Everyone has heard the mantra 'Knitting is the new yoga' but not everyone is lucky enough to have someone to show them the ropes and get them started on their very first row. Unless they have a friend or relative to teach them how to start, often would-be knitters turn to the so-called 'beginners patterns' but these can be confusing, difficult to follow, and more often than not written in 'knit' rather than English. This book will be a tried and tested guide for people at the very beginning of their knitting lives, looking for guidance and patterns for projects that they can use to make that first all-important step to 'Beyond the Scarf'.Contents include: Knitting Basics: Getting Started; Knitter's First Project: The Scarf; Workshops: Decreasing; Creating a Rib; Changing Colour; Increasing; Finishing; Knitting a Flower; Cable: Making a Cable; Making a Cable Bag; Eyelets and so on...

     Readers all over the US and Europe have discovered the joys of retiring and living full time in an RV after reading Jerry Minchey's Amazon #1 best-selling book in Senior Travel Guides, Motorhome, and RV Retirement Living: The Most Enjoyable and Least Expensive Way to Retire. Now in this new epic book, Secrets of RVing on Social Security, he shows you step-by-step how to enjoy the RVing lifestyle while traveling and living on just your Social Security income. Imagine leaping out of bed every morning ready to cherish every day of your new adventurous life. On top of the adventure, you'll experience the unsurpassed freedom to live where you want to. At every fork in the road, you will be free to go wherever whim and chance might take you. You will also discover how other retirees are supplementing their retirement income while living full-time in their motorhome. Many people are actually adding to their savings while having the time of their lives living the RV lifestyle. In this book, you will grasp how they are doing it, and how you can do it too. You'll comprehend the brutally honest pros and cons of the RV lifestyle. There are some downsides to the lifestyle you need to be prepared for. My guess is that you will adore your new RVing lifestyle, but you'll never know if it's the right lifestyle for you if you don't read this book. The book is designed to keep you on the path to accomplishing your goal of living an exciting retirement lifestyle while staying well within your budget. This book should be required reading for anyone who is retired or getting ready to retire. It provides never-before-answered questions about living the attractive RVing lifestyle on a budget.

    With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women's fashion across five centuries. Each entry includes annotated colour images of historical garments, outlines important features and highlights how styles have changed (whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, undergarments) from those shown previously. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history, as well as the differences between dress types for various occasions, variations in detailing, cut, and popularity, and the class, age and social status of the wearer.This beautifully illustrated guide equips students, researchers, curators and anyone interested in historical fashion with the tools to 'read' a dress. Using this book, readers are able to identify specific period styles, and will really know their cartridge pleats from their Récamier ruffles. - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/au/how-to-r...

    This new edition of "9 Heads" is the re-statement of the author's approach to the subject of black and white drawings, incorporating the most developed thinking and views, both in terms of what the end product should look like, and how best to achieve it. "9 Heads" also presents a different style of finished drawing, one where figures are usually more fleshed-out and where garment fabrics are more rendered than in the drawings of the previous edition. This edition has been extended in scope as that together with "Colors for Modern Fashion" the two books constitute all the elements of modern fashion drawing from Beginners through to Advanced. In-depth treatment in men's fashion. More serious treatment of children's fashion. Completely revised and expanded chapter on drawing clothing on the figure. New chapter on fabrics shows how to make drawings so the fabrics can be identified from the drawing. New appendix with hundreds of flats of modern garments. Quality of the drawing is far higher than the other books on the market. Ideal for those who have no previous formal training in drawing and who have a need to learn the basics of fashion drawing quickly.

     Packed full of expert advice on all aspects of quilting, patchwork and applique it holds the answer to all your quilting questions. This is the most comprehensive book on the market for patchwork, quilting and applique techniques and is ideal for both the beginner looking for trustworthy advice in a single volume and the committed quilter searching for authoritative reference for seldom-used techniques. It presents essential advice and instructions alongside a wide range of inspirational samples of work collected from international top-name quilters. It also features over 15 quilt projects including cot quilts, bed quilts, lap quilts, bags, cushions, wall hangings, table mats and runners, and other beautiful projects for the home. Easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, clear diagrams and stunning photography combine to create this must-have resource for quilters of all abilities. Techniques covered include quilting basics such as making a quilt sandwich, hand and machine quilting, basting and binding a quilt. Other techniques include big stitch, sashiko, free motion, corded and stuffed (trapunto) quilting. There are instructions for over 100 different patchwork blocks, with detailed instructions for different kinds of piecing such as English paper piecing, foundation piecing and strip piecing. Techniques for applique are also included which cover different types of applique such as needle-turn; reverse, inlaid and shadow applique as well as using freezer paper and fusible web.

