Along with the familiar fabrics and recycled garments, she gets into the spirit of exploration with unexpected materials, from paper and tire tubes to neoprene. And with the skill level set at beginning to intermediate, every crafter can join in!Projects include:Bags and Totes  Home décor and gift items Wearables, such as hats and other accessories

    NEW

    Plus, the projects are cute to boot!” —Sue Daly, founder of the Renegade Craft FairNo more spending more than you can afford on clothes! Chic & Simple Sewing shows you how to make modern, stylish, and fun clothes you’ll want to wear every day. Plus, you’re in control. You pick the fabrics, the cut, the size—all tailored just for you, not mass-manufactured on an assembly line. For about the price of two or three commercial sewing patterns, this book will give you full-size patterns to make the more than 20 garments, including a classic shift, A-line skirt, and figure-flattering wrap dress. What are you waiting for? Your new, one-of-a-kind wardrobe awaits!

    

    Several projects are easy enough for children to make for their own toybox, but you'll want a bunch of these irresistible cuties for yourself, too! Socks Appeal is a finalist in the 2010 Foreword Book of the Year Awards.

    Featuring more than 250 classic and contemporary stitch patterns, this updated guide includes instructions for knitters of all levels. From the basic knit and purl stitch to the seed stitch to a fanciful ladder pattern, each of the featured stitches is detailed with a color photograph and handy how-to instructions. Both new and classic yarn varieties are covered, and insider tips designed to facilitate personalization are featured throughout. For projects ranging from the simple to the ornate, this extensive catalog is brimming with stitch inspiration.

    Learn to sew traditional and silk ribbon embroidery, make raised stitches, and embellish with beads, charms, buttons, and mirrors. Step-by-step photo instructions show exactly how to sew 85 different stitches. Learn how to combine and place stitches to enhance a finished piece and how to work with embroidery threads, ribbons, fabrics, laces, beads, buttons, and other embellishments.Includes 8 complete embroidery projects to stitch and embellish. An essential embroidery reference for everyone from beginners to experts.

    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."

    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.

    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.

    Vintage ornaments, lights, decorations, cards and wrapping all conjure up happy memories of Christmases past and serve as tangible mementos of holidays shared with family and friends. In fact, finding these objects, decorating with them and sharing them with others brings an instant feeling of comfort and joy. Coupled with beautiful photographs, tips on collecting, and secret shopping haunts, A Very Vintage Christmas offers a 360-degree look at holiday d�cor in America and gives suggestions on how to make vintage finds work for today's audience. While each chapter of A Very Vintage Christmas is unique, there is a common thread that runs through them all: the love of beautiful holiday decorations, and the interest in their history, value, and preservation. The book helps the everyday collector and enthusiast to build their own collection and offers tips on how to make the most of what they've got.

    More than a dozen categories include Alphabet, Asian Chic, Baby, Celebrations, Embellishments, Fruits & Veggies, Space, Trees, Flowers, Winged Wonders, and Woodland Creatures-and each section includes one motif stitched by the author. The motifs on the CD are in simple black lines, so readers can easily manipulate them using their own image-editing software, print them out, and transfer them onto their substrate of choice using the instructions in the book.PROJECTS INCLUDE:Wearables: Jewelry, pajama pants, hat and mittens o Home Décor: Fabric basket, decorative wall hangings, more o Gift Items: Keepsake gift bags

    After losing everything and having no choice but to move back to her childhood home just in time for the festive season, Effie has finally reached rock bottom. But maybe this year, something – or someone – can make Effie believe in Christmas all over again… One December night three years ago, Effie Thomas’s life was turned upside down when she discovered the truth about her cheating fiancé, Todd. Since then, her life has basically been a series of unfortunate events, culminating in one awful day in which she loses both her job and her home. There is nothing for it but to return home to her mother’s poky little cottage in the sleepy village of Effisham. Effie, a self-professed Christmas hater is forced to accept the first job she can find… which just happens to be working as an elf in a grotto at the local garden centre. She is immediately driven mad by Jack, the happy-go-lucky “Head Elf” who doesn’t take life too seriously… but he also makes her laugh. And he just happens to be extremely good-looking. Effie begins to wonder if Jack might be the one who can help her forget Todd.Effie is surprised when she actually starts enjoying herself – and when the grotto is vandalised and she rebuilds it overnight, she discovers she might actually have a hidden talent for design. When more visitors than ever come to the garden centre, Effie wonders if finally, at the age of 28, she can at last make her mother proud.Ah yes, Effie’s mum… determined to set Effie up with a nice lad from the village. But not everyone is what they may seem. It seems everyone has a secret – Jack included. And can Effie forgive and forget when Todd arrives back on the scene full of regret and promises?For Effie, Christmas is the season of hurt and heartbreak, even if everyone else is celebrating joy and goodwill. Surely it’s about time she turned it all around?The perfect festive romantic comedy to curl up with in front of the fire.

    The authors are designers and owners of two popular pattern companies for kid’s clothes—Farbenmix and Studio Tantrum, known in the sewing community for their creativity, versatility, and fit. This collection of exclusive patterns, included with the book, offers step-by-step instruction for making boys’ and girls’ clothing with a variety of fabric styles and decorative embellishment—including embroidery, patchwork, and trims. The patterns for pants, tops, skirts, and dresses include variations for long and short hemlines and sleeves, various necklines, and adjustable lengths. The patterns are sized from 18 months to kid’s size 12.

    Hand colored in vivid combinations of painterly hues, Noro yarns are as striking to behold as they are easy to work with. This follow-up to Knit Noro features 32 small projects knitters can complete in a weekend, including Leg Warmers, Cabled Mittens, a Lace Flap Hat, and even an iPad cover.