Sewing in a Straight Line: Quick and Crafty Projects You Can Make by Simply Sewing Straight


Brett Bara - 2011
    And with this one skill and some basic guidance, television host and crafty expert Brett Bara demonstrates how you can make custom home decor, stylish fashions, and one-of-a-kind gifts.Sewing in a Straight Line is a step-by-step guide to creating 28 deceptively simple projects that look like they came from a chic boutique—far more impressive than you would expect for such little effort! These easy-to-make items offer quick gratification that even the busiest among us will appreciate. From a flirty two-hour miniskirt to the cutest plush toys, many of the projects take only a spare afternoon.With Brett's eye for fresh, modern style and her encouraging advice, sewing couldn't be easier. So break out your needle and thread, fire up your machine, and get creative. A world of handmade possibilities is a few easy stitches away!

Hello Kitty Crochet: Supercute Amigurumi Patterns for Sanrio Friends


Mei Li Lee - 2014
    With easy-to-make patterns for adorable characters and accessories, Hello Kitty Crochet allows you to make all your favorites, new and old, from Badtz-Maru and My Melody to Pekkle, Purin, and Little Twin Stars. Whether you’re a seasoned crocheter or have never picked up a hook, you’ll find helpful tips and how-tos for creating kawaii crafts. It’s the perfect way for crafters and cuteness lovers alike to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Japan’s most famous kitty.

23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Decor


Prime Publishing - 2014
    Get in the spooky spirit with this guide to your best Halloween yet! With this collection of 23 Halloween Crafts for Kids: Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas and Spooky Décor, you can:•Design frightfully fun homemade Halloween costumes•Share laughs with your little ones as you make kids’ Halloween crafts•Create homemade Halloween decorations to make your home spook-tacularAnd so much more! This is your year to be the most festive haunted house on the block, so grab this eBook and start preparing for a bewitching Halloween.

Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art


Claire Wellesley-Smith - 2015
    The pleasures to be had from slowing down can be many, with connections to sustainability, simplicity, reflection, and tuning into traditional and other multicultural textile traditions.Slow Stitch is a much-needed guide to adopting a less-is-more approach, valuing quality over quantity, and bringing a meaningful and thoughtful approach to textile practice.Claire Wellesley-Smith introduces a range of ways in which you can slow your textile work down, including:Using simple techniques inspired by traditional practice (including hand-stitch rhythms)Reusing and re-inventing materials (reuse even old textile projects)Limiting your equipmentMending revisited (practical and decorative techniques)Project ideas and resources that help towards making a more sustainable textile practiceRichly illustrated throughout, and showcasing work from the best textile artists who work in this way, this is a truly inspirational book for those looking to reconnect with their craft and to find a new way of working.

Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time: The Ultimate Dressmaking Guide


Tanya Whelan - 2015
    The trick is a set of patterns for 6 skirts and 8 bodices that line up perfectly at the waist, plus an additional 4 sleeve styles and 4 necklines. Tanya gives readers clear instructions and easy-to-follow step-by-step diagrams that allow them to use the enclosed pattern pieces to create up to 219 fitted dresses, including simple strapless designs, sheaths, and halter gowns. The book covers basic dress construction and altering techniques for women of all shapes and sizes.

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts: An A-to-Z Guide with Detailed Instructions and Endless Inspiration


Martha Stewart - 2009
    Now, the best of those projects, including step-by-step instructions and full-color photographs, have been collected into a single encyclopedia. Organized by topic from A to Z, Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts contains complete instructions and brief histories for more than 30 techniques, detailed descriptions of the necessary tools and materials, and easy-to-copy templates. Martha and her team of crafts editors guide readers through each subject, from botanical pressing and decoupage to rubber stamping and wreaths, with characteristic clarity and unparalleled attention to detail. Crafters of all skill and experience levels will appreciate the many variations presented for each technique. For example, candlemaking presents a comprehensive array of poured, rolled, and cutout candles, including instructions for making your own one-of-a-kind rubber candle molds, floating candles, sand candles, and more. Each craft in the book takes on charming new dimensions with innovations that could come only from the team behind Martha Stewart Living.In addition, each entry in Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts is chock-full of tips and advice. Handy glossaries in the entries–such as a comprehensive gem glossary, a glitter glossary, and a color glossary for making tinted wax–are valuable references that crafters will refer to again and again. What’s more, the Tools and Materials section outlines the best essential supplies that every crafter needs to have on hand, and the Sources pages clue readers in to the vendors and suppliers that the magazine’s crafts editors rely on most.Filled with solid technical know-how, and presented with gorgeous color photographs, this handy guide can be read page by page and kept as a lasting reference by crafters and artisans alike.