    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.

    Simple and easy step-by-step instructions with clear understandable line drawings.

    Lauren Stowell and Abby Cox, owners of the popular online store American Duchess, have teamed together to recreate four complete dresses from the 18th century. Whether readers are experienced seamstresses or are new to hand sewing, they won’t want to miss this comprehensive guide. The projects include The English Gown, The Sacque, The Italian Gown and The Round Gown. Each project is broken down into easy-to-follow steps and Lauren and Abby tackle every detail—fabric, patterns, stitch techniques, accessories, shortcuts and troubleshooting. Whether you choose a romantic 1790s muslin gown or a grand sacque gown of silk taffeta, you will feel like you just stepped out of your favorite novel or period of history. Lauren and Abby’s company, American Duchess, has been featured on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Reno Gazette Journal, the Today Show and Garmz.com. Their historically accurate shoes have been used in productions by the New York Metropolitan Opera, Ford’s Theater, Broadway’s Cinderella, The Jimmy Fallon Show and The Knick. Lauren and Abby have over 32k Facebook followers and over 34k followers on Instagram.

    From small closets to large studios, you'll see real examples of what makes an efficient, functional, and inviting quilting space. You'll identify what's causing the clutter, learn how to turn it into a more creative zone, and find more time to do what you love-quilt!"

    This book will be of interest to anyone professionally or educationally involved in costume history as it includes many detailed drawings and studies of dresses and accessories based on research from private collections.

    Hamilton was reshaping the image of the vampire with her own take on the vampire mythos in her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter fantasy novel series. While Hamilton's work draws on traditional vampire and fairy lore, her interpretation of these subjects brought new dimensions to the genres, influencing the direction of urban fantasy over the past two decades.Reading Laurell K. Hamilton focuses upon Hamilton's two bestselling series, the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series. The volume is intended as a resource for leaders of book clubs or discussion groups, containing chapters that examine Hamilton's role in the current vampire literature craze, the themes and characters in her work, and responses to Hamilton on the Internet. The book also provides a brief overview of Hamilton's life.

    Learn how to make a 5-cent wedding band, leather iPod case, and paracord bullwhip!

    You can do it no matter what your experience level with this, the first full step-by-step technique book on cosplay--with no sewing! Internationally known cosplayer Kamui Cosplay (a.k.a. Svetlana Quindt) shows you how to easily create elaborate costumes and successful props out of items available at your local arts and craft or hardware stores: turn foam into a realistic axe, create a breastplate from scratch and use a glue gun to modify just about anything. You will even learn the best and most accessible techniques for working with specialty cosplay materials such as Worbla! Packed with more than 30 step-by-step demonstrations that teach the skills you need to bring all your favorite characters to life no matter the genre, Kamui Cosplay deconstructs the work that goes into making a complete costume, from the first thought to the final photo. Tutorials cover design planning, fabricating body armor, 3D painting techniques and more. Best of all, you can adapt every lesson to use in all future fandom projects spanning video games, books, anime, movies and even your own original characters! Includes: How to choose a costume and find good reference art A short shopping list of necessary materials and tools for beginning cosplayers Basic safety tips A beautiful photo gallery featuring inspiring images from other cosplayers   Next steps--how to grow your workshop, take professional photos, participate in contests and join the cosplay community

    From camisoles to corsets, basques to boudoir caps, Underwear: Fashion in Detail traces the peculiar evolution of underwear. Revealing photographs highlight close-up details in the garments, while intricate line drawings show their masterly construc­tion. A wide range of designs is represented, from rare 16th-century examples to Dior’s curvaceous New Look, to Calvin Klein’s notorious briefs.

    Incorporating sources from history, literature, magazines, and cinema, as well as her own witty anecdotes, Smith has created an engaging, informative guide to modern style.