, evening clothes, and accessories. Slips have become dresses unto themselves. Bra straps are meant to peek out from under tank tops. Camisoles are worn on their own or as layers over or under other clothes. Now, with "Knitting Lingerie" Style, designer Joan McGowan-Michael interprets this undeniable fashion trend for the knitter and, along the way, shares fascinating stories about lingerie history. Did you know that it was airplane magnate Howard Hughes who masterminded the underwire bra? McGowan-Michaels 30-plus designs, stunningly photographed by Thayer Allyson Gowdy, range from the truly functionalknitted bras, slips, corsets, camisoles, and stockingsto the purely fun. The brassiere inspires a curvature-enhancing twinset. The baby doll negligee is the basis for a lacy little gown and a matching thong set thats both luxurious and (slightly) notorious. And a ribbed, laced-front sweater is an updatedand much more comfortable!take on the classic corset. The only book of its kind on the market, "Knitting Lingerie Style" includes projects that are bold and sexy, daring us all to bare a little skin, as well as more understated and demure, with sizes ranging from petite to plus.

    Choose from a stunning variety of home and personal accessories, including chic handbags and espadrilles, pretty cushions, throws and cuddly soft toys. Easy-to-follow instructions, gorgeous color photography and delightful illustrations accompany each project, plus techniques such as applique and free embroidery enable you to create beautiful items that will bring a little sunshine into your home.

    Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through the end of the 19th century, the great work -- "consolidated" in 1888 into 6 volumes containing nearly 500 plates -- remains, to this day, completely unique in its scope and detail. Racinet's organization by culture and subject has been preserved in TASCHEN's magnificent and complete reprint, as have excerpts from his delightful descriptions and often witty comments. Perusing these beautifully detailed and exquisitely colored illustrations, you'll discover everything from the garb of ancient Etruscans to traditional Eskimo attire to 19th century French women's couture. Though Racinet's study spans the globe from ancient times through his own, his focus is on European clothing from the Middle Ages to the 1880s and this subject is treated with exceeding passion and attention to detail. Costume History is an absolutely invaluable reference for students, designers, artists, illustrators, and historians; it is also an immensely fascinating and inspirational book for anyone with an interest in clothing and style. al text (2500 manuscript pages) in French and German, as well as all plates and details in the form of high resolution image files which are free of rights and can be used for any creative project.CONTENTS: Part I The Ancient World (Egypt, Assyria, Israel, Persia and Phrygia, Greece, Etruscan, Greco-Roman, Rome, Barbarian Europe, Celts and Gauls)Part II 19th CenturyAntique Civilizations (Oceania, Africa, Eskimos, North American Indians, Mexican Indians, South American Indians, China, Japan, India, Ceylon, Middle East, Orient, Turkey)Part III Europe from Byzantium to the 1800s (Byzantium, France-Byzantine, Poland, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, England, Holland)Part IV Traditional costumes of the 1880s (Scandinavia, Holland, Scotland, England, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France)

    The entries are collected from the website’s enormous database of members’ shared comments and advice, rated by hits and reviews. Also included are five special how-to features by PatternReview.com's master teachers and pattern designers, who regularly conduct online chats and workshops (including Kenneth King, Susan Khalje, Sarah Veblen, Shannon Gifford, and Anna Mazur).

    Corsets and Codpieces is a fascination read for history buffs and fashionistas alike.

    A wealth of individual project ideas are featured for ribbed edges, ruffles, lace, fringes, flora, and garters. Color photographs accompany each of the designs, which rely upon readily available yarns and which come complete with line-by-line stitching instructions. Decorate cuffs, finish hems, and customize your own unique sweater. Develop distinctive styles and patterns using ideas such as the feather lace ruffle, bel epoque, garter stitch weave, sea scallop edge, sugar drop and much more.

    You won’t find “home sweet home” here, but you will find “Can U Not” or “Don’t Be A Prick.” Renee Rominger, founder of Moonrise Whims, designs projects for a new generation. And whether you just started and need a solid foundation, or you’re an expert looking to enhance your art, Edgy Embroidery will teach you something new, fun and easy.Renee not only shows you how to conquer basic techniques, but also how to create more complex stitches like her unique Moonrise Roses. With pattern templates, detailed stitch tutorials and instructions on how to complete each design, every one of these 25 projects will be wall-worthy.This is definitely not your grandmother’s embroidery.

    An account of the year Clara Parkes spent transforming a 676-pound bale of fleece into saleable yarn, and the people and vanishing industry she discovered along the way.

    120 full-color photographs.(GLORIOUS KNITS is the title used for U.S. editions of GLORIOUS KNITTING, first published in the U.K. Content is reported to be identical; both have 160 pages.)

    Irish makes it easy for beginners to learn the creative craft of woodburning in Pyrography Basics. All that aspiring beginners need is this book and an inexpensive woodburning tool to start adorning wood, gourds, leather, paper and more with beautifully burned images and patterns. The author provides a thorough introduction to basic tools, materials and techniques. Readers learn how to set up a practice board to experiment with strokes and settings before moving on to working projects with confidence. Six skill-building projects provide step-by-step exercises in using temperature, time, layering, and texturing to create artistic tonal values.

    The perfect reference guide to needlework, Embroidery is a comprehensive guide to inspire and inform sewers of all levels. Find advice on which thread, needles, or fabrics work with which techniques, and take a look at an incredible 200 stitches — with levels of difficulty, step-by-step instructions, and ideas on where and how to use them.This practical guide covers sewing tips for dressmaking, needlepoint, and embroidery stitches, with detailed information simply presented in illustration-rich pages. With Embroidery it's easy to find exactly which stitch is right for your next sewing project.