The Modern Quilt Workshop: Patterns, Techniques, and Designs from the FunQuilts Studio


Bill Kerr - 2005
    This book shows novice and expert quilters alike new ways of planning, designing, and constructing contemporary quilts. The Modern Quilt Workshop takes you through every step of making a quilt, encouraging you and challenging you along the way. YouÆll learn basic principles of quilt design, as well as new technical skills that will make your quilts more beautiful, more durable, and more fun to make.Never before published, these breathtaking patterns were created to help you learn specific design and technical skills. Want to learn how to piece circles flawlessly? Need to fine-tune your color choices? Confused about how to choose quilting patterns? Follow the step-by-step diagrams and youÆll be mastering new design concepts and innovative techniques with each new project.Each of the 15 quilt projects shows the level of difficulty, lists the skills youÆll learn, and shows how each quilt might look in different color combinations.Design tips in each chapter teach you what to look for in fabrics, or options for how to quilt the quilt.Measurements and yardage requirements are provided for 4 sizes, from baby quilts to bed quilts.Cutting templates, and tips for using them, are included.A thorough section on quilt construction and assembly helps even the first-time quilter learn the basics of cutting, piecing, aligning seams, thread color selection, choosing batting, quilting, and binding. Beginning quilters will love the simple, yet sophisticated, patterns that can turn a pile of cotton fabric into a work of art. Advanced quilters will hone technical and design skills, as well as master new techniques, such as improvisational piecing and working with sophisticated color palettes.Whether you wish to create a treasured family heirloom or a beautiful gift for a friend, these unique patterns will inspire you to try something new.

Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts: 23 Original Quilt Designs


Kaffe Fassett - 2010
    Twenty-three of his magnificent, inventive quilts—ranging from the relatively simple Tilt, ideal for beginners, to the more complex Circle of Stars, for more advanced stitchers—are showcased in the book, along with step-by-step instructions for making each one.   Along the way, Fassett also offers over a hundred photos of geometric inspiration from around the world—everything from triangular watermelon slices, to rectangular sheets of metal on African scrap dwellings, to lollipop-shaped topiary trees in Japan. In the accompanying text, Fassett reveals how he experiences the colors and basic shapes around him, how we can train our own eyes to see this rewarding source of creativity, and how we can, just as he does, combine striking fabrics with simple shapes to create our own spectacular quilt designs. Also available from Kaffe Fassett: Kaffe Fassett's Bold Blooms, Kaffe Fassett: Dreaming in Color, and Kaffe Fassett Quilts Shots and Stripes.

Ricky Tims' Convergence Quilts: Mysterious, Magical, Easy, and Fun


Ricky Tims - 2003
    Quilting expert Ricky Tims presents an imaginative, new piecing technique that quilters will adore! Convergence quilts feature two or more fabrics cut into strips, sewn together, then cut and pieced again.

Why We Quilt: Contemporary Makers Speak Out about the Power of Art, Activism, Community, and Creativity


Thomas Knauer - 2019
    From temperance quilts to the AIDS quilt, there’s a rich history of individuals and communities using fabric and thread to connect with others and express themselves, both personally and politically. Why We Quilt blends bits of this history with the stories and work of today’s leading quilters, highlighting themes of tradition, community, consumerism, change, and creativity. With a unique die-cut cover and a richly layered design, this book will enthrall designers, quilters, and all types of handcraft enthusiasts.

Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear


Winifred Aldrich - 2008
    This fifth edition continues to offer an introduction to the principles of pattern cutting, with a range of good basic blocks and examples of their application to garments.New for this edition is the inclusion of colour to help students recognize the different sections of the book and to enhance the garment illustrations? Colour illustrations also offer a new dimension to the updated material on computer-aided design and the CAD chapter now provides students with a clear guide to the technology.The size charts have been revised to reflect the changes in body sizing, the co-ordination with European size charts and to the way that clothes are now marketed to different sectors. The great expansion of casual wear has led to the growth of 'flat cutting' with no darting, and the section devoted to this type of cutting has been further expanded.This best-selling textbook with its tried-and-tested presentation of authoritative text and clear diagrams remains the essential purchase for students of fashion and design.

More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric


Sandra Betzina - 2004
    More Fabric Savvy brings over 100 new tips, over 400 new color photos and drawings, the latest new fabrics, and entirely new and useful features, including a handy guide to stain removal. From Sandra Betzina, the dynamic host of HGTV's Sew Perfect, this easy-to-use reference belongs on every sewer's bookshelf.

Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business


Meg Mateo Ilasco - 2007
    Plus, get inspired by--and learn from the mistakes of--artists/business owners such as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, Jill Bliss, and many more.

Colour & Light in Watercolour


Jean Haines - 2010
    As soon as you open the book you will want to pick up a brush and start painting — and whatever your ability, Jean encourages you to simply ‘have a go’ and enjoy the freedom and happiness that painting can bring.Jean’s subjects include animals, landscapes, people and flowers, and there are many examples of Jean’s work throughout the book to both delight and inspire you. Jean takes a highly practical approach to her teaching, and there are numerous short exercises and demonstrations as well as longer projects that guide you through a painting from beginning to end. Wherever you are on your painting journey, Jean will open your eyes to the color and light that surrounds you and show you how to incorporate it into your paintings.

