The pattern techniques are simple, and the supplies you’ll need are easy to find: T-shirts, scissors, sewing needle, and thread. The difficulty of each project is rated from 1 to 4, and none take more than 30 minutes to create. You’ll never look plain wearing a T-shirt and jeans again.

    In Tudor, England, when Mary, Queen of Scots, was under house arrest, her needlework carried her messages to the outside world. From the political propaganda of the Bayeux Tapestry, World War I soldiers coping with PTSD, and the maps sewn by schoolgirls in the New World, to the AIDS quilt, Hmong story clothes, and pink pussyhats, women and men have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances. Threads of Life is a chronicle of identity, protest, memory, power, and politics told through the stories of needlework. Clare Hunter, master of the craft, threads her own narrative as she takes us over centuries and across continents—from medieval France to contemporary Mexico and the United States, and from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland—to celebrate the age-old, universal, and underexplored beauty and power of sewing. Threads of Life is an evocative and moving book about the need we have to tell our story.

    Crafters dabble, collaborate, muse, and make, all in their own way and on their own timeline. For all crafts, there are established techniques to follow but wild, innumerable ways to experiment, using the basics to launch crafters to new heights. Crafter’s Devotional can aid that launch. Each day of the year is given its own focus, on which the reader will find a daily dose of craft content that inspires, instructs, and illuminates.

    This lively, comprehensive book for the growing population of contemporary knitters is an invaluable guide to fiber quality, texture, color, and pattern resources. It provides a complete global overview, from the politics of knitting as economic opportunity in undeveloped areas to the communal pleasures of Internet knitting circles to the inspiring beauty of ethnic motif in mittens, scarves, socks, and other items. Lisa Myers profiles influential designers, celebrates the joys of knitting in solitude and the tactile pleaures of yarn, and provides patterns for projects including a Log Cabin Pillow, an "intellectually challenging" three-dimensional hat, a Mobius scarf, and even a Palm Pilot cover. Lisa Myers holds a Ph.D. in English literature and is the proprietor of Sophie's Yarns in Philadelphia.

    Fortunately, Simple Soldering proves that does not need to be the case. This handy how-to guide is complete in its exploration of the craft of creating soldered metal jewelry, including tools, techniques, and 20 beautiful projects that beginners and enthusiasts can make at home.Author and teacher Kate Richbourg demystifies basic soldering for any home crafter, showing how to create sophisticated, polished, and professional-looking jewelry pieces through simple soldering techniques. First, she instructs how to set up a jewelry workspace that fits the confines of your budget and living space. Detailed step-by-step instructions walk you through the basic tools and materials you need, plus how to use them. A sample chapter gives a host of introductory exercises that teach solid skills, allowing you to test these techniques on a small scale. Finally, you'll discover 20 finished projects that include earrings, pendants, rings, bracelets, and clasps that may also include bead or wire embellishment.Kate also demonstrates how to combine and layer techniques to gorgeous effect. She also examines common mistakes, shows how to correct or adapt them, and gives advice on when it’s time to start over. Most of all, having taught thousands of classes on soldering, Kate has a "you can do it!" attitude that shines through to help even the most reluctant jewelry maker fire up the torch with ease.Paired with an instructional DVD, Kate’s expert teaching skills will help projects come alive, right in your own studio.With Simple Soldering, the art of metal working one-of-a-kind jewelry is now at your fingertips.

    Using paper templates to guide your pattern, you can expertly fit your quilting shapes together before you even start sewing. All Points Patchwork takes you far beyond traditional hexagons and accommodates triangles, diamonds, octagons, and even curved shapes. Simple instructions for decorating clothing, bedding, and home decor open up astounding possibilities for quilters of all levels.