The Sewing Book


Alison Smith - 2009
    Every tool and every technique you require for making your own home furnishings or clothing is closely and sharply photographed, carefully annotated, and clearly explained. The Tools section begins with the basic toolkit, opening up into everything you could possibly need every type of cutting tool and machine foot is shown. This section also includes information on patterns how to measure, how to use, and how to adjust them. Gallery spreads appear throughout the substantial Techniques section and showcase darts, zips, pleats etc, as well as showing key stitches. Plus, you can bring your acquired and refined skills to fruition as you make some of the 25 home decor and clothing projects at the back of the book. With "The Sewing Book" on your shelf, you've got every sewing question covered. Written by a passionate stitcher and teacher, with her own sewing school, eager to produce a one-stop sewing bible for her students, this book leaves no hem unturned. You can dip in at any level whether you're new to sewing or refining your art, whether you want to repair an old skirt or create a new one, whether you want to spruce up a curtain or design one from scratch. And with a Foreword by U.S. sewing teacher, Diana Rupp, this book has it all sewn up."

Make and Give: Simple and Modern Crafts to Brighten Every Day


Steph Hung - 2014
    This is a book of 35 simple, modern craft projects to make any day special for the people we love. A handmade gift--even the smallest and simplest of gestures--brings a smile and makes a moment more meaningful. Any day, not just holidays and specific occasions, is an opportunity to create and gift. These versatile projects require no special skills and work for a range of people--from children to house guests--and occasions. Visually driven in its presentation, Make and Give stands apart from the traditional craft book with its bright colors and modern, graphic look. Each project is illustrated with step-by-step photographs, charts, and unique infographics. Less text, more photos, and illustrated designs guide the reader. The projects are inspired by the things the authors--designers and crafters by trade--make for their own friends and family. The book includes the authors' personal inspiration for each project, as well as "Make This For" tips to encourage readers to think about the special people for whom they could make these crafts. Projects include fill-in-the-blank tattoos, pressed herb prints, a weekday advent, a family tree embroidery, hand-drawn pillows, and candy capsule necklaces.

1, 2, 3 Sew: Build Your Skills with 33 Simple Sewing Projects


Ellen Luckett Baker - 2011
    Baker shows, for example, how to sew a glasses case, then build on those skills to create a zippered pouch, and from there, make a more advanced cosmetics bag. There are 33 delightful projects in all, ranging from clothing to dcor and accessories. With easy-to-follow instructions, how-to illustrations, and 12 patterns tucked into an enclosed envelope, 1, 2, 3 Sew is an essential resource for beginning and intermediate sewers alike.

Color in Spinning


Deb Menz - 1998
    A chapter on understanding color principles offers novice spinners the skills needed to easily work with color while providing advanced spinning techniques for the expert dyer. A gallery of finished pieces as well as appendixes on dye workshops and metric conversions are included.

Knitted Socks East and West: 30 Designs Inspired by Japanese Stitch Patterns


Judy Sumner - 2009
    In this, her first book, she recounts how she came to study hundreds of exquisite Japanese stitch patters and then apply her new knowledge to the sock designs showcased here. Whether short or long, fine or bulky, simple or complex, each of the 30 designs in Knitted Socks East and West is named afer an intriguing aspect of Japanese culture. For example, the leg of the Origami crew socks appears to fold in and out; the Sumo slipper socks are named after the heavy, organic movement of the cables in their thick yarn; and the Ikebana knee socks highlight a textural floral design. Step-by-step text and easy-to-read charts are included for each design, along with illustrated directions for the Japanese stitchwork introduced in the projects.

Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing: Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter


Kathy Cano-Murillo - 2009
    She is a thread artist. And in Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing, she'll show how to harness the power of her fearless kamikaze sewing style–just dive in and give it 100 percent. Here you'll not only find out the nuts and bolts of sewing, but learn to have confidence to blaze your own sewing trail with confidence and flair. (And sprinkle of glitter!) The Crafty Chica is here to bring out the thread artist in you. Whether you can hardly sew on a button or are already threading bobbins like a champ, Kathy's got a project just for you. From place mat totes to embellished skirts, Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing proves that you're in charge of your sewing machine, not the other way around. With these 30 fun fabu-low-sew projects to carry, wear, and use around the home, you can leave the ordinary behind and channel your own Crafty Chica within.

One Skein


Leigh Radford - 2006
    The stitch patterns and clear instructions make it easy for even procrastinators and the less-than-diligent to create a ruffled cravat, a drawstring bag, a tank top, cozy scarves, arm and leg warmers, lace wristlets, fingerless gloves, a mohair pillow, and even a sweater for a baby. Several projects do not require any new yarn at all—instead projects such as the Felted Striped Tote or the Labyrinth Circle Rug are designed using up a skein's worth of leftovers from other projects. A guide to terms and techniques, a resource directory, and a bibliography are also included.

The Natural Knitter: How to Choose, Use, and Knit Natural Fibers from Alpaca to Yak


Barbara Albright - 2007
    Albright takes readers on a rich journey through the joys of all-natural fibers - materials that can make an incredible difference, both in your knitting and in the health of our planet.

November Knits: Inspired Designs for Changing Seasons


Kate Gagnon Osborn - 2012
    Projects range from casual cardigans and scarves to stylish wraps and sweaters. The book is divided into three moods: Farm Hands, the most casual design section; Ivy League, which focuses on more sophisticated knitwear, and Southern Comfort, which has slightly dressier garments ideal for holidays and special occasions.