Material Obsession Two: Shared Inspiration


Kathy Doughty - 2009
    The results - like non-identical twins - are inextricably linked, yet intriguingly different. With practical step-by-step instructions, a comprehensive basics section and glorious photographs, this is a book to make your fingers tingle with sheer inspiration."

D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself: A Design Handbook


Ellen Lupton - 2006
    Ellen Lupton, bestselling author of Thinking with Type, will show you how. DIY: Design It Yourself, provides you with all the tools you'll need to create your own projects, from conception through production. Here you will find: - simple ideas on how you can "think like a designer" - clear and coherent explanations of design technologies, from silk-screening to web development - what materials you'll need to get your job done - where to find and buy them - how much time and experience your project demands - diagrams that show how to handle complex tasks - basic typographic dos and don'ts - the history and theory of the DIY design movement - hundreds of innovative and beautiful projects for inspirationNo more excuses. With this book, virtually any design task is within your grasp. Just do it (yourself)!

Sherry Serafini's Sensational Bead Embroidery: 25 Inspiring Jewelry Projects


Sherry Serafini - 2011
    Serafini explains the fundamentals behind her work, from stitches to color theory, and lays out 25 beautifully textured projects that feature fabulous focal-point beads. Sherry Serafini is a renowned beading teacher and a featured artist in the book Masters: Beadweaving. Other books in Lark Jewelry & Beading's Beadweaving Master Class series have been authored by Diane Fitzgerald, Marcia DeCoster, Laura McCabe, Maggie Meister, and Rachel Nelson-Smith.

Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting (Leisure Arts #15914)


Donna Kooler - 2004
    Thanks to Hollywood's newfound obsession and updated, stylish designs, a whole new generation has caught on to the art of knitting. For those just starting out or veteran knitters, expert Donna Kooler's newest, Encyclopedia of Knitting, will get those needles clicking. This comprehensive guide covers all the basics, from the history of knitting, tools, and materials, to how-to instructions for 164 stitches and stitch patterns, with tons of photos and diagrams to show the way. Includes instructions for both right-handed and left-handed knitters, with narrative directions and symbols to make learning easier. Contemporary projects by today's top knitting designers are suitable for a variety of experience levels and include a man's vest, a baby's dress, and decorative pillows. If the runaway success of her two previous Encyclopedia volumes is any indication (and we certainly think so ), this one has "bestseller" written all over it.

Sew Wild: Creating With Stitch and Mixed Media


Alisa Burke - 2011
    Get wild with printing, painting, drawing, stenciling, and other surface design methods and unique materials such as plastic bags, photographs, and cardboard. Dive into 12 simple sewing projects to make colorful, wearable, and hip designs, including a stunning wall quilt, adorable hats for kids or adults, a pretty wreath, cuff bracelets, and a modern ruffled apron.Artist Alisa Burke demonstrates many of the techniques and essentials of surface design and sewing on an included DVD. In addition to the in-depth video instruction, you’ll get a bonus project exclusively on the DVD.Whether you’re already a rule-breaker or you’re looking to improvise, Sew Wild shows you how to create fabric and designs that explode with color, pattern, and soul.

Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects


Susan Beal - 2011
    Cutting hundreds of pieces and joining angled seams can be tough work! But log cabin quilting—an artful and simple way to piece strips of fabric around a central square—is different. From the intuitive construction through the straight-line stitching, this style of quilting is simple as can be. In Modern Log Cabin Quilting, Susan Beal outlines the entire process from start to finish, including basic quilting how-to as well as extensive design, fabric, and embellishment information. Since all log cabin designs follow the same formula, once you master straight lines and right angles, any of the 25 projects in this book are possible. From stash-friendly designs like the Charming Camera Case to more ambitious undertakings like the Vintage Linens Quilt, there’s sure to be a project that will get you into (or bring you back to) quilting!

Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens


Lena Corwin - 2008
    The quirks are what show the maker’s intimate involvement in the process, and it’s that unique quality that first attracted textile designer and illustrator Lena Corwin to hand-printing. Even though decorative prints are more in vogue than ever, there was until now no up-to-date hand-printing guide—no single source explaining the tools and materials that are used today, or reflecting a contemporary aesthetic. Corwin has given us that guide. Using step-by-step instructions and up-close photos, Corwin teaches crafters everything they need to know to master stamping, stenciling, and screen printing, from making their own printing devices to trouble-shooting when plans go awry. Her inimitable collection of projects ranges from stamped stationery and simple-to-sew pouches, to stenciled tote bags and furniture, to screen-printed bed linens and upholstery fabric. There’s even a silk-screened dog bed. The author has created original artwork for each project (full-size patterns are included in an envelope at the back of the book), so that every crafter can achieve the same beautiful results. Or maybe not quite the same. Remember: It’s the subtle differences that make hand-printing so special and alluring.