    She's a great artist who understands texture and how it adds individuality and comfort to a home, not to mention a car, or an old refurbished orange trunk seat!!" - Carly Simon"Crispina makes the most beautiful soulful blankets, pillows, and sweaters, out of people's old sweaters. In this amazing and magical book she shares her secrets so that you can do it too." - Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry's

    Its basic structure of interlocking loops couldn't be less complicated. Yet the possibilities for design and pattern innovation seem endless. Now is a great time to learn to knit. Never before have you had so many lovely and imaginative yarns from which to choose and so many stylish and sophisticated patterns to work with.Sure, grandmothers knit, but so do movie stars, football players, doctors, and lawyers. They know what our grandmothers do: Knitting does more than just provide you with warm and cozy things to wear. Knitting alsoStirs your creativityGives you an ongoing sense of purposeTeaches patienceSoothes the soul from the stresses of everyday lifePractice and perfect your knitting skills with "Knitting For Dummies." This friendly, hands-on guide will lead you through the following topics and more: Mastering the four elemental moves of knittingDeciphering knitting patternsFixing common knitting mistakesGetting started with simple projectsExpanding your horizons with stripes and detailsRelaxing stiff shoulders and fingersEvery chapter explaining a specific knitting technique includes a Knitting Notebook of sample patterns to show you some of the different ways it can be used and a section of Practice Projects that gives step-by-step instructions for simple and attractive knitted accessories nearly al of which are features on the pages of the color insert. Most projects end with a list of project variations - ways to expand on your understanding of how to craft and design projects on your own.

     Featuring 22 crocheted dolls drawn from 16 beloved novels and plays, this easy-to-follow craft book is perfect for bibliophiles and crafters of all skill levels. Literature lovers can decorate bookshelves, proclaim a love of reading, and show off crafting skills with adorable amigurumi, sweet crocheted characters that are simple to make and impossible to resist! All that's needed are a few readily available materials and beginner crochet skills, and soon you'll be hanging out with your favorite characters from classic literature. Take tea with a charming Elizabeth Bennet. Decorate the Christmas tree with a grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge. Solve mysteries with the help of a pocket-sized Sherlock Holmes. Bring Prince Hamlet to a play. And just try to keep Huck Finn out of trouble!

    Whether you favor a modern, classic look or a retro, homespun flavor, you'll find plenty of crafts and inspiration suited to your tastefrom vintage-key save-the-dates to delicate paper wreaths to silhouette bride and groom signs.At the front of the book you'll find guidance on choosing a look, sourcing materials, and working out timelines. Then, each of the 50 projects are fully explained with photos, how-to diagrams, and step-by-step directions. Clever, creative, and budget-friendly, Handmade Weddings is the perfect handbook for the bride looking to style her day her way.

    Hunter will show you how to put the concept of Leaders & Enders to work quickly and easily, expanding your creativity, and upping your productivity all at the same time. This book contains many ideas for getting your ever burgeoning scrap stash under control.

    What’s the best way to celebrate the arrival of a new bundle of joy? Make crochet baby blankets, of course! There are so many options when it comes to simple crochet baby blanket patterns and you might find yourself a bit overwhelmed and in need of guidance.

    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.

    Most of the projects involve knitting in the round, so a thorough overview explains the technique, as well as basic hat forms, choosing a yarn, and accessible techniques such as felting. Try a shaped ribbon yarn hat with equally decorative and functional earflaps. A simple brimmed felted wool hat becomes a fashion statement with a brightly colored decorative edging. Whip up a chunky seed stitch cap in just a matter of hours. Even the simplest designs are stylish, using great color combinations and yarns with irresistible textures. And, because the patterns come with both medium and large sizes, you can knit to fit.

    This inspiring book shows you how to record your experiences, using sketchbooks, journals and photography, to create personal narratives that can form a starting point for more finished stitched-textile pieces. Acclaimed textile artist and teacher Cas Holmes, whose work is often inspired by her life and the journeys she makes, helps you find inspiration through your own life and explains how to record what you see in sketchbooks and journals, which can often become beautiful objects in themselves. She explains how you can use photography, both as documentation and as inspiration, and sometimes incorporate it into the work itself, along with found objects and ephemera. Throughout the book are useful techniques that can be harnessed to add extra interest to your work, such as methods for making layered collages, how to 'sketch' with stitch, and advice on design and colour. If you want to create beautiful, unique work inspired by your life and travels, this is the perfect book for you.