Pattern Making (Portfolio Skills)


Dennic Chunman Lo - 2011
    As well as explaining the proportions of human anatomy, the book introduces key tools and then takes the reader from simple pattern-cutting ideas to more advanced creative methods. Finally, the book looks at the work of fashion designers who are masters of pattern cutting, such as Comme des GarCons, John Galliano, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake. With photographs of final and dissected garments, along with CAD/CAM diagrams to explain how those pieces were cut, the book will gradually build an understanding of pattern cutting, and enable students to experiment and create exciting patterns for their own designs.

Freehand Fashion: Learn to sew the perfect wardrobe - no patterns required!


Chinelo Bally - 2015
    She wowed the judges with her ability to create stylish, fitted garments using a freehand cutting method that was taught to her by an aunt. In Freehand Fashion, Chinelo lets us in to the secret of how she does it. Using a series of basic garment blocks, she explains how this innovative technique can be used to create a whole wardrobe of fashionable clothes that will fit every shape and size - with no patterns required. Based on a traditional Nigerian technique, Chinelo has developed her own freehand cutting method. The emphasis is on the individual’s own body measurements, and getting the perfect fit. This is a surprisingly simple technique that anyone can learn. No fancy equipment is needed - just a sewing machine, measuring tape, chalk and of course a good pair of scissors. Using step-by-step illustrations, the book shows how to draft, cut and construct the five basic blocks that are used - either singly or in combination - to make every item of clothing in the wardrobe. Once you have your basic blocks, you are ready to tackle the projects - practical garments that are fashionable, modern, stylish and versatile. There are tops, skirts, day dresses and eveningwear. This is an exciting sewing technique that will be brand new to most people, even experienced dressmakers. There really are no limits - and the beauty of this technique is that it can be applied to any body shape.

Where Women Create: Book of Organization: The Art of Creating Order


Jo Packham - 2012
    Profiles showcase more than 25 artistic, inspirational women and delve into their organization style and techniques. The featured crafts include paper, fabric, jewelry, journaling, mixed media, and needlework.

Increase, Decrease: 99 Step-by-Step Methods; Find the Perfect Technique for Shaping Every Knitting Project


Judith Durant - 2015
    Approachable and insightful, Judith Durant provides clear instructions and step-by-step photographs that showcase swatches for each technique. From working shaped lace to adjusting necklines, you’ll soon have a go-to strategy for successfully tackling knitting challenges of all shapes and sizes.

Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities Are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers


Teri Agins - 2014
    Hollywood stars have always furthered fashion’s cause of seducing the masses into buying designers’ clothes, acting as living billboards. Now, forced by the explosion of social media and the accelerating worship of fame, red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image they—or their stylists—created. Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Combs, and a host of pop, sports, and reality-show stars of the moment are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands, embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on our screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry. And a few celebrities—like the Olsen Twins and Victoria Beckham—have gone all the way and reinvented themselves as bonafide designers. Not all celebrities succeed, but in an ever more crowded and clamorous marketplace, it’s increasingly unlikely that any fashion brand will succeed without celebrity involvement—even if designers, like Michael Kors, have to become celebrities themselves. Agins charts this strange new terrain with wit and insight and an insider’s access to the fascinating struggles of the bold-type names and their jealousies, insecurities, and triumphs. Everyone from industry insiders to fans of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model will want to read Agins’s take on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry, and where it is likely to take us next.

Simple Modern Sewing: 8 Basic Patterns to Create 25 Favorite Garments


Shufu To Seikatsu Sha - 2011
    You need just the eight included basic templates which show you how to fold and cut for each of the 25 unique designs. The patterns are easy and adaptable with no-fuss sizing, so it’s simple to sew clothes that are perfect for you. If you’re a beginner sewer you’ll love the basic shapes and stylish results. Once you’ve mastered the patterns you can get creative and make each piece your own by using a variety of fabrics, or by adding fashionable embellishments like a print lining or contrast-stitching.Fill your wardrobe in no time with these easy to make and wear garments.

The Complete Serger Handbook


Chris James - 1997
    It’s a reference, an instructional guide, and even an inspiration. With humor and years of experience, author Chris James answers questions on threads and threading, which stitch is which, setting the tension, mastering the controls, learning the techniques, working with knits, rolling hems, flatlocking, troubleshooting, and so much more.

Knit Wear Love: Foolproof Instructions for Knitting Your Best-Fitting Sweaters Ever in the Styles You Love to Wear


Amy Herzog - 2015
    In Knit Wear Love, she guides us through picking a base pattern that works for our inherent shape, then customizing it to suit our size and style—all with the skill of a top-notch teacher and designer and the honesty and humor of a BFF. Known for her uncanny ability to simplify what might initially seem complex, Herzog masterminded for Knit Wear Love an easy mix-and-match pattern system that allows us to choose among the eight key sweater forms (pullover, cardigan, vest, cowl, tunic, wrap, tank, and bolero/shrug); eight fashion styles (modern, classic, romantic, sporty, bohemian, avant-garde, vintage, and casual); a trove of customization details; ten sizes; and three gauges of yarn. The result? Sweaters we can knit with confidence, wear with pride, and love for many years to come.

The Knit Stitch Pattern Handbook: An Essential Collection of 300 Designer Stitches and Techniques


Melissa Leapman - 2013
    Melissa Leapman, known for her knitting references, shares 300 of her favorite stitch patterns developed over her long career. With basic step-by-step knitting instruction, information on how to most effectively use a stitch dictionary, and a wealth of original stitch patterns, this book will appeal to all levels of knitters looking for a comprehensive, yet portable volume. The book includes stitch patterns in five categories from imaginative novelty stitch patterns to traditional knit designs. Each stitch pattern includes a gorgeous photograph as well as written and charted instructions.

PatternReview.com 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts and Tips: Top-Rated Favorites from Sewing Fans and Master Teachers


Deepika Prakash - 2010
    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).

How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better


Charla Krupp - 2008
    Packed with eye-opening details on hair color, brows, lipstick, wrinkle-erasers, jeans, shapewear, jewelry, heels, and more, the book speaks to every woman: from low maintenance types who don't want to spend a fortune or tons of time on her looks to high maintenance women who believe in looking fabulous at any price. There's also too-old vs. just-right before and after photos, celebrity examples of good and bad style, shopping lists of Charla's brilliant buys in fashion and beauty products, coveted addresses of "Where the top beauty pros go," fun sidebars--and more. Known to national audiences from her ten years on NBC's Today show, style expert Charla Krupp dishes out her secrets in this "ultimate" to-do list for looking hip and fabulous -- no matter what your age.

Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space


Cate Coulacos Prato - 2011
    Learn how to find space in your home, whittle down your stash, and get tips on maximizing your storage and organization. Experts will also show you how to repurpose furniture, recyclables, and vintage items to establish a space with function and personality.Inside the Creative Studio offers imaginative and unique solutions for every lifestyle, regardless of money, time, or space. Artists and crafters of all types—quilters, fiber artists, mixed-media artists, jewelry makers, sewists, painters, and more—share their stories, tips, and images of putting together their customized creative spaces. From spacious oases to cute and compact retreats, each studio offers countless inspirational ideas.With some of the best articles and creative inspiration from Studios magazine, Inside the Creative Studio offers everything you need to know to spend less time making your studio work and more time actually creating.

Flourishing


Maureen Gaffney - 2011
    However, distinguished psychologist Maureen Gaffney believes passionately that not only is it possible for us to flourish, but in an increasingly uncertain world, it is essential that we plan to do so.Flourishing is about achieving a deeper sense of well-being, meaning and purpose despite, and indeed very often because of, adversity. Indeed, Maureen Gaffney explains that adversity can be a positive turning point in our lives if we decide that our goal is not merely returning to the status quo, but having better lives. Her message is that we can do this and in this exciting and innovative book she shows us how.Drawing on her vast experience of working with people and organisations, and on a fascinating body of recent research, Maureen Gaffney has written a gripping, stimulating and inspiring manifesto on how to flourish and why we need to. Learning to flourish - and helping others to flourish - is the most powerful and worthwhile investment we can make in our own well-being and in our country's future.

How to Draw Almost Everything: An Illustrated Sourcebook


Chika Miyata - 2016
    The section on people gives simple tricks for showing emotion (angry, surprised) and action (skipping, doing a handstand). There's also a section on clothing that shows how to draw coats and jackets, shoes and boots, bell-bottoms and skinny jeans. From tricycles to tanker trucks, the book gives tips on drawing all kinds of moving vehicles.At then end of each chapter, author and artist Chika Miyata challenges you to synthesize what you've learned and create a scene. At the end of the chapter on animals, the challenge is to draw a zoo. At the end of the chapter on food, the challenge is to keep an illustrated food journal.Each entry is broken down with step-by-step illustrations, making this book perfect for beginners or experienced artists in need of a quick refresher and a great resource for those who want to express themselves through illustration or cartooning. Each book in the Almost Everything series offers readers a fun, comprehensive, and charmingly illustrated visual directory of ideas to inspire skill building in their creative endeavors.

The Art of Seamless Knitting


Simona Merchant-Dest - 2013
    The book delves deep, showing different modes of construction and stitch pattern adaptations for seamless (or nearly-seamless) knits while also offering a sophisticated collection of elegant and timeless designs that knit up quickly, give a custom fit, and do not require sewing.The Art of Seamless Knitting is the go-to hands-on reference book that will be a staple in any knitter's library.