Sunday 15 January 2012

The Crafter’s Way 210–Craft Books

It’s time for a little post Christmas wind down. Relax and enjoy these fabulous craft books available from Moreton Bay Regional Council Libraries.

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The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Collette Wolff: I’m starting with my favourite book from this group. This book simply made me swoon. I wanted to try these techniques immediately. This book is no frills; no colour pictures or projects just clearly written instructions, diagrams and black and white pictures. The simplicity of the format makes the end result all the more awe inspiring. If you are ready to experiment with textile art or creating statement pieces have a look at this book.

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Doodle Stitch, The Motif Collection by Aimee Ray: I chose this book because of its simplicity as well. The Author has created a cute book that younger or beginner crafters will relate to. The examples are stitched in fashionable colours and incorporated into projects that are practical. The book includes a bonus CD with 17 projects.

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Entrelac, The Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting by Rosemary Drysdale: I couldn’t believe that you could create this look using only two stitches. The Author starts with “The Basics”, this however does not include how to do the two stitches just how to combine them to create the entrelac effect. The second chapter is titled “Swatch Glossary”. In this chapter the author moves from the basics to creating cables, lace, geometrics and so much more. The rest of the book includes 20 patterns and tips on designing. If you know some knitters borrow this for them. You never know you may score one of those out of this world shawls on page 148.

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The Sewing Bible Clothing by Wendy Gardiner: Wendy Gardiner is the Editor of Sewing World Magazine. She has brought all her knowledge and experience together in this book. With this book I believe you could sit down at a machine and teach yourself the basics. The Author covers everything from the right needle choice for the fabric to trouble shooting tips. I have little self test I do on sewing books. I absolutely detest inserting zips and rarely do it right the first time. I followed Wendy’s instructions and diagrams to insert an invisible zip and found myself doing a little happy dance. Worth borrowing but I think you will end up buying your own copy.

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200 Sewing Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets by Lorna Knight: When I first picked this book up I decided to borrow it because I noted it included some finishing off and embellishing techniques that the above book lacked. While it does have extra’s I found the layout cluttered and the font too small. If you just want to have a flick through you won’t be disappointed but if you plan to work while reading I believe that you too will find it a tad difficult to follow. All in all I think it tries to cover too much in not enough space which is a pity really because with a better layout I believe the book would appeal to a wider audience.